By The Arusha News Correspondent
A TO Z claimed the Arusha Region Cricket Championship 20-over trophy with an emphatic eighty wicket victory over ACC, thanks to a stellar all-round performance by their captain Guru Prakash at the St. Constantine Ground last weekend.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl, skipper Prakash set the tone by taking two crucial wickets and later returned with the bat to guide his team to victory with an unbeaten knock. Despite an early stumble in the chase, A TO Z comfortably reached the target of 163 runs with 37 deliveries to spare.
ACC, who had banked on a strong opening partnership between Shyam Soni and Jaimin Patel, struggled early against spin. Vijay Bhatt removed Soni in the second over, dealing a significant early blow. Although Jaimin tried to stabilise the innings with Sachin Aggrawal, their partnership was short-lived as Vijay Dhiman struck to end a quick 29-run stand.
Dushyant Singh then removed Aggrawal in the final over of the powerplay. Veer briefly kept the scoreboard ticking with a six over mid-wicket but was soon caught off the bowling of Prakash.
Prasad and Baraku revived ACC’s innings with a well-paced 56-run partnership that took the team to 78 for 4. However, after Baraku was run out in the 17th over, ACC lost momentum. Pandya and Prasad were dismissed in quick succession and despite a brief cameo by Surpreet Singh and Karimu in the death overs, ACC managed 162 runs in their 20 overs—a competitive but chaseable total.
A TO Z’s bowlers started well, with Karimu and Parimal removing both A TO Z openers early. At 22 for 2, Manikandan joined his captain Prakash at the crease and the two orchestrated a remarkable turnaround.
Manikandan launched a counterattack in the fifth over, hitting a six and a four off Bogineni Prasad, followed by a flurry of boundaries from both batsmen that brought 21 runs in that over alone. The onslaught continued, with A TO Z reaching 61 for 2 by the end of the powerplay.
From there, the partnership flourished with clean, aggressive stroke play. Neither batsman gave ACC a chance to regroup and the runs kept flowing at a brisk pace.
Prakash brought up a commanding 83 not out, featuring seven sixes while Manikandan remained unbeaten on 68. The pair chased down the target in just 13.5 overs, sealing win in dominant fashion.
Harshil Patel from Telugu was named Man of the Series, while ACC’s Veer Makwana took home the Best Batsman award. Azad Yogendra, also from Telugu, was awarded Best Bowler. The Man of the Match in the final was deservedly given to Prakash for his match-winning performance with both ball and bat.
