The best advertisement for any sport is the sport itself. In that way, the Indian Cricket League (ICL), received its best advertisement on Sunday. The second final between the Hyderabad Heroes and Lahore Badshahs, turned out to be a cracker of a contest. The ICL seems to have reserved it’s best for the end. A bowl out finish is a dream end (a nightmare for the losers though) to any match and when it comes to the finals, it is even more so. In that way one must admit, the Hyderabadis were lucky to view that game in close quarters, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium on sunday.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Lahore Badshahs were onto a decent start with the score board reading 63 for one in 9 overs. If any of their fans had felt that half the game was won by then, then they were in for a huge surprise. The Lahore Badshahs lost 5 quick wickets for just 35 runs and were staring down the barrel. Finally they fell for a meager 130 – not what they would have wanted in the finals.
Well 130 should have been a cake walk for the Heroes. But that was not to be. The Heroes made mountains out of the mole hill. The opposition bowlers deserve credit. Naved Ul Hasan spearheaded the come back with a 5 wicket haul. AT Rayudu’s effort helped the Heroes scratch their way to a draw. A thrilling end was on the cards. The fates of the teams were now on the bowl out.
What followed was a repeat of the T20 World Cup finals bowl out where the Pakistanis never managed to strike the stumps. Here again Lahore couldn’t get a single strike, while the Heroes managed three to win the finals 3-0. The purpose of the match was served. It was not a win for the Heroes alone. But it was a great victory for the ICL as well. It got the spot light that it deserved. Is ICL going the Kerry Packer way? Time alone will tell.
RSS Feed (xml)
