WITH the business end of the season nearing, Nishant Kumar and Limerick Cricket Club's 2nd XI were looking to continue their fine league form with victory over Clare in Adare on Saturday afternoon. With the first round of fixtures almost complete, Limerick knew another victory would take them within touching distance of finishing the first half of the season at the top of the table. A rain disrupted day however ensued, with an extremely damp outfield on arrival, umpires Paul McCutcheon and Simon Tiptaft agreed on a delayed start with light rain continuing to fall.
It was only in the late afternoon, some time around 3pm, when the rain had fully stopped and subsequently, both captains and umpires agreed on a 20-over game starting at 3.50. Visitors Clare won the toss and elected to bat first.
The opening bowlers for Limerick created some real pressure in the middle with the ball swinging around in problematic fashion. In fact, Kumar decided to bowl both his openers straight through, namely Waqas Mehmood and Ramoji Alla, after their combined spells resulted in five wickets. Ayan Ullah maintained pressure as he dismissed Muhammed Akbar for just four runs, as Clare struggled to get a foothold and meandered their way to a total of 96.
The opening pair of Arslan Sayyam and Karthik Karur provided a good response in the run chase, maintaining a good run rate and ensuring no early concession of wickets. Despite the departure of Sayyam for 18, Limerick chased down their target with nine .
