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What a shot! Ambati Rayudu hits high

But, at the end of the second edition, there is jubilation as the local heroes Ambati Rayudu, left-arm spinner Indra Sekhar Reddy, medium-pacer Alfred Absolom, stumper Ibrahim Khaleel – played a stellar role in fashioning Hyderabad Heroes’ emphatic 2-0 win the three-match final of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge championship.

There is discernible joy amongst all the cricketers from the City who joined the ICL – Ambati Rayudu, I.S. Reddy, Alfred Absolom, Anirudh Singh, P. S. Niranjan, D. Vinay Kumar, Ibrahim Khaleel, P. Kaushik Reddy, Shashank Nag – along with ex-Andhra Ranji player Syed Shahabuddin. It is a different issue that not all of them were regulars in the playing eleven. And, this was understandable for Hyderabad Heroes had in its ranks some of the big names who quit international cricket only recently like South Africans Justin Kemp, Nicky Boje, Kiwi Chris Harris, Pakistani Abdur Razzaq.

With former Aussie wicketkeeper Steve Rixon as the chief coach and assisted by another Hyderabadi Abdul Azeem, Hyderabad Heroes have every reason to celebrate their triumph over the formidable Lahore Badshahs in the finals.

For a team which was unbeaten in the run-up to the final, it was made to eat the humble pie by a determined Hyderabadi side.

In front of a capacity crowd at the floodlit Lal Bahadur Stadium, Chris Harris-led local team turned the tables in a nerve-wracking second final after clinching a thriller in Panchkula in the first one.

Well, the ICL champion status may not mean much for these cricketers in terms of official recognition. But the fact that huge crowds lined up for the grand finale was proof of the popularity graph of not just the sport but also some of them like Rayudu and Indra Sekhar Reddy whose left-arm spin in the middle-overs was a revelation.

Or for that matter, Alfred Absolom’s dream spell of seven for 15 against Ahmedabad Rockets at home, which happens to be the best-ever figures for any Twenty-20 format, did win all-round applause.

And, when Rayudu and Reddy walked away with Rs. 4 lakhs each after being named ‘best batsman’ and ‘best bowler’ after the second final, it was a fitting tribute to their grit – considering the backdrop they joined the ICL.

That each member of the Heroes ended up roughly with about Rs. 40 lakhs as prize money (besides the contractual obligations) speaks volumes of the high stakes involved in the ICL too for the winner picked Rs. 2 crores and the runner-up Rs.1 crore.

Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board of ICL, now plans to have bi-lateral series in Karachi and Lahore. Clearly, ICL made a huge impact on the cricket-crazy fans of the twin cities and not surprisingly, the ICL tri-series featuring Indian XI, Pakistan XI and World XI is on here.

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