FITCH U19 Championship - Day 5 Review
Friday 21st December

Game 10 – Diasqua Little Sai Wan Cricket Club V Kowloon Cricket Club 9:30 am start at Tin Kwong Road Recreational Ground
The Kowloon Cricket Club elected to bat first after winning the toss, in a game that DLSWCC needed to win by a substantial margin if they were to make the finals. Both sides struggled with the absence of key players to the U19 CWC Qualifiers, DLSWCC managing to pull off their first win on Day 4 against Pakistan Association Cricket Club, whilst KCC still searching for their first win.
KCC did not get off to a great start, losing openers Aarush Bhagwat and Ahaan Trivedi in the PowerPlay for just 18 runs. Harpreet Singh and Adit Gorawara rebuilt the innings, as DLSW mixed up pace and spin will on a slow pitch. DLSWCC finally broke through in the 14th over, as Farhan Khan judged a skier off Harpreet Singh perfectly, and the very next ball they ran out Arjun Sharma for a diamond duck. 61/4 in 13.4, and DLSWCC were in a dominant position.
But that's when Adit opened up, and the HK U-19 skipper put on a unbroken 49-run partnership with seam bowling allrounder Vikas Sharma. They scored at over a run-a-ball, and together took KCC to 110 in their 20 overs, Adit ending on 42 and Vikas on 19. A stiff target giving the conditions, and all but eliminating DLSWCC from the finals in the process. They also set the stage for KCC to pick up their first win of the competition
They then got off to a great start - Malhaar Vora getting Saif Ali Khan stumped off a wide on the very first delivery of the chase. What followed was a fine back-and-forth battle between bat and ball. Munir Khan (34) held steady, and put on quick partnerships with Mehran Zeb (14) and Ursalan Abdul (21), taking DLSWCC to 56/3 in 8.3 overs in the process. However, Ahaan Trivedi then struck twice in two overs, and bowling in tandem with Harpreet Singh, brought the game back into balance, at 75/5 in 14 overs.
Needing 36 runs in the final 6 overs, Farhan Khan and Munir Khan both found the fence, and over the next three overs scored 26 runs. That should have been the game, but there was another twist left in the tale. Ahaan Trivedi secured a direct hit to runout Farhan Khan, and Ryan Gilkinson conceded just 3 runs from the 18th over. Gauransh Baveja then picked up two wickets in two balls in the 19th over, including a good catch by Trivedi, and conceded just 4 runs from it. Suddenly all three results were possible entering into the final over - DLSWCC needing 3 runs to win with 2 wickets in hand.
The drama didn't end there - after pinching a single first ball, Munir Khan was runout second ball trying to get back on strike - Trivedi the fielder yet again. 9 down and with 2 to get, the pressure was all on Faizan Khan, and after playing out another dot ball, he then nailed a drive back past the bowler and down the ground for four runs, getting his side over the line with just two balls to spare. A good win for DLSWCC in an exciting game, but nowhere near enough to get them into the finals. KCC ending this tournament with a couple of tight finishes, but unable to pick up a win.
Standout performances:•Adit Gorawara (KCC) (42 off 50 balls)
•Munir Khan (DLSWCC) (34 off 45) and (0 for 19 off 4 overs)
•Ahaan Trivedi (KCC) (2 for 19 off 4 overs and 2 run-outs)•Ursalan Abdul (DLSWCC) (21 off 12) and (1 for 7 off 2 overs)
Result:Diasqua Little Sai Wan Cricket Club 113/9 BEAT Kowloon Cricket Club 110/5 by 1 wicket | Scorecard

FINAL – Pakistan Assocation Cricket Club V Hong Kong Cricket Club 1:30pm start at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
HKCC won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan Association.
The experienced opening duo of Kabir Sodhi and Jhatha Subramanyan got HKCC off to a strong start putting on 46 for the first wicket. HKCC’s early momentum all but evaporated with the loss of both openers, their wickets falling in consecutive overs. Firstly with Sodhi being bowled around his legs by off spinner MS Rana and Jhatha, caught and bowled excellently by Navdeep Singh. This left HKCC at 46-2 after 9.1 overs.
R Sharma and H Ledger looked to rebuild adding another 21 runs. Just as HKCC were looking to push the innings forward Sharma was bowled by Navdeep, taking his second wicket in the match. This prompted collapse that saw the HKCC innings stall, going from 67-2 after 13 overs to 76-5 after 16 overs.
PACC continued to keep the pressure on the HKCC batsman but Harry Ledger still remained at the crease and carried with him HKCC’s hopes of posting a score above double figures. A mix up between batsman and a sharp piece of fielding by PACC fielder Aliyaan saw H Ledger run out for 18. HKCC now 90-6 after 18 overs. An eventful 19th over saw a further two wickets fall. By the end of the 20th over HKCC had crawled their way to 97 losing their 10th wicket on the last ball of the over.
With runs on the board HKCC knew that a couple of early wickets could allow them to put pressure on the PACC batting line up. PACC got off to the best possible start taking 12 off the first over but a break through by Harry Ledger, bowing Wajib Shafi in the second over gave HKCC the opening they had hoped for. Their celebrations were short lived as PACC started to build a partnership. The introduction of off spinner Hussain Khan in the 5th over gave saw PACC lose Ali Hussain, stumped by K Sodhi (32-2, 4.4 overs).
HKCC’s celebrations were again short lived with PACC batsman building yet another partnership. PACC looked like they had the run chase under control but run chases in finals are rarely straightforward. A run out followed by the wicket of key batsman Nasrullah Rana (27 off 23 balls), out LBW to the spin of Jhatha saw PACC innings stall. PACC going from 50-2 after 7.4 overs to 61-6 after 12.2 overs setting the stage for a tense and exciting finish.
As had been the case throughout the innings just as HKCC felt like they were getting into the game the PACC batsman would build a partnership. This time it was the work of Zain Mehar (13* off 23) and Sajjad Mohammad (15 off 16) who took the score through to 89 before Mohammad was out caught off the bowling of H Ledger. PACC 89-7 after 17.5 overs. With 9 runs required off the final 2 overs and 3 wickets in hand, the PACC batsman wasted no time in finishing the game, scoring the winning runs off the last ball of the 19th over.
PACC winning the game by 3 wickets and being crowned winners of FITCH U19 open championship. Jhathavedh Subramanyan awarded Player of The Tournament for being the leading run-scorer and join-second leading wicket-taker of the tournament, all while captaining HKCC to the finals.
Standout performances: •N Singh (PACC) 4-0-16-4•J Subramanyan (HKCC) 29 off 23 balls and 4-0-17-1•N Rana (PACC) 27 off 23 balls and 4-1-12-0
•D Sodhi (HKCC) 4-0-12-2
Result:
Pakistan Association Cricket Club 98/7 BEAT Hong Kong Cricket Club 97 a/o by 3 wickets | Scorecard

We would like to thank FITCH for sponsoring this exciting tournament, and all the clubs for taking part. It's been a fine exhibition of the young talent in HK cricket, and a great learning experience for all the players involved.