On Saturday morning Tallinn Hippos played Eesti Tigers while on Ground 2 Tartu took on Tallinn Rising Stars.
Ground 1 Tallinn Hippos vs Eesti Tigers
The Hippos won the toss and surprisingly elected to bowl first. Habib Khan and Walid Khan got the Tigers off to a flying start with 55 from the first 6 overs before a bowling change saw both openers depart in the same Rana Rahman over. Habib Khan’s 39 off 19 balls was the highlight for the Tigers as their middle order struggled to deal with the Hippos slower bowlers with Juber Nevi (29) the only batsman outside the top 3 to reach double figures. They posted 131/9 off 20 overs with Rana Rahman, Richard Parkin and Mac Sedgwick each getting 2 wickets.
The Hippos run chase was a real team effort, with 6 players reaching double figures but none reaching 20 runs. Mart Tammoja top scored with 19 runs but it was Richard Parkin’s late 17 off 17 balls that allowed the Hippos to just get over the line. A massive straight 6 by Adam Dwyer with 3 balls remaining earned the win and 3rd place for the Hippos. The Tigers bowlers were excellent and were probably unlucky to not get them the win. Elias Hasan was the standout with 4/30 off his 4 overs including both openers.
Ground 2 Tartu vs Tallinn Rising Stars
Tartu won the toss and elected to bat and were in trouble early losing both openers with the score under 30. Casey Collins (16) and Mohammed Hasan (21) then combined to steady the innings and push the score past 60, before Kush Brahmbhatt (11) and Romeo Tanna (21) teamed up to get past 100. Tartu finished with 110/8 with Shebin Al Din and Nazmul Haque both picking up 2 wickets for the Rising Stars.
The Rising Stars never looked in trouble chasing, Partha Kar top scoring with 35 from 33 balls as they reached 111/3 off just 13 overs. Aditya Paul, Mohammed Hasan and Saimoon Quazi all picked up a wicket for Tartu.
Saturday afternoon’s games saw Tallinn United on Ground 1 against Viking Stars and Tallinn Stallions taking on Tartu on Ground 2.
Ground 1 Tallinn United vs Viking Stars
On Ground 1 Viking Stars won the toss and elected to bat unfortunately losing both openers within the first 3 overs. Sarfraz Ahmad (47) then combined with the Vikings middle order to push the total up to 121 before falling in the last over. The final sore for the Vikings was 127/6. Murali Obili and Mayur Borgaonkar picked up 2 wickets each for United.
United lost both openers in the 2nd over putting the Vikings well on top before Nand Lal (50) and Rohit Bhadoria (40*) shared in a 102 run partnership to put the game out of reach for the Vikings. Nand Lal fell with just 13 more runs required but Rohit Bhadoria guided his team to victory hitting the winning runs with a 4 in the 15th over. Saqib Naveed was the best of the Vikings bowlers with 2 wickets from his 3 overs.
Ground 2 Tallinn United vs Tartu
On Ground 2 the Tigers won the toss and decided to bat first. Habib Khan got off to a flyer with 27 from 9 balls before falling LBW to Rana Rashid. Walid Khan played a measured innings of 44 off 45 balls while regular wickets fell before Sahil Chuahan (20 off 19) combined with the lower order to push the total to 146/7. The Vikings bowlers kept the pressure on to keep the total down, with hadi Raja, Rana Rashid, Abdul Raziq, Tauseef Akhtar and Sarfaraz all getting wickets.
The Vikings lost a couple of early wickets before a good partnership of 74 runs between Waqas Rashid (42 off 35) and Norman Shabbir (28 off 34) pushed them within striking distance of the win. Waqas fell with 4 overs to play leaving Rana Rashid and Sarfaraz to chase 32 runs from 23 balls. They fell agonisingly short posting 141/4 and giving the Tigers the win by 5 runs. Elias Hasan picked up 2 wickets for the Tigers, while Ashraful Shuvo and Habib Khan picked up one each.
Sunday saw two 40 over games with Tallinn United and Tallinn Stallions on Ground 1 and Tallinn United Falcons against Eesti Tigers on Ground 2.
Ground 1 Tallinn United vs Tallinn Stallions
Tallinn United won the toss and decided to bat first on Ground 1. Wahid Nazir came out firing for the Stallions picking up both openers in the 3rd over before getting a 3rd wicket in the 5th over to leave United struggling at 31/3. Rohit Bhadoria (19) and Ayush Ummat (20) contributed well in the middle order but it was Murali Obili (29) and Mayur Borgaonkar (57) that pushed the score towards and eventually past the 200 mark. After a couple of late wickets for Ali Masood United finished all out for 227. Wahid Nazir’s 3/28 was the stand out performance from the Stallions bowlers.
The Stallions rarely looked troubled by the total with Saif Malik and Ali Masood calmly ticking off the runs required. Saif Malik took the United bowlers to all corners of the ground on his way to 103 before retiring himself. A couple of late wickets was not enough to slow the Stallions with Ali Masood bowled for 61 with just 6 runs required. Wahid Nazir (20) and Sarfaraz Ahmad (15*) both contributed with the bat to see the Stallions pass the required total off just 26.3 overs with 6 wickets in hand. Rohit Bhadoria was the best of the United bowlers with figures of 2/20.
Ground 2 Tallinn United Falcons vs Eesti Tigers
An extremely tight match between 2 teams locked on 9 points at the top of the table. The tigers won the toss and elected to bat first and they got off to a good start. Habib Khan (24) and Walid Khan (32) contributed from the top order but it was Moniruzzaman Monir with 68 off 90 that guided the Tigers to a competitive total of 192/8 off their 40 overs. The Falcons fielding was excellent, with 4 run outs helping to restrict the Tigers. Pranay Gheewala finished with 3 wickets.
Rifaq Khan started the Falcons chase brightly with 60 from 30 balls before some quick wickets to the Tigers looked to turn the contest back their way. The Falcons found themselves at 127/7 and in real trouble before Anurag Poudel (36*) and Anupam Rakshit (22) combined for a match defining 55 run partnership. There was late drama though, with Anumpam Rakshit falling lbw to Habib Khan with just 11 runs required. Up stepped Zahaan Khan who hit the first ball of the final over for 4 runs to win a dramatic match that confirms Tallinn United Falcons a spot in the F40 finals. Bejon Sarker was the best bowler for Tigers with figures of 3/29 from his 8 overs, Habib Khan and Walid Khan also picked up 2 wickets each.
