A tense game at Park Avenue between Whiterose CC and Kashmir CC which went to the last wicket and the penultimate over. A gritty innings from skipper Raqeeb Younis secured the 2nd place in the final by hitting a four on the final bowl of the penultimate over.
Kashmir won the toss and elected to bat first but lost both openers for just 24 runs. A 3rd wicket partnership between Kaleel Ahmed (39) and Salman Ahmed (33) but them back in control and took the team to 80 before losing Salman. Whiterose fought back with three quick wickets restricting Kashmir to 177 runs in their 45 overs. Whiterose did not make the chase easy for themselves as they lost wickets regularly throughout their innings with some disciplined bowling from Kashmir who didn’t give up until the last run.
In the other Semi Final Between AK Eagles CC and Bhalot Strikers CC was a low scoring game with a twist. AK Eagles batted first and were bowled out for just 92 runs at Tong Park Esholt CC, Bhalot Strikers CC going into bat would have felt confident chasing the target but managed to create unease in the dressing room as they lost 7 wickets before hitting the last run. Bhalot Strikers will play their 3rd consecutive cup finals on the 26th August 2024.
The semi finals of the Mohammed (Bill) Saddique Shield were also interesting, new club Hanover CC continued to have success in both the league and Shield. They restricted Leeds Stallions to just 115, with man of the match, Zamurad Khan taking 6 for 25 off 6.4 Overs. Hanover chased the target with the loss of just 3 wickets with an unbeaten innings for Khalil Khan 43 who helped secure a place in the final.
The other semi final had the highest total target of today’s matches,
Gemini falcons lost the toss and were put in by Yorkshire Lions, they set a target of 249 with contribution with the bat from Hassnain Qureshi (67) and Quinton Venter (61) in their allocation of 45 overs. Yorkshire Lions took the 10th wicket in the first ball of the 45th overs. Yorkshire Lions chased the target in the 41st over with the loss of just 3 wickets. Man of the match, Hassan Ali (122) and Gul Fida Hussain (58) put on 157 partnership to secure a place in the Shield Final.
Individual Performance