Sunday 1s v Sonning CC Sunday As

Sunday 1s Fall Short Despite Late Heroics from Jenner and Malik

Sonning Sunday 1s posted 144 all out before Sonning CC Sunday As chased down the target with three wickets in hand at King George's Field on 24th May, winning a competitive friendly encounter between the two Sonning sides.

Asked to bat first after the visitors won the toss and elected to field, the Sunday 1s made a brisk start through Kranthi Yennaboini, who struck 19 from just 15 balls including two fours and a six before falling bowled to Isaac Jenner. Aashmit Ghosh continued the early aggression, clubbing 29 off 23 deliveries with three fours and a six, and together with Yusuf Malik put on 52 for the third wicket to push the score to 77. Ghosh was eventually bowled by Siddharth Kumar, and his departure triggered a dramatic collapse.

Elliott Shaw had earlier contributed a quick-fire 12 off seven balls before being caught by Kumar off Isaac Jenner, and from 77 for 3 the innings lurched to 98 for 8. Partha Pal was run out for 6, Piyanshu Desai was caught for 4 off Yuvraj Singh Kaur, Christopher Dowse fell for a duck caught by Richard Skeil off Kumar, Idris Malik was bowled by Sumit Sharma for 2, and Edward Duvall was cleaned up by Mohit Karangad for just 1. Yusuf Malik retired not out on 30 from 35 balls, a composed knock that included four boundaries, but he ran out of partners willing to stay with him.

Timothy Jenner rescued the innings from the lower order with an unbeaten 30 off 26 balls, stroking four fours in a vital ninth-wicket stand of 45 with Ismail Raza, who battled through 31 deliveries for his 6 runs. Their partnership dragged the total from 98 to 143 before Raza was run out by Qasim Anwar and captain Elliot Gray was bowled by Moksha Suriarachchi for a duck to end the innings at 144. The opposition bowlers shared the wickets around, with Isaac Jenner (2-14 from 3 overs) and Siddharth Kumar (2-16 from 3 overs) the pick, while Mohit Karangad was the most economical with 1-6 from 3 overs including a maiden.

The Sunday As' reply began explosively. Captain Richard Skeil launched into the bowling attack with 26 off just 14 balls, smashing three fours and a six before Ghosh bowled him with the score on 35. Suriarachchi and Karangad then took control with a commanding second-wicket partnership worth 68 runs. Suriarachchi was the more measured of the two, accumulating 32 from 34 balls with six fours before retiring not out, while Karangad struck 31 off 25 deliveries with five fours and a six before also retiring. Their partnership, supplemented by 31 extras including 14 wides and 7 no-balls, put the visitors firmly in the driving seat at 103 for 2.

The Sunday 1s fought back admirably through their less heralded bowlers. Edward Duvall produced a match-turning spell of 2-4 from his single over, dismissing Kirrthhana Yennaboina bowled and having Reyansh Setia caught by Raza. Ismail Raza then struck twice in quick succession, removing Yuvraj Singh Kaur and Krishna Manikandan, both caught, to finish with 2-10 from 1.5 overs. Partha Pal also chipped in with 1-5 from 2 overs, having Elias Haidari caught by Dowse. The visitors slipped from 103 for 2 to 140 for 7, raising hopes of an unlikely turnaround.

It was not to be, however, as Siddharth Kumar and Isaac Jenner steadied the ship with an unbroken eighth-wicket stand. Jenner struck a four as the pair nudged the score past the target, the Sunday As reaching 146 for 7 in 21.5 overs to complete the victory. Despite the loss, the Sunday 1s could take encouragement from the lower-order resistance of Jenner and Raza with the bat, and the late burst from Duvall and Raza with the ball that so nearly turned the match on its head.