It is springtime in Barcelona. Blooming Gardens, and the sun is bright. Cricket season 2023 has started, and Men in blue is all set to take the charge with high spirits. We played our first game on 5th March agaisnt Llieda Tigers in Vidreras. The match started in the afternoon, batting first we put 169/9 runs on the board. The openers and middle order were not so impressive. Amit on top and Pandi in the middle, with some good knocks, made it possible to reach a fighting score. Llieda Tiger’s bowler did a good job, taking wickets on regular intervals and restricting the opponents from scoring. Llieda Tigers started the batting very comprehensively, scoring to every corner of the ground. Some easy dropped catches were making it easier for them to score. The top order was damaged by Amit and Surya. Smart and decent bowling by the MIB bowlers was making it very difficult to score runs. Llieda tigers finished with 165/7in their 25 overs, and MIB registered the first win of the tournament.
MOM: Amit Kumar – 28 runs and 2 wickets
Our second match was against the most famous and competitive team of the tournament, PakIcare. The match was scheduled in Vic and later shifted to Sabadell. Batting first, MIB put a big total on the board: 262/9 in 25 overs. The batting order did a good job in maintaining the run rate. The opening side gave a good start to the team, and the middle order carried through. The batsmen were showing confidence and scoring easily. The spinners from PakIcare were bowling pretty well and not at all predictable, trying to put some breaks on the scorecard, and took some crucial wickets. We did what we thought of, putting up a good and challenging score for PakIcare. Batting second, PakIcare was already feeling the pressure. It was a smart bouncer from Abhishek, Sikandar was not ready for it and an easy catch went to the keeper(Prasanna). First wicket in the first over, the batting side already feeling the pressure. Soon the other opener is back to the pavillion, the same combo did the damage, bowled Abhishek and catch Prasanna. It was unfortunate for PakIcare, their batting order collapsed drastically, and there was not much effort to fight. PakIcare all out for 67 in 14 overs; we won the match by huge margin. The MIB bowlers were very impressive and put on a good show. It was a complete display of team effort by MIB.
MOM: Abhishek Borikar- 11 runs, 3 wickets
As a MIB family we would like to wish and congratulate Surya Balu for getting a invite from Middlesex County. We wish you all the very best in your future endevours. The competition continues, with new challenges to discover. So stay tuned, more updates will arrive, as the season progresses.