Moufflons gain rare victory over Mustangs

Mustangs played their first match of the T20 league on Sunday and were comprehensively beaten by Moufflons, who won with 7 wickets and 6.4 overs to spare.

This result seemed unlikely after the first few overs of the match. Murtaza bowled Happy with the first ball of the game, but then Rupinder batted with his usual style to make a rapid half-century, and a huge total appeared likely.

However, once Murtaza bowled Rupinder for a splendid 62, the bowlers took a grip. Wickets fell regularly and the run rate slowed. Spinners Sohel (1-13) and Imran (3-16) bowled excellent spells, and Hardeep had a dream debut, with 2 wickets for only 6 runs in his 4 overs, as well as effecting two run outs and taking a catch.

Mustangs were all out for 144 in the 20^th over, leaving Moufflons a decent chance if they could bat sensibly.

In fact they began explosively, with Murtaza out in the second over for 23, putting Moufflons ahead of the clock. But two more quick wickets swung the game towards Mustangs, before the rot was stopped by another debutant, Shah, who batted calmly and provided the perfect foil for his captain, Muhammad.

The pair ran well between the wickets, as well as despatching the bad balls to the boundary, and surely and steadily put Moufflons in control of the match.

Eventually Muhammad cut loose and raced to 58 not out, with 5 sixes and 5 fours, as Moufflons passed their target in only the 14^th over. The winning hit brought up the century partnership, with Shah undefeated on an invaluable 38.

This was Moufflons’ first win over Mustangs for some time, and will put them in good heart for their meeting with early joint-leaders Fellows next week.