Limerick’s 1st XI picked up their second consecutive win yesterday, defeating Cork Harlequins in Adare by a margin of 33 runs, following on from their defeat of County Kerry four weeks ago. Prasad Hegde saw to a number of changes to this previous side and elected to bat first after winning the toss in a crisp, dry outfield at the Manor Fields.
Captains pictured before the game alongside umpires Archisman Bose (left) and James Spencer (right)
Limerick’s openers struggled with the new ball and the Shannonsiders found themselves in the familiar position of losing wickets early, after 15 overs Cork Harlequins had taken four wickets for just 38 runs and Sourabh Teke’s dismissal during the 20th over had the scoreboard reading 60-5. Nonetheless, a resilient partnership between Sumukh Venkatesh and Manoj Sharma lasted 14 overs and added 57 runs to the total before both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession as Venkatesh strided forward to be stumped after a missed shot from the bowling of Sumanasinghe. The tail couldn’t add as Sumanasinghe continued his good work with Limerick finishing on 122, setting a total of 123 for the visitors.
Limerick 1st XI vs Cork Harlequins: (Back row, l-r) Shozab Ali Taj (wk), Anvesh Bogavelly, Parth Borghare, Ajay Hari, Sourabh Teke, Manoj Sharma. (Front row, l-r) Ayan Ullah, Sumukh Venkatesh, Sarfraz Ramay, Prasad Hegde (Capt.), Karthik Karur.
Prasad Hegde opened with the new ball and ensured Quins’ response had early pressure, dismissing Kislay bowled in the second over. Limerick picked up their second just two overs later, Karur alert to the run out opportunity with a sharp throw to dismiss Hickey for 25-2. The scoreboard ticked over but the hosts continued to add to the wicket column, Hegde chipping with another before finishing his spell and medium-pacer Parth Borghare also taking the wicket of Powale and Joyce respectively, in consecutive orders, as the game opened up 65-5. With their backs to the walls, Hegde wisely opted for spin with the introduction of Ramay and Bogavelly paying instant dividends. Ramay, the pick of the bowlers, cut through the tail with some unplayable deliveries whilst Bogavelly followed suit from the other end as the final five wickets were clinched in as many overs, as Harlequins finished all out on a score of 89, falling short of their target of 123.
RESULT| MCU Premier League.
We defeated Cork Harlequins by 33 runs today.
Limerick 1: 122 all out off 38.3 overs.
Sumukh Venkatesh 38
Manoj Sharma 27
Cork Harlequins 1: 89 all out off 25.5 overs.
Sarfraz Ramay 3-7
Parth Borghare 2-9
* * *
Limerick’s women’s side had an emphatic end to their season as they secured a narrow victory on Saturday afternoon to see off County Galway and finish their second season on a high. The side had a number of changes from the Super Cup final, with Westmoreland’s injury enforcing a change in captaincy as Sana George, arguably the team’s best performer this year, was opted in to lead in from the front. After losing the toss, George and co. were put into bat first at the Manor Fields.
Limerick captain Sana George (left) pictured before the toss
The visitors started the brighter, taking the wicket of Shashikumar in the second over but the hosts quickly bounced back as George, batting herself at number 3, hit back to back boundaries in the following over to get her side up and running. George and Hewison carved out a brilliant partnership for the second wicket, batting almost two thirds of the allocated overs together and putting on 35 runs before Hewison drove a fullish delivery straight back to the bowler, with the score now at 40-2. George controlled the strike for the remainder of the innings, and her match-winning knock of 42* from 34 balls (6x4s, 0x6s) got the hosts up to 82-3 as their innings came to a close.
Limerick W vs County Galway: (Back row, l-r) Maria Van de Munckhof, Snighda Sibi, Sanjana Shashikumar (wk), Saadia Mehmood, Katy Hewison, Holly Westmoreland. (Front row, l-r) Avni Harishankar, Sindhusha Chandu, Sana George (Capt.), Sheena Van de Munckhof.
Galway’s response had a slow start, as the wicket of Maxfield in the second over slowed the side’s momentum, as she was run out by Sheena Van de Munkhof. The introduction of Sibi and Mahmood was timely for Limerick, as both completed some tight spells. Galway turned the tide slightly, scoring 28 runs on 4 overs to get them past 50-run mark at the turn of the 11th over. Limerick still used the run-rate to their advantage as Galway’s innings accelerated in the latter stages. The game was set up for a grand stand finish with the away side needing 7 runs off the final over to win as George brought herself back on for her third and final over. Kadam and Hannon managed to make 5 runs off the first 5 deliveries, leaving a double off the final ball to claim the victory, but George held her cool to dismiss Hannon off the final ball as her top edge sailed into the hands of Shashikumar to earn Limerick victory by the narrow margin of just 2 runs.
RESULT| MCU T15 Women's Superleague.
We defeated County Galway by 2 runs today.
Limerick W: 82-3 off 15 overs.
Sana George 42*
Katy Hewison 8*
Snighda Sibi 8*
County Galway W: 80-4 off 15 overs.
Sana George 1-14
Saadia Mehmood 0-5
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The reverse fixture for yesterday’s Premier League clash takes place next Sunday as
Limerick’s 1st XI make the trip to Farmer’s Cross to take on Cork Harlequins.
Elsewhere, Limerick’s three remaining teams will all be in action with the 2nd XI travelling to UCC, also on Sunday. The 3rd XI will look to continue their rich vein of form with a tough test against Nenagh in Knockshigowna and the 4ths wrap up the weekend with the visit of Cork County to Adare on Saturday afternoon.
