Khalsa XI and RVSC take first blood in Crown Berger 20-20

Khalsa XI and Rift Valley Sports Club (right) started their RVCA Crown Berger 20-20 campaigns with convincing wins over the weekend.

Khalsa took on Melvins in he first game of the tournament and looked in control right from the start. Winning the toss, they opted to bat and put on an imposing 218/3 with all of their batsmen getting starts. Guniskar ? (30) and Nilesh Meta (29) laid the foundation before Kulveer ?(63) and Hassan ? (64*) put the foot down to leave them firmly in control going into the break.

Chasing such a big target, Melvins needed quick runs but instead lost both quick and regular wickets as the struggled to come to grips with the Khalsa bowling. Maulik ? (29) and Bhavesh ? (24) were the only batsmen to get into double figures as Guniskar completed a fine all round performance taking 5/24 while Vikash ? finished with figures of 3/12. Melvins were all out for 91 giving Khalsa a thumping 127 run win to start their season.

In the second game of the tournament, also played at the RVSC ground, the home side were simply too good for Swamibapa who only managed 99 batting first after winning the toss. The mysteriously named D.K was the best of Swamibapa's batsmen with 33 with the next highest score a mere 13. Sahil ? (3/7), Sterling ? (2/18) and Arfan ? (2/24) doing the bulk of the damage with the ball.

RVSC's reply never looked in doubt with Rahul ? (31*) and Luke (Nightingale?) (62*) easing the home side to victory without losing a wicket.

If any Rift Players read this, please note the number of players recorded in the scorecards and hence reports without their full names. Please try to encourage the scorers to include these as it makes it much easier for the rest of us to follow who has done what.