Ealing started off to a good start after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Openers Easa and Rohan got off to an awesome start by getting 11 off the 2nd over and getting 30+ runs by the fourth over. Easa’s wicket caused a middle order collapse as the top and middle order quickly fell in about 8 overs. These were the overs Ealing should improve on seeing as the run rate was slow and below 5 at a point. These are the most important overs in a T20 because it sets the tone for the last 5 overs. Chiswick’s bowlers did well to take the opportunity after the 2nd wicket as they went on to get 6 quick wickets and restrict Ealing. But the majority of those runs in those middle over were scored by boundaries. Dev and Armaan accelerated while they were in the middle, which kept Ealing in the game. After about 15 overs, it looked unlikely of Ealing posting anything over 100 as we were into still recovering from the collapse. We needed more than 6 runs per over and Chiswick’s top bowlers were back on. But a late quickfire partnership between Sathi and Imad put Ealing back in the game as we posted 119 for the loss of 7 wickets.
Again, Ealing started off to a good start with the ball as Nathan got an early wicket which put Ealing in the front seat. The pacers (Nathan, Dev, Rohan) bowled well for their 7 overs and restricted Chiswick to about 30 runs. Sathi got a wicket in his first ball which sent Chiswick’s hard-hitting #3 out of the game. The ball was pitched around the good-length area and on middle stump. The batsmen went for a big slog over deep-midwicket. The ball turned to off stump and hit the centre of off stump. Chiswick were able to stabilize their innings and score at over 6 runs an over for quite a bit of time. Armaan and Sathi finished their spell with terrific figures. Ealing were in the front seat as Chiswick had to achieve more than 7 an over to win the game. However, a few expensive overs in the middle put Chiswick in front as they needed 39 from the last 5 overs. One of their openers was not-out on 41 and still going strong. But the first ball of the 16th over bowled by Dev was a wicket (LBW). The game turned as Ealing’s pacers came back on and were able to keep Chiswick under 110. In the end, Ealing won the game by 15 runs.
Overall it was a great team performance. The bowlers did very well to get wickets and be economical at the same time. The batting went okay but could have been better by rotating strike and waiting for the bad balls. Rohan was deservingly voted MotM for his 27 and superb bowling.
Written by Aadvik