Guts and Glory

 

When it is the Grand Finale of the most important club tournament of the country, one expects a humdinger. The Deutscher Meisterschaft Final did not disappoint – it had all the ingredients of a perfect cricket entertainer, a script with twists at crucial junctures and most importantly, an even contest between bat and ball. Düsseldorf Blackcaps were hosting Türk FC Hattersheim in home conditions, but both teams had to wait to swing into action as the game got delayed by a wet outfield.

 

Blackcaps skipper Venkat won the toss and chose to bat first on a day, the end of which would witness a first time German champion! Anchored by a resilient 52 off 89 from Tarun Rawat, Blackcaps managed a modest 159 before being all out inside 38 overs. M Mudassar and T Ahmad picked up four wickets apiece for Türk FC while M Mubashar and F Bashir claimed with a wicket each.
 

However, a low target has often proved tricky and that is perhaps why Türk FC started on a cautious note. And they remained rather cautious through their innings barring the odd big shot. Things hung in balance as they lost two early wickets with 26 on board – a run out and a stunning slip catch by Tarun. Eventually, the score did not quite tick along as fast they would have liked. Türk FC lost wickets every now and then and eventually were bowled out for 119 in the 36th over when Kashif, the pick of the bowlers (4/27) cleaned up N Baghri. F Bashir top-scored for Türk FC with 23 off 55. Tarun returned with figures of 3/21 while O Ahamed and Arun picked up a wicket each.

 

In the end, a well-deserved victory after a hard-fought battle. We thank Türk FC Hattersheim for a great game played in the right spirit – worthy of a final.

 

Complete scorecard:
https://www.crichq.com/matches/566641/1st_innings