T

he TATA Motors JCA League games this weekend saw current cup holder KLN WISCI open its account on the points table while WPP India XI consolidated its position in Division 1.

In Division 2, Jaguars CC drew up its second consecutive victory.

In the first game played at Cibubur on Sunday, WISCI took on the might of Senayan Lions. Desperately needing to gain points from this game to give itself a realistic chance of staying in the competition for the championship title, it needed a herculean effort to come up trumps in the keenly fought battle.

Relying on the strength of its batting and choosing to take first strike upon winning the toss, the Lions were hoping to run up a massive score. However, an impressive bowling performance by WISCI ensured that the Lions lost wickets regularly before being eventually bowled out for 201 runs in 29.3 overs.

Deepak Singh fast medium bowler reaped a reward of 5/34, supported by Aman Singh who took 2/22. For the Lions, with the big guns failing, Malcom (33 runs), Amrithanand Mandook and Amar Kapadia (29 runs each) provided some support with the bat.

Needing 202 runs to win, it needed the WISCI top order to come good when batting. This was amply provided by Viraj Bhammar and Rajeev Rajeswaran, whose 173 run partnership for the second wicket, ensured that the target was achieved comfortably with three overs to spare and eight wickets in the kitty.

Despite Rajeev'€™s innings of 82 runs being cut short by a run-out with his team 18 runs shy of the target, the ever dependable Viraj carried his team through remaining unbeaten on a well-made 82 runs, thereby giving WISCI its first win of the season in its third match.

In a crucial game played between WPP India XI and Jakarta Barbarians at the GMIS Grounds, both teams needed a win to get ahead of the other. Winning the toss and batting first, the Barbarians were kept on a tight leash by the WPP Bowlers, whose impressive bowling performance made run scoring difficult.

With just 12 runs scored off the 8 power-play overs, and a fine restrictive bowling by WPP skipper Dhiraj Nagpal (2/23 off seven overs) the Barbarians inched along to 98/3 in 24 overs. Enjoying an early reprieve, Ben Burgess (55 runs), then stitched up an aggressive partnership with Jared Seiffert (47 runs) that powered them to a competitive 206/7 in 35 overs.

In response, the WPP'€™s chase looked wobbly as the Barbarians kept pegging away at the wickets. Led by Jared Seiffert'€™s 4/33, the Barbarians were making a match of it, until a fine knock of 52 runs by Vasudevan Parthasarathy and 45 runs by Vinayak (Ajay) saw WPP canter home by two wickets in the 31st over.

Earlier on Saturday, in a Division 2 fixture at Cibubur, the Jaguars CC took on Challengers CC (CSK). Batting first on a dry Cibubur wicket, the Jaguars were off to a flying start as they reached 100 runs by the first drinks break, losing just one wicket.

Lead by Dhimanshu Raghuwanshi who scored 75 runs, the Jaguars motored along to 206/5 in 24 overs, which set the stage for big hitting batsman Sridhar Sasikumar to take charge.