Heroes keep nerve; defeat Chennai Superstars in first semi-final!
Date : 2nd April
Place : Hyderabad
In the first semi-final of the Edelweiss Challenge of the Indian Cricket League, the team of the Hyderabad Heroes defeated the Chennai Superstars who are the champions of both tournaments that have been held by the ICL prior to this one. The match was a close call but the Heroes kept their calm and finally won the match against the Superstars.
The Superstars’ top order could not fare very well and crashed under Kemp and Razzaq. However it was the rear order that made a mark and gave competition to the Heroes. It was Badani who led the attack with his half century off 37 balls when the team required some runs so badly. Few other players only could contribute something worthwhile to the team like Sathish who made 25 runs off 17 balls. The team ended just four runs short of the target of the Hyderabad Heroes of 147.
The team of the Hyderabad Heroes has chosen to bat first but the openers of the team fell cheaply. Razzaq made just 14 runs and Maher went off with just 2 runs. Rayadu and Boje came in to settle down for some good scores and survived a longish time. Boje was the highest scorer in the team with his 47 runs off 38 balls. Binny and Rayadu contributed with 24 and 25 runs respectively to team score. Razzaq, Kemp and Harris obtained two wickets each and made it difficult for the Superstars to win the match. It was just a 4 run margin which remained to be covered. However the Heroes have won the match now by keeping their calm in the time of difficulty. Nicky Boje deserved and was awarded the Man of the Match. |
