vs Vestli B - T20 Championship (Div 3) Match 1
When: Wednesday May 1st, 2023
Where: Rommen
Aliens 137/7 (20)
Vestli B 142/4 (19)
Vestli B Ck won by 6 Wickets
The first match of the 2023 T20 season kicked off at a rather lush Rommen, with the start of seasons surface looking unfamiliar to the more accustomed pacey outfield. Coming up against a strong Vestli B outfit, Aliens welcomed two new faces for their first club league appearance in Pratik and Ranjit. Spirits were high to start the occasion, including a number of clubmen arriving at the game over 90 minutes beforehand eager to get into the nets to ensure sharpness.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, newcomer Pratik and stalwart Dennis opened the batting. Unfortunately, the pregame net session and hype got the best of Pratik, who knicked off 3rd ball soon followed by Tom getting castled and the Aliens found themselves in a tricky 2/1 situation 2 overs into the game. A strong rebuild between Dennis and Damon saw 50 put on in the next 7 overs before Dennis was stumped off the bowling of the young spinner.
Another 50 run partnership between Damon and Anshul saw the score creep over 100 in the 16th over. A late push of runs and wickets saw the Aliens finish on a modest 7/137 to close out the innings. Damon top scored with an impressive 68(53).
Dennis and Ranjit took the new ball to start the innings. The all too familiar start of season fielding jitters too center stage, with 3 dropped chances in the initial overs lead to a quick start for the Vestli side before their opener fell for 28(16) to Ranjit and the next over Dennis picking up another to have the chasing side 2/35 off the first 5 overs.
A combination of tighter bowling and ipad scoring issues was the theme of the middle overs, putting the Aliens back into the contest, with Vestli not crossing the 100 mark until the 14th over. A few leaky overs and some power hitting there after saw Vestli seal the win with 6 balls to spare. Dennis, Ranjit, Tom and Benan picked up a wicket each. Aaron finished with a tidy 0/10 off 4 overs.
Despite not the best start with both batting and fielding innings, there was many positive signs for the Aliens to start the season. Morale was high to finish, and everyone is optimistic about the season ahead.
