Warriors fall one wicket short against South Shore Royals

We won the toss at Parc Sorbonne and batted first, and 113/8 from our 25 overs never looked like a match-winning total on paper. Maninder Singh top scored with 24 from 47 balls, and Hemanth added 17 from 26 with a four before being run out. Everyone else scratched around: three of our top order fell inside single figures, and two more run outs did their bit to keep the score down. Rizwan Shaikh and Sukhdeo finished unbeaten on 8 and 5, adding 14 for the ninth wicket to drag us past the hundred.

It should have been enough. Raja Sukhdeo bowled all five of his overs for just 20 runs and took 6 wickets, running through South Shore Royals' middle and lower order almost single-handed. Rizwan Shaikh chipped in with the ninth wicket for 16 runs from his four overs. By the time Royals lost their ninth wicket they had crept to 113, needing one more run with only their number eleven, Tapabrata, and Ranjeet Singh left at the crease. Ranjeet Singh, unbeaten on 12 from 27 balls with a six, and Tapabrata, unbeaten on 0 from 10 balls, needed four balls and one run between them to finish the job and win it by a single wicket in the 23rd over.

Man of the match went to Edukondalu Muchumuri, who scored 22 from 19 balls with a four and two sixes in the chase and picked up a wicket with the ball. It was the sort of match where every dot ball mattered right to the end, and we were one hit away from turning it the other way.