Kowloon Cricket Club (200/2 in 20 overs, Aizaz Khan 100*, Raag Kapur 2/27) beat Hong Kong Cricket Club (157/9 in 20 overs, Raag Kapur 48, Waqas Barkat 2/18) by 43 runs

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Fans at Mission Road were treated to a thriller of a game this Sunday, as PACC inched home against DLSW DLIT with just 2 wickets and 1 ball to spare! Electing to bowl first, PACC kept DLSW DLIT to just 100 in their 20 overs, but the DLSW bowlers were not deterred. They bowled brilliantly, lead by an inspiration spell from Ehsan Khan, and put the PACC batting under pressure throughout the chase. 47/2 after the powerplay became 94/7 after 19, and it all came down to PACC needing 4 runs to win in 2 deliveries, before number 8 Anas Khan belted a six over long-on to give his side their 3rd win in as many games.

They day started well for PACC, with skipper Tanwir Afzal calling correctly at the toss and electing to bowl first. PACC made one change to the XI that beat HKCC so comprehensively last weekend, bringing in Manjinder Singh for Hamed Khan. DLSW DLIT made two changes after their loss to KCC last weekend, bringing in young quick bowler Dhananjay Rao and top order batsman Amandeep Singh at the expense of Israr Ahmed and Ibraheem Ishaq Mohammad. Both Dhananjay and Amandeep playing their first PLT20 game of the season.

Nasrullah Rana was quick to validate Tanwir's decision, bowling out Shahid Wasif on the 3rd ball of the innings. A bad start for DLSW DLIT got worse - Waqas Khan was cleaned up by Tanwir for a duck in the second over, and Amandeep Singh dismissed by Rana in the third, caught Murtaza. After three overs DLSW DLIT were 5/3 and in serious trouble.

Skipper Ehsan Khan and newcomer Hussain Ikram rebuilt the innings with a breezy 41 run partnership in just 33 balls, Hussain entering double-figures for the first time in his HK League cricket career. DLSW finished the powerplay with 26 runs on the board, and after 8 overs they had 38 - a bit slow, but a decent recovery after the bad start. Young quick bowler Hassan Khan Mohammad was introduced into the attack, and struggled initially, conceding two wides and a boundary, before he struck to dismiss Hussain Ikram for 23. He conceded another 5 wides later in the over, but after 9 overs PACC were decidedly ahead - DLSW DLIT 53/4.

That's when Yasim Murtaza worked his magic. His next three overs -overs 10, 15 and 17- yielded 3 wickets for just 3 runs, as DLSW stumbled through the end of their innings. Ehsan Khan (15) and Mehran Zeb (11) were both caught behind, with Aftab Hussain (2) bowled, as Murtaza finished with figures of 3/11 in his 4 overs. After 17 overs DLSW DLIT were 80/8, and it took some late hitting from Ghazanfar Mohammad (12* with one six) and Dhananjay Rao (9 with two fours) to take DLSW to an even 100 in their 20 overs.

PACC would appear to be well ahead at the innings break - they had previously chased 86 in 6.1 overs against USRC, and 129 in just 14.1 overs against HKCC - but there is a reason matches between these two clubs are always so eagerly anticipated. DLSW start off strong in the defense, with Dhananjay Rao -opening the bowling in his first game- dismissing Ehsan Nawaz for 4 in the 2nd over. Babar Hayat joined Tanwir Afzal at the crease, and they proceeded to find the boundary regularly, but legspinner Ghazanfar stuck on the penultimate ball of the powerplay to send back the PACC captain for 16. After the powerplay, PACC were 47/2 and well ahead.

Enter Ehsan Khan. The DLSW DLIT captain brought himself into the attack, and began to reel off an incredible spell. He bowled 3 consecutive maidens, the second of which also brought the big wicket of Babar Hayat - stumped for 27. His final over conceded just 1 run, and he ended with remarkable figures of 4-3-1-1. A masterclass in finger-spin bowling. Meanwhile from the other end, left-arm spinner Aftab Hussain picked up the big wicket of Yasim Murtaza, bowled for 10, and by the end of Ehsan's fourth over PACC were 61/4 - needing another 40 runs to win in 7 overs with 6 wickets in hand. The dangerous PACC top 4 had all be dismissed, and Zeeshan Ali was in for his first innings of the tournament, batting alongside Daniyal Bukhari.

Zeeshan picked up a boundary off Aftab in the 14th over, but was bowled by Haroon Arshad in the 15th for 9, in an over that went for just 2 runs. After 15 overs, PACC were 70/5, and the required run-rate had crept above a run a ball for the first time in the innings. Aftab gave away just 3 runs in the 16th over, and the pressure was well and truly on. PACC needing 28 runs in the final 4 overs with 5 wickets in hand.

And that's when Manjinder 'Sunny' Singh made his presence felt. He hit a six and a four in 17th over off Haroon Arshad, and PACC took 15 runs from it, surging ahead to 88/5 and leaving themselves with just 13 runs needed in the final 3 overs. But there were more twists left in this game.

Ghazanfer returned to the attack, and struck right away, dismissing Bukhari LBW on the first ball of the 18th. Anas Khan joined Manjinder in the middle, and picked up a single, after which Sunny struck another boundary and then batted out the over. 93/6 after 18, and only 8 runs needed.

But this game was not over yet. Aftab Hussain returned for his final over, and delivered an excellent one - two dots and a single to Anas Khan, followed by another dot, and then the big wicket of Manjinder Singh - caught by Waqas Khan for 17. Nasrullah Rana was now out there to face the pressure. He saw off Aftab's final delivery, who finished his spell for figures of 4-1-11-2. PACC now needed 7 runs off the final over, and all three results were still possible.

Ghazanfar started the final over brilliantly, dismissing Nasrullah Rana LBW first ball, and bringing the young quick bowler Hassan Mohammad Khan to the crease. Hassan held his nerve, hitting his first delivery away a double, playing out a dot on the second, and then hitting a single on the third to get Anas Khan back on strike. PACC now needed four runs to win from the last two balls, and all three outcomes were still possible. And that was when Anas Khan delivered the final below - a hit over long-on to bring an end to an incredible game, and closing yet another chapter in this fantastic rivalry.

Man of The Match: Yasim Murtaza

- Nitesh Hemlani