CAG pulled off a remarkable 32-run win over defending champions Chemplast in the BCCI Corporate Trophy final 2013-14. Imtiyaz Ahmed claimed five for 21 to help bowl his team to victory after CAG were bowled out for 210 in 46.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium.
Defending the total, Rituraj Singh and Imtiyaz Ahmed left Chemplast reeling on 30 for four. Brought in at first change, Imtiyaz claimed Murali Vijay and Mayank Agarwal, while Rituraj sent back K H Gopinath and Einstein N. But Robin Bist and C Hemant Kumar stemmed the fall of wickets with a 52-run partnership until Imtiyaz struck again and removed Bist.
However, captain Hemant Kumar dropped anchor and rallied on to keep his team in the game. He then worked to salvage the innings in partnership with R Satish. The pair had taken the team to 133 when Rituraj Singh ended their stand. After being hit for consecutive boundaries in the powerplay over, he had Satish caught behind the stumps. The wicket brought Piyush Chawla to the crease and the lower-order batsmen kept the match hanging in balance with his captain for company. The pair took their team to 169, which is when the key wicket of the Chemplast captain was claimed by his opposite number.
It was left to the experienced Chawla to take the team across the line with the lower order. But the CAG bowlers maintained a stranglehold on the batsmen. Saxena bowled his quota of 12 overs and saved Imtiyaz for the end overs. With 42 required off 43 balls, Sandeep Sharma had joined Chawla in the middle, and while the duo looked to inch towards the target, the CAG bowlers bowled tight overs backed by good fielding. Biplab Samnatray then gave CAG a crucial breakthrough by sending back Chawla and Saxena bowled the next over maiden. In the next over, Imityaz, who was brought back into the attack with CAG needing two wickets to win, removed R Suthesh and P Parameshwaran to bowl Chemplast out for 178 and claim the trophy.
Earlier, asked to bat first, the CAG batsmen were kept on their toes by Cheplast’s new-ball bowlers Sandeep Sharma and R Suthesh. Sandeep bowled a miserly first spell, which read 7-4-8-2. He got the ball rolling with the wicket of Saxena. The pacer swung the ball and asked questions of the batsmen as he kept the flow of runs in check. Chemplast had the opposition struggling on 56 for three, but Rameez Khan trudged along and held up one end. He scored 41 before being sent back. Having bowled the opposition out in less than 50 overs, Chemplast had kept them 20-odd runs short of what would have been a tough target.
Man of the Match: Imtiyaz Ahmed for his five-wicket haul
