Batting woes continued for Limerick on Sunday afternoon where they were up against it from the outset against a well-drilled Midleton side at Midleton RFC. The home side’s attack was problematic after the new ball did damage to Limerick’s top order, with Nishant Kumar and Anvesh Bogavelly both being dismissed early. A procession of wickets continued into the middle order with only Sarfraz Ramay giving back the fight, his half-century from 82 deliveries was patient and constructed but didn't have the support of his teammates as wickets tumbled after drinks.
The scorecard told the story of the innings with Limerick’s largest partnership coming in at just 40 runs as the visitor’s scratched their way to a mere 106 all out, setting a target of 107.
Limerick’s bowlers performed admirably despite having a low target to defend, but Midleton used the scorecard to their advantage and fleshed out with some powerful hitting to make short work of the chase, reaching the target in just under overs.
RESULT| MCU Premier Division.
We lost to Midleton by 8 wickets today.
Limerick 1: 106 all out off 32.4 overs.
Sarfraz Ramay 52
Sourabh Teke 13
Midleton 1: 209-8 off 21.5 overs.
Prasad Hegde 1-21
Arslan Anwar 1-31
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Limerick’s 2nd XI came out the wrong side of their crucial game against Cork County on Saturday afternoon. Having strangled the opposition middle order at 115-8, a run chase seemed too tall a task with 94 runs to still obtain. A resilient stand for the ninth wicket brought it home to leave Limerick in despair and somewhat relying on results to go their way to be back in with a chance of winning the league and completing a Junior double.
Nishant Kumar captained the side once again and was fortunate enough to win the toss once again. He elected to bat as forecasted conditions predicted dry spells for most of the day. Openers Arslan Sayyam and Karthik Karur negotiated the first few deliveries well before Karur was adjudged for a slight nick off the outside edge in the second over. Sridhar and Sayyam stabilised things in the middle with a stand of 31. Sayyam went on to make 50 in as many deliveries against a skillful and willing attack. The middle order ensured contributions merged into partnerships with Sumukh Venkatesh in particular putting the foot down and anchoring a late surge from his accomplices. An increased run-rate in the final few overs meant a target of 209 could be set.
Sumukh Venkatesh pulls a short delivery down to fine leg for 4
In response, the opening pair of Alla and Mehmood got the better of the opening exchanges. Alla was hitting a great line and length from the road end which caused many problems for the County top order. His opening figures of 3-24 was tone-setting whilst Sumukh Venkatesh and Dharmesh Patel started to make bits of the batsmen to follow. Patel struck to break two significant partnerships, getting ready of the dangerous Joshi and Singh thereafter. The dismissal of Monmand for a golden duck next ball put Limerick in touching distance of the finish line with County 8 down and a long way from home.
Ramoji Alla bowled a tight spell on Saturday to give Limerick an incredible start
The game started to turn on its head with some aggressive hitting from the County pair of O’Sullivan and Safi, with plenty of overs to go the hosts knew that they were one big partnership from stealing a victory and making an almighty comeback. Changes were wrung in the bowling unit but to no avail as the breakthrough was elusive for the visitors with every over passing a mini-victory for the hosts. With County 30 runs or so shy of their target, controversy ensued when an attempted prod to mid-wicket was quickly snaffled by Kumar, whose excellent throw resulted in a directed hit as County attempted a quick single. What seemed a sure dismissal was deemed not out, despite the appeals and protests of the fielding side the decision was maintained and what soon became a huge talking point after the game.
County continued to push the ball around and finished off their chase with five balls remaining, a gutted Limerick side left the field dismayed. The victory for County means they leapfrog Limerick to the top of the table with two games remaining.
RESULT| MCU Division One.
We lost to Cork County by 2 wickets today.
Limerick 2: 208 all out off 44.5 overs.
Arslan Sayyam 55
Sumukh Venkatesh 50
Cork County 2: 209-8 off 44.2 overs.
Ramoji Alla 3-29
Dharmesh Patel 3-43
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Limerick’s 3rd XI were back on home turf for their Division Two clash with local rivals Limerick Blasters on Sunday afternoon. Captain Waqas Mehmood was looking to rally his side to an end-of-season burst with just a few games remaining and higher positions in the league up for grabs. His side were put into set the target after losing the toss in mixed conditions in Adare.
The hosts started slowly as Salman and Nagaraju tried to control the game from the middle. Nagaraju was unable to get off the mark and was given out LBW on his 14th delivery. The loss of Pawar at 30-2 was recovered well however, as Shayan Malik partnered Salman at the crease to put on 53 for the third wicket. Malik continued to anchor the innings after Salman was bowled by Mohan for 42, and the youngster’s 44 from 81 balls steered his side in the right direction. The tail added some impetus in the back of the innings, Mehmood made a breezy 20 from 27 to add some impetus to the batting but Limerick might have felt they were somewhat short of par making 149.
The Blasters had a firm response with their openers, who negotiated the first ten overs well to leave the score at 25-0. The game turned on its head drastically in the space of just a few minutes, as Neeraj Kumar took three wickets in just five deliveries to bring Limerick into real contention. Kumar finished with a brilliant spell of 3-18 from 8 overs and was backed up by Dwarakanath and Chandra at later stages who both picked up one apiece.
At 145-5, Blasters looked home and hosed with just 26 runs remaining with 8 overs remaining. Again, Limerick did not give in, with Waqar Ahmed chipping in with two wickets as the game balanced out again. A run out just moments later set up the ultimate climax, the score at 137-9 and Blasters left with their final two batsmen. A resilient Limerick plugged away and earned a deserving final dismissal with the Blasters just 4 runs short of victory. It was a thrilling victory for Mehmood and co. who were on the receiving end of a similar game against Nenagh last weekend, the 3rd XI amended their errors to earn the narrowest of wins in what was a nail-biting affair.
Limerick’s 4th XI were unable to make it consecutive wins as they suffered defeat at the hands of an experienced Clonmel side in Lisronagh on Saturday afternoon. A spirited bowling performance didn’t yield the wickets it deserved as the Shannonsiders failed to breakdown a fifth-wicket stand of 125 runs which propelled the hosts from 35-4 to 160-5, ultimately ending up on 249-9.
RESULT| MCU Division Three.
We lost to United Cricket Clonmel by 181 runs today.
United Cricket Clonmel 2: 249-9 off 40 overs.
Deepak Nagaraju 4-34
Waqar Ahmed 2-32
Limerick 4: 68 all out off 22.2 overs.
Jeevan Krishna 15
Skandan Lakshmanan 7
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Next weekend sees two senior teams in action, the 2nd XI will be back on their home patch in Adare with their final league game against Cork Harlequins on Saturday. The 4th team will be the other side in action where they will make the short trip to Ballyneety to face off against the Limerick Blasters, taking place on Saturday afternoon also. Finally, the U15 and U13 sides will return to the field in a double header on Saturday against Cork Harlequins at Midleton RFC.
