Tanzania: Red Hot Chillies, Goodyear Meet in Cricket Final Or Indoor Cricket League Reach Final

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

Japheth Kazenga

31 March 2011

RED Hot Chillies and Goodyear cricket teams qualified for the final of the recreational indoor cricket league dubbed ‘Vodacom Test Series’ after grabbing hard fought victories over Oryx Poohs and Spur Tomahawks in semi-finals played in Dar es Salaam earlier this week.

The league, which started at the end of January, is one of three competitions organized with a view to supporting efforts to promote cricket in the country. Others are Coca-Coal ODI Series and Continental 20/20 Series.

Chillies had to overcome shaky batting to edge Poohs by four runs in the first semi-final as Goodyear too struggled against Tomahawks but went on to outclass the latter by three runs in an exciting second semi-final duel played shortly thereafter.

Poohs batted first in the first semi-final and scored 120 runs in the allotted 16 overs that witnessed plenty of solid batting particularly in the early stages.

The team had an encouraging run rate of six per one over, after reaching 30 runs in the first five overs despite experiencing stiff opposition from Chillies’ bowlers. Poohs had to come to terms with a couple of dismissals midway but then battled to triple digit total with two overs remaining in the innings, a score they did their best to hang on right up to the end.

Chillies were in for trouble during their turn with the bat as they were hampered by a series of dismissals via run outs and stumping right from the early stages. They hardly had any hope of reaching the target after managing 72 runs after 10 overs and had to bank on the batting tenacity by the low order batsmen to eventually bolster the chase.

The batting pair played the shots sensibly to guide their team to just three runs short of the target with an over remaining and with the rest of the team mates urging them on from the sidelines, they propelled the team to victory in the next three balls.

The second semi-final was equally entertaining in which Tomahawks failed to tame their opponents despite showing plenty of aggressiveness during their innings. They batted and posted 120 runs in 16 overs and then fielded zealously during their opponents’ innings but still could not prevent the latter from cruising to the win.

Goodyear fought to 123 runs in the innings to book their place in the final scheduled to take place this weekend. Chillies, whose presence in the semi-final was kind of a fairytale as they languished in the league’s low positions for long spells, have once again been presented with an opportunity to add silverware to their trophy collection.

Winning the top honour, however, depends on the team’s ability to summon aggressive batting style that won them two trophies during the last year’s competitions, given that they are likely to face tough opposition from Goodyear, another strong batting side in the league so far.

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