I had faith in my spinners: Dhaliwal
Gwalior skipper admits his team was 20 runs short of a par score on a batting deck at Roop Singh Stadium but 152 was still good enough.
It was travesty of justice of sorts for VBS Purvanchal university, Jaunpur on Saturday night. In spite of winning the Best Batsman (Praveen Dubey) and Best Bowler (Pradeep Jaiswal) awards, Jaunpur ended up on the losing side against Jiwaji University, Gwalior. The 12-run victory puts Gwalior in contention for a semifinal berth in the Toyota University Cricket Championship. By contrast, Jaunpur' third match Aligarh on Sunday will only be of academic interest.
Gwalior were lucky to pull off a 12-run win against Jaunpur. On a batting paradise at Captain Roop Singh Stadium, the home team managed 152 for five in their 20 overs and skipper Sohraab Dhaliwal admitted his team was much below a par score.
"We were certainly 20 runs short. Our target was 175 but we couldn't get there. We should batted better on a wicket like this," the Jiwaji University captain said. Dhaliwal credited his slow bowlers for the win against Jaunpur. "We had a lot of faith in them and particularly the slow bowlers who did really well," he added.
In spite of leaking runs, the skipper himself got two crucial breakthroughs. "I was changing my bowlers quickly because we were defending a low score. I just trusted my instincts and was lucky to get two crucial wickets when we needed them most," Dhaliwal said.
Jiwaji's Prashant Mavai deservingly got the Man of the Match award for a brilliant all-round show. He scored a 31-ball 36 and took 2 for 18 to remain Gwalior's most potent weapon in this tournament. "I was determined to be the Man of the Match today," he said. "But we need to do better as a team if we have to stay in the tournament," was Mavai's careful observation.
Jaunpur skipper Birendra Singh was a disappointed man after his team's second straight defeat.
"We gave away runs too early and when we batted, lost wickets when we should have played more sensibly. I am to be blamed too," Singh said.
Gwalior skipper admits his team was 20 runs short of a par score on a batting deck at Roop Singh Stadium but 152 was still good enough.