Match 5: The Philadelphians vs Empire State Titans

Empire State Titans : 189/6 (20.0 overs)

The Philadelphians : 190/5 (19.0 overs)

Philadelphians romp home with an emphatic victory over Empire State Titans

Idlewild Park presented a belter of a pitch with a lot to offer for the batsmen. Driven by overnight rain and moisture on the wicket, The Philadelphians chose to bowl first upon winning the toss in what turned out to be a belter of a batting pitch.

Philly's Trump Card Liam Plunkett struck early dismissing Titans opener Chaitanya Parwal thanks to a well judged catch by Hayat Khan in the deep. Titans opener Savan Patel made full use of the field restrictions as he belted boundaries across the park to score a 26 ball 46 including 3 sixes until he was dismissed by Philly's left arm spinner Abdul Jabbar. A period of consolidation was headed by Jaladh Dua as he stewarded the Titans' innings deep scoring a 32 ball 45 including 4 huge hits for sixes. The Philadelphians applied the brakes effectively as they pulled back the run rate with some sharp fielding and periodic wickets of Gauranshu Sharma, Kwame Patton Jr., and Ariful Haque. Haque especially falling victim to Liam Plunkett's razor sharp direct hit for a run out without facing a ball. Some late innings acceleration provided by Adil Bhatti(28 off 11) and Usman Ashraf(16 off 6) propelled the Titans' score to a competitive 189/6 off the alloted 20 overs. Liam Plunkett ended his spell with an impressive 2/25 off his 4 overs while Abdul Jabar complemented with 2/28 off his 4 overs making sure the Titans did not cross the 200 mark which looked possible at one stage.

While the score was daunting, the Philly unit went back with a quiet confidence. Philly openers who are also NY locals, Abdullah Syed and Derrick Narine launched one of the most explosive attacks scoring 30 off the first 2 overs. Derrick Narine hit an extraordinary 3 sixes until he was dismissed by Bhatti for a quick-fire and game defining cameo of 27 off 8 balls. Promoted up the order, another NY local and Player of the Match from the season opener, Chiranshu Bhatia took over the reigns after the dismissal of Abdullah Syed (25 runs off 17 balls). Chiranshu took calculated risks as he kept the required run rate well within control while dismissing the good and ball balls over the fence on demand. Chiranshu would be later be adjudged man of the match for his impressive 56 off 27 balls effectively neutralizing the Titans attack. Him and skipper Milind Kumar made sure Philly reached a score of 132 at the end of 11 overs requiring just over run a ball to complete the chase. Consecutive wickets of Chiranshu and Milind meant Philly still had some job to do with the game for a brief moment seeming to slip away from the hands of the Philadelphians. Philly's star WildCard and Mr. Reliable Jonathan Foo made sure there was no further collapse by scoring a brisk 24 runs off 14 balls getting the Philly close to victory. The formalities were then completed by Liam Plunkett and Abhayjit Khangura getting Philadelphians over the line with an over to spare.

The high spirited camp of Philly managed to shake off the ghosts of the Church St. Park roller coaster ride from the Independence Day weekend with a commanding victory chasing a big score and throwing the tournament wide open again. On to the next one !