First step towards the title!

Greetings friends. Köln CC played its first bundesliga match after two years. And they won it in style. On Sunday, the 15th April, Köln CC played first 50 overs match of the 2018 season against Köln Warriors. The pitch and the ground was heavily loaded with morning dew and early morning showers. In such conditions Warrior captain Amir, won the toss and elected to field first. Unfortunately, Amir could only win the toss but not the match.

Köln CC, started their innings cautiously. Gaurav and Irfan, were watchful to begin with. The ball heavy. And to much of a surprise it was swinging quite late. In order to take on the bowlers Irfan perished early. This led the way to Rishi Pillai. Gaurav and Rishi formed a formidable partnership. The long grass of Chorweiler was stopping the ball from going to the boundary. Rishi started playing his shots but they were all restricted to ones and twos. On the other hand Gaurav was giving him a perfect company. The duo put on a partnership of 35 runs for the second wicket before Gaurav got clean bowled while guiding the ball towards third man. The partnership was crucial in terms of the game because it had consumed difficult overs of the day. Then the sun came out and it dried the outfield.

Soon Rishi also lost his wicket. Then came Köln CC captain Dhruv. He tried to anchor the innings. But he was loosing partners on the other end. Asmdin N Zadran and Satya, fell cheaply. Next incoming batsman Shrishail started building the partnership with Dhruv. However, when things were going smooth Dhruv got out while cutting the ball. Brilliantly taken by the wicket keeper of warriors. Then comes the showman Rahim.

Rahim not only scored fifty but also scored valuable 57 runs for the team. He played smartly with the tail with perfect combination of defense and attack. Rahim was the only batsman in the entire Köln CC line up who was able to clear the boundary. He was strongly supported by Jimit Patel at the end. They formed a match wining partnership of 56 runs.

But the story doesn’t end here. Köln CC bowled equally well as they batted. Rishi was pick of the bowlers who took first five fer of the season. He ended with figures of 5/30 runs in 8 overs. Rishi was well supported by Asmdin N Zadran who took 3 for 21 in his 7 overs and 1 wicket for our spinner Jimit Patel.

Köln Warriors were all out on 88 runs within 25 overs. This result handed Köln CC their first Bundesliga win in past two years. This match was also special for Dhruv, as he was named regular captain of Köln CC for the entire season (at least :P). The sunday marked first step for Köln CC towards the title. Wish us and support us for the journey. Adios amigos !!