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Saturday, Dec 01, 2007
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Chandigarh Lions wins

Vijay Lokapally

Splendid treat for a full house

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

ON CLOUD NINE: Chandigarh Lions’ Daryl Tuffey is delighted after dismissing Mohnish Mishra of Delhi Jets in the ICL Twenty20 tournament at Panchkula on Friday.

PANCHKULA: The setting was perfect, if not electric. There was not a vacant seat in the 7000-capacity stadium and the fireworks heralding the start of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) provided a warm prelude to the entertainment that came in the shape of the Twenty20 action at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Friday as Chandigarh Lions overcame Delhi Jets by nine runs.

The cricketers had no pretensions about their roles. The onus was on playing some robust cricket and there was plenty. Only, the star value was missing. But then it hardly mattered. The spectators were treated to some glorious strokes.

The apprehensions that surrounded the nature of the pitch and the outfield were allayed in no time. The ball came on nicely and travelled fast. On the cricket front, the organisers were not to be faulted.

“It is one of the most important days of my life,” said a beaming Kapil, the driving force behind this venture. With Haryana Chief Minister B. S. Hooda and Union Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav extending their support, it was obvious Kapil was elated at the successful start to this ambitious competition.

“The ICL will change the face of Indian sports. It will change the people’s outlook to sports. We are striving for recognition and support and it came in a warm manner this evening,” said Kapil. The chill in the air was a challenge for those present at the open air venue but the crowd loved it all the way.

The spectators watched some vintage stuff from Chris Cairns; the kind that made him a dreaded all-rounder in his heyday. They also enjoyed some lusty hitting by Imran Farhat. A pity local hero Dinesh Mongia sat out the match due to a finger injury. He was among the first to join the ICL and would have loved being part of this contest, the first of its kind in India.

The target, 135, was not imposing, very little for the cheerleaders to light up the show in the second half. Cine star Kareena Kapoor set the trend with a 20-minute dance performance of her song featuring her and the teams did their best to match the crowd appeal that she commanded.

Energetic Hall

The energetic Andrew Hall provided some late sparks to the Chandigarh Lions innings after being put in. Farhat (21) and Hamish Marshal, the Kiwi with a penchant to drive hard, gave Chandigarh Lions a fine start but the innings lost direction in the 11th over when Chetan Sharma and Cairns (22) lost their wickets. Three sixes and 14 boundaries adorned the Chandigarh Lions innings.

The scores: Chandigarh Lions 134 in 20 overs (Andrew Hall 31 not out, Ali Murtaza three for 16, Abhishek Sharma three for 16) bt Delhi Jets 125 for nine in 20 overs (J. P. Yadav, Abbas Ali 30 not out, Daryl Tuffey three for 15).

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