Gemini maintain clean slate in MCL

Sharjah - Gemini posted 144 for 5 and reduced Virgo to 122 for 6 to win by 22 runs in front of stands which were almost 90 per cent empty.

If as a cricket aficionado you could not make it to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday afternoon to watch the Oxigen Masters Champions League (MCL) match between Gemini Arabians and Virgo Super Kings then you should thank your stars that you managed to do something better on your off day and feel sorry for the handful that turned up at the venue.
The reason being it was anything but a T20 match, especially after watching Virender Sehwag set the stage on fire the previous day. One could understand Gemini Arabians taking the match lightly as they had already qualified for the semifinals, but the manner in which Virgo Super Kings went about the match - especially as a win would have put them closer to the last four spot - it left a lot to be desired.
Lack of intensity on the field by way of dropped catches and poor planning when chasing a reasonable target made for very drab and sleepy moments.
Gemini posted 144 for 5 and reduced Virgo to 122 for 6 to win by 22 runs in front of stands which were almost 90 per cent empty. And on a holiday if that is the case then imagine the plight of the organisers on a working day.
Earlier on winning the toss, Gemini Arabians decided to bat. Skipper Sehwag kept to his word of giving other teammates a chance to have a strike in the middle while he dropped himself down the batting order.
Jacques Rudolph and Kumar Sangakkara opened the batting and though Rudolph scratched for his 10 runs from 18 balls, the in-form Sangakkara continued to garner runs at the other end, although with the help of dropped catches from the Virgo fielders. The Sri Lankan notched his fourth half century from five matches in the MCL. UAE's Saqib Ali benefitted from Sehwag's largesse and made the most of it by collecting 46 runs from 41 balls with the help of two sixes and two boundaries.
Malinga Bandara, Jacob Oram and Azhar Mahmood kept it tight in the middle overs to restrict them to 144 for 5.
It was an achievable target but Virgo were rocked early when their skipper Graeme Smith, who suffered a groin injury, departed after facing only two balls. Thereafter Neil Mckenzie tried to keep them afloat but Virgo were always behind the run rate.
McKenzie scored 46 from 42 balls (a six and three fours) and Hasan Raza chipped in with 28 but Kyle Mills, Paul Harris, Rana Naveed and Graham Onions didn't let them any freebies.
Speaking after the match, Mills said: "It was good to come out with a win. Getting the odd wicket throughout the innings meant they ha d to start all over again to build partnerships."
The New Zealander said the team could take a lot of positives from the match going into the semifinals. "Yeah, we can take a lot of positives from it. We have topped the group which is great. Another positive is the other guys got an opportunity and they stepped up so that's good for the team."
Virgo's top scorer Neil McKenzie felt the dropped catches and some tight bowling from Gemini proved their downfall.
"Had we held our catches it would have been nice. We do train hard with most of the guys having a safe pair of hands but these things happen," said McKenzie. "I think we bowled well to reduce them to 144 but then lost our way in the middle when batting. I don't think we went hard enough upfront in the first six overs but then the wicket started deteriorating and getting slower. And then you have Rana Naveed, Kyle Mills and Graham Onions bowling well at the death so it was really hard to hit them. They forced us to hit square and that's quite big.
"For our next match we have to go a lot harder in the first six overs. Losing Smith in the second delivery wasn't ideal. We were hoping Jacob Oram would come in and hit a few big ones but then I guess it was like asking too much from the lower order."
clareto@khaleejtimes.com