Pegasus Prevails Over Ventura

Consistent with previous weeks, Pegasus managed to provide the viewers with another nail biter of a game. Pegasus CC coming in with a 5 game winning streak was up against the number 1 seed of the league, the big powerhouse Ventura CC. On a beautiful sunny morning Ventura won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that seemed a little worn. The possibility of the track worsening supplemented the decision to bat first. Ventura, without the services of Ricky Singh began cautiously, losing their opener to Elmore’s pace. However, Kanishka (55) kept the score moving with some fabulous shots. However, into the attack came Haider Raza (1 wicket) and Suresh Nair (2 wickets) to put the breaks on Ventura. Franklin Rose (23) hit some lusty blows before he was sent back due to a blinder of a catch by Shahid Rahmatullah. Ventura seemed to be reeling at 138 for 6 wickets. Kartik on the other hand had different ideas. He smashed the Pegasus bowlers to all parts of the ground scoring a blazing 121 with the help of 8 sixes. Mushi Khan and Hasan Imam (2 wickets each) kept on snapping wickets on the other end. Ventura ended up at a respectable 262 All Out in 34.5 overs. Pegasus began in a flashy manner, with Haider and Faizan scoring regular boundaries. After Haider’s departure for 12, Nazim carried on the onslaught with Faizan regularly dispatching any loose deliveries to the boundaries. Faizan was out caught on the boundary for an attractive 30 while Nazim (20) was given out a LBW (a suspect decision). In came Zeeshan Khamisani (53) and Ali Shafi (56). They steadied the ship but maintained a healthy scoring rate, punishing bad balls for maximum. Both batsmen scored 50s and took Pegasus closer to the target. At this time Franklin (4 wickets) brought himself on and managed to cause a mini collapse in the Pegasus batting line up. But the Pegasus lower middle order kept on trudging along towards the target. At this time it was discovered that Ventura was way behind the over rate (Total time taken to bowl 45 overs was 4 hrs). The onus was upon Pegasus to survive the 45 overs and reaching a reasonable score, as they were guaranteed 20 penalty runs or more due to the slow over rate of Ventura. Nitesh (11), Hasan (18) and Mushi (10) did just that and took Pegasus home. Pegasus ended up with 272 for 8 wickets at the end of 45 overs winning the game against the top side in the league. Pegasus, now with a 6 game winning streak is in a good position for the 2nd half of the season. With big games coming up, both teams need to get it together and move ahead. Good luck to all.