Chandigarh Lions clinch ICL opener

Chandigarh Lions 134 (Hall 31*, Mortaza 3-16, Abhishek 3-16) beat Delhi Jets 125 (Abbas 30, Tuffey 3-15) by 8 runs
Scorecard

Daryl Tuffey claimed three wickets and Andrew Hall two, apart from bowling a tight final over to kick off the Indian Cricket League in Panchkula. In a match where Indian cricketers matched their skills with international ones, the 'home team', Chandigarh Lions prevailed over Delhi Jets by eight runs.

It was a day for both sport and entertainment but the intensity was hard to miss. The fielding was of higher standard, compared to what's generally on display in domestic cricket, and Abhishek Sharma running out Imran Farhat was one of the plays of the day.

Chris Cairns and Marvan Atapattu sparkled, apart from Tuffey and Hall, but they had to slug it out against local talent trying to make a name. Ali Mortaza, a left-arm spinner from Uttar Pradesh who was an India Under-19 star till recently, impressed with 3 for 16, including a wicket off his first ball. Abhishek, the legspinner from Delhi, bagged three wickets too and JP Yadav, the former Indian allrounder, contributed with both bat and ball.

Abbas Ali, the grandson of the legendary Mushtaq and a mainstay of the Madhya Pradesh middle order, cracked three sixes towards the end to open the game up. Backing away from the stumps, he lofted the medium-pacers effortlessly to bring the Delhi Jets to within striking distance.

Hall, standing at midwicket, dropped a clanger off the first ball of the 19th over - when Rajesh Sharma swung wildly - but he made amends by conceding just five in the final over, when 14 were needed.

"I think he just wanted to be a hero and win it with the ball in the last over," joked the Lions captain Cairns when asked about the drop. "But I thought it was a great way to kick the tournament off. Good game, good crowd, good entertainment . That's all you ask for when you walk in for a match."