http://blog.incheon2014ag.com/incheon-cricket-cup/
Incheon cricket Association is
organizing cricket tournament for the cricket lovers every year to promote the
cricket game in Korea since 2011. This year also the ICA organized a magnificent
tournament for the internationals in which 08 teams with different nations participated
with great zeal. Incheon Eagles, Anzik Tigers, Arrirang Fighters, Seoul Exiles,
Broughton’s11, Pacific Storms, Hanyang Strikers and 11K were selected to take
part in the ICA tournament 2013. Most of the players were from Pakistan, India,
Srilanka, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Every Sunday two
matches were played from August to October, 2013. On 29 September, 2013 the
final match was played between Incheon Eagles which was comprised of Pakistani
players and Broughton’s 11 which was comprised of Srilankans. It was a tough
contest between the defending Incheon eagles and the unbeatable Broughton’s. After
a tough match Broughtons 11 defeated Incheon eagles and stood 1st
and unbeatable throughout the tournament. Sunday 20th October was the
distribution ceremony day for the winning, runner up and 3rd
position holders. At this moment a friendly match was played between the Korean
national team and Incheon eagles.
I along with Shahid Gil, Omer
Salman and Rashid were the officials for this match. It was a nice Sunny day and the conditions
were perfect for the cricket match. The cool breeze with sunshine and the
colorful dresses of players made the scenery worth watching. Both the teams
were excited to play this friendly match. It was believed that Korean national
team would depend on their bowling as they have a nice attack and fascinating spin
bowling while the Incheon eagles have both amazing batting and bowling. Captains
of both the teams shake hands and the toss was executed. Korean national team
won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Khalid and Asif Iqbal opened the
account for the Incheon eagles. Asif who is considered as a strong hitter of
the new bowel was amazing throughout the tournament. Khalid was struggling at
the other end, however they provided a remarkable start to their team. Gyeongstak
was the fast bowler from Korea who was in nice form since his visit to India
and is considered as the strength of Korean team. The batsmen of Incheon eagles
did very well. They played fabulous stroke all around the ground. Khalid leads
the score with an average of more than 8 per over, while Asif provide him a good
stay at the other end of the wicket. The score was 76 in 07 overs when Teakwan
was brought into the bowling and he got the wicket of Khalid who was trying to
pull the bowl out of the boundary. This was an outstanding delivery from left
handed bowler who took the first wicket of Incheon eagles. It was like the
first drop of rain because Incheon eagles were really struggling after the
first break up and their wickets falls down in a quick manner one after the
other. The Taekwan trapped Asif in his next over with a superb bouncer, leading
an edge form his bat into the gloves of keeper. Shahzad was the next batsman
clean bowled by Taekwan with a tremendous Yorker. At that moment the score of
Incheon eagles was 95 and it seemed they would hardly cross the 120 runs mark
because the captian of the Incheon eagles was cought behind by after a
remarkable delivery from Jiwon he made 13 runs. The Korean National team was on
fire they did a great come back, as it was supposed at a time that the Incheon
eagles will easily make 200 plus , however they showed great skills of cricket with the outstanding
bowling and fielding. Mudassar and altaf took the score to 110 in 16 overs,
when altaf was run out. One thing was surprising about the Korean National
Teams that they had made a great success in improvement their fielding. Naeem,
Aamir and Mohsin also went back after striking spell by Taekwan and Jiwan
without making a marked increase in score. The Korean National Team restricts
Incheon Eagles to 122 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. This was a
great success of the Korean national team. The best bowling figures for Korean national team
were from Taekwan who took 5 wickets in 4 over giving 7 runs and Jiwan who
caught 2 wickets after giving 14 runs in 4 over. The most successful batsmen’s
of the Incheon Eagles were their openers Khalid who scored 42 runs and Asif
Iqbal who played an outstanding knock of fast 28 runs.
There was a lunch break for the
officials and players after the end of the Incheon eagles batting. Pakistani
food including chicken Biryani and kebab were offered to all the players and
officials. A large number of school students were invited to watch the cricket
match between Korean national team and Incheon Eagles to develop their interest
in the game of cricket. Lunch was also offered to the kids who really enjoyed
the kebab.
After the break the Korean
national team bating was started. It seemed to be a tough target as the Incheon
Eagles have a great side of bowling having some speed stars like Mudassar,
Altaf, Aamir and Shahid. On the other hand Korean batsmen’s who are still in
the learning process have accepted this as challenge. Their opening pair of
Korean national team Suin and Ihewan took a very nice start in a much confidential
way. They were very careful and didn’t play unnecessary shorts. They were
vigilant in making selection of strokes. The captain of Incheon eagles made
some quick changes in their bowling rounds as they have a number of bowlers to
test. The opening partnership of Korean national team was broken by altaf in
the seventh over troubling the rhythm of the Korean top order having 40 runs on
the score board. The next wicket gone was the opener Ilhawn who finished his
account with 22 runs. After the fall of two wickets the Korean batsmen’s could
not survive and their wickets fell down on regular basis as the altaf , naeem
and mudassar bowled exceptionally well. Soochan tried to give a hop to his team
with Jiwan but Naeem bowled Jiwan with a remarkable delivery. He was the most
successful batsman from the Korean national team by scoring 33 runs after
facing 32 deliveries with a very good strike rate of 101. After the collapse of
the top order bating line up the Incheon eagles bowlers windup the Korean national
team easily. The match went to a crucial level in the final overs when the
Korean national team needed only 6 runs to win and that moment was a
breathtaking for both the teams; however the quick loss of wickets brought damage
to Korean national team and the Incheon eagles won the match by 6 runs. Korean
national team had still 2 wickets to bat but because of the end of 20 overs
well before they chased the target. Over
all it was a fantastic match of cricket, loss or win is the part of game but
players of both the teams won the hearts of audiences with their spectacular
moves specially the fielding of Korean team and batting and bowling of Incheon
eagles was praised by everyone.
Closing ceremony of the Incheon
Cricket Cup tournament 2013 was held just after the match to distribute trophy
and cash prizes among the winner, runner up teams and the outstanding players
of the tournament. The chief guest of the ceremony was the honorable mayor of
Incheon city. In his speech he mentioned that it was a great effort from the
Incheon cricket Association by gathering such a large number of people and
introducing and promoting cricket in the region. He showed his gratitude to the
entire foreigners and the Korean National team players for attending this great
event. He thanked the school organizers
and the children who came all the way to watch this cricket match. He said we
are trying our best to make the Incheon Asian Games 2014 worth memorable.
The best batsman award was
presented to Hammad Ullah of Hanyang Strikers while the best bowler award was
handed over to Shahid from Incheon Eagles with 200,000 Won cash prize. The First Position trophy along with 2000000
Won was received by the Caption of Broughtons from Srilanka. The runner up
trophy was received by the Captain of Incheon Eagles, with 10, 00,000 Won. The
3rd position holders, Hanyang Strikers received 500000 Korean won.
There were souvenirs for all the
participants of the closing in the form of cricket bat. The tournament was
closed officially by the remarks of the Incheon Cricket Association president
with the hope that next year this tournament will be arranged with more
participation from the cricket lovers.
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