Match Report - Game 5 v Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy U23
Once again the tour has been blessed by magnificent weather. The day dawned overcast yet warm (mid-20's) and humid. There was little breeze to speak of. As the day wore on the conditions improved, or should I say intensified, as the cloud dissipated and the sun took over. The temperature nudged the early 30's. The game was played at the Royal Palace Grounds in Bangalore on a rare turf pitch within the heart of the city. The pitch was green but very hard. The outfield was dominated by large sections of barren orange clay broken only by islands of patchy grass up to 30cm high. The pitch looked and played very well and the outfield, although a little rough, was as the saying goes "the same for both teams".
Captain Isaac Harris won the the toss and asked the Imtiaz team to bat. The first hour of play was the RBJ Fulton show. Bradley's first spell of 6 overs (5 for 13) was hostile and relentlessly accurate. He single-handedly demolished the the opposition top order which was made all the more significant by the hot and humid conditions. The Imtiaz Academy side slumped to be 40 for 7. However, our opposition tail-enders dug in and produced a series of useful partnerships assisted by the fact that they wanted to bat 13 players. Batsmen 8, 9, 11 and 12 scored 55, 23, 22 and 15 respectively to lift their total from 139 for 10 to 180 all out. Bradley returned in his second spell and was able to sneer two further wickets and in doing so recorded career best figures of 10 overs 7 for 23. Jack Harris chimed in with the impressive figures of 10 overs 1 for 18. Reuben Harris, Braden Rowe, Isaac Harris and Ben O'Connor all chipped in with a wicket apiece.
The school was under immediate pressure following the fall of an early wicket and runs proved extremely hard to come by against some accurate bowling. The fall of the school's second wicket saw the game delicately poised with the score 31 for 2 off 12 overs. At this stage
Mason Hughes joined Whetu na Nagara in a game defining partnership. Together they calmly and patiently resurrected the innings. This pair rarely looked troubled as they accelerated the run rate all the while playing the ball on it's merits. Whetu and Mason (59) put together a meritorious partnership of 103 in extremely trying conditions. Whetu was unbeaten on 59 as he guided the school to a comfortable 5 (or is that 7) wicket victory with 6 overs to spare.
- Mr Paul Gibbs, Manager
