Knights have a glorious weekend
MIDRAND - Midrand Knights Cricket Club has recorded impressive victories, yet again.
On 22 November, both teams were on a victory lap.
Their first team hosted Crescents Cricket Club, in a SA6 fixture at Halfway House Primary School. Despite a slow start to the season, Crescents was a tough opponent.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first. They started off very well, scoring 49 runs in the first six overs. A breakthrough for the Knights came in the seventh over, when Pradeep Muppala took a vital wicket.
From then on, regular wickets fell, and the visitors went from being 49 runs with no loss, in six overs, to 99 runs for four wickets.
They however maintained a healthy run rate, even though they were losing quick wickets. Captain Phani Lingam’s clever bowling changes restricted the visitors.
Knights carried on taking wickets until Crescents was at 192 runs, all out in the 35th over. Vamshi Vure returned figures of four wickets for 26 in six overs. Pradeep Muppala took two wickets at the cost of 14 runs in three overs. Muppala had to be withdrawn from bowling, due to a slight hamstring strain.
Knights’ openers Sai Lingala and Pinaki Sarkar, made an impressive start with 78 runs in just seven overs. Sarkar played the senior role and scored 54 from 34 balls, laying the foundation for a comfortable run chase. The winning runs were scored in 30 overs. With eight wickets down, they won by 2 wickets.
The man of the match award was shared by Vure and Sarkar.
The second team travelled to Sir Lionel Phillips Park in Greenside to face Pirates Cricket Club. Opener, Yugender Gatike, scored 35 runs. The captain, Suman Choudary, played for a valuable 42 not out. He was supported by all-rounder Naveen Pothineni, who scored 23 runs. In the end, Pirates were chasing a target of 195 for victory. They were quickly bowled out for 115 runs in 32 overs.
Naresh Borra, returned figures of three wickets for six runs in three overs.
Pothineni took two wickets for 16 runs in seven overs. Knights won by 79 runs.
The man of the match award was shared by Choudary and Pothineni.
