Vijay Cricket Tournament 2014 |04 July 2014

The first cricket tournament of 2014 of Seychelles Cricket Association is under way and about to finish the first round of Vijay Tournament. The two matches played on June 29 were between UAE Challengers and Vijay B at Roche Caiman ground, and the second match was between Eden Kings and Patel Youth played at Stad Popiler.

UAE Exchange Challengers thrash Vijay B to book second spot
Reaching a very crucial stage of the tournament the UAE Exchange Challengers met Vijay B for their last match of the league at Roche Caiman on June 29. Winning the toss the UAE Challengers skipper elected to bat first on a bouncy seaming track. UAE openers got off to a solid start putting on 28 runs in no time. However, Vijay B bowlers bounced back with 4 crucial strikes with UAE in a spot of bother at 50 for 4. The batsmen to be dismissed were Kiran (10 runs), Esar (2 runs), Bhavesh (1) and Vijesh (9 runs with a six). Things came down again to Kundar brothers Sanjay and Sandesh to rescue the team. After a brief recovery Sanjay fell after scoring 14 watchful runs. UAE kept losing wickets with upcoming batsmen Rajeev (5 runs) and Ricky (0 runs) dismissed in no time. However Sandesh never let the fall of wickets affect him as he continued playing his natural game carrying his bat till the end of the innings. Even Sachin struck 10 quick runs which included 2 fours.

Sandesh’s powerful knock of 71 not out which included 6 fours and 3 sixes led UAE Exchange Challengers to a total of 158 for 8 in 20 overs. Lack of discipline by the Vijay B players who conceded 31 extras also contributed to this big total. For Vijay B only Nitin (3 for 18 in 4 overs) and Umar (1 for 16 in 4 overs) were economical as other bowlers went for plenty.

Chasing a stiff target of 159 runs Vijay B top order struggled to face the pace and bounce of UAE Exchange opening bowlers Rajeev and Sachin. With the required rate approaching above 9 runs one by one Vijay B batsmen perished going for the big shot. Patrick scored 14 with 2 fours but failed to convert his good start into a big one. After the UAE opening bowlers tortured the Vijay B top order with 4 wickets down Ricky, Santosh and Narendra further dented their batting momentum in the middle overs and thus finished the job bowling out Vijay B for 65 runs in 14 overs. UAE bowlers did a terrific job with Rajeev (1 for 6 in 3 overs) and Sachin (2 for 10 in 4 overs) bowling very economical spells. Ricky picked up 4 wickets for 16 runs once again and Santosh picked up 2 for 12.
This all round performance handed the UAE Challengers a mammoth 94 run win.

Eden back to winning ways after close contest
In the same afternoon, Eden Kings were up against Patel Youth at Stad Popiler. Winning the toss, Eden Kings elected to bat first. However, Eden got off to the worst possible start losing 3 top order batsmen Hari, Tarak and Ashay in no time. The innings was revived by a 50 plus run stand between Murray and Jonathan. Jonathan scored 18 runs with 3 fours but after his dismissal Charles came in scoring 9 runs giving Murray valiant support. However after the dismissal of Charles Murray fell the next over just at the moment Eden needed him to kick on. Murray was dismissed after scoring a well-made 30 with 2 sixes and 1 four. Good lower order contributions from Khan (11 runs), Mani (11 runs) and Manoj (6 runs) helped Eden Kings reach a competitive total of 110 for 8 in 20 overs.
For Patel Youth Divyesh picked up 3 wickets for20 runs and Ajit picked up 3 for 15 runs.

The Patel youth run chase got off a steady start with openers Naresh scoring 8 and Govind scoring 17 runs 4 fours. However Eden got back in the contest with 3 quick strikes of Naresh, Govind and Chetan reducing them to 40 for 3. Divyesh came and scored 17 runs with 2 fours but failed to convert his start into a big one. Patel Youth were never able to put on a big partnership as wickets kept tumbling in patches. Despite the fall of Ajit who had a different mindset as kept picking the boundary scoring 28 runs with 1 four and 2 sixes. The game switched in favour of Eden after they dismissed Ajit. With 18 off the last 2 overs Neil kept his cool bowling an excellent penultimate over conceding only 3 runs which also included a wicket. Khan kept his cool with 15 required in the final over. At the end Patel Youth could not cross the line as they ended up with only 108 for 8 in 20 overs handing Eden Kings a close 2 runs victory.
Eden Kings bowlers did a pretty good job with good spells from Neal (1 for 19), Charles (1 for 18) and Arup (2 for 12).