Match Report: ACZ Gladiators vs Papas Willow

Hello Team,

What a fantastic game it was! Although we couldn’t secure the victory today, we’ve walked away with valuable lessons that will make us stronger and better as a team (including myself as a captain).

We won the toss by default because not enough players of opposition team was available.
This is power of being on time and I really appreciate that all made an effort to being on time and I am really thankful for it.

We decided to bat first.

We got off to a dream start, thanks to Kartik’s explosive hitting and Srikanth’s solid support. Scoring 50/1 in the powerplay was brilliant. However, we slowed down between overs 6–15, which created some pressure. But what a comeback in the last 5 overs! Prem Patel’s fireworks and Ankit’s composed finish took us to a competitive total of 166/8. As a team, we hit 15 boundaries and 4 sixes-an excellent display of power and strategy. Kudos to all the batters for playing to the situation.

Our bowling started with a bang! Atul and Ankit delivered an outstanding powerplay, picking up 5 wickets in the first 6 overs. By the 8th over, we had 6 wickets, and the game was ours. However, I made a critical decision to bowl myself instead of using our strike bowlers-Sukesh, Sandeep, Kartik, Trilok, and Prem-who were all available. This decision shifted the momentum, as the opposition took advantage and scored freely. While our bowlers gave their best, regular boundaries (19 fours and 2 sixes) from the opposition kept them ahead of the game. Nevertheless, special mention goes to Ankit for his 3 wickets and Atul for his powerplay magic.

Our fielding was solid today. We took all our catches and put in a great effort overall. While the large ground allowed the opposition to sneak in a few extra runs, there’s no doubt that our fielders put their hearts into it. Excellent work, team!