Rahul Chopra’s unbeaten 90 steers MGM Cricket Club into the semifinal

By K.R. Nayar

Twenty-five-year-old Rahul Chopra in his debut season for MGM Cricket Club played a stupendous unbeaten knock of 90 to put on the brakes on The Vision Shipping and reach the semifinal of the CBFS powered by Fancode T20 tournament. MGM, who finished third, will now take on InterGlobe Marine, the second-placed team, in the second semifinal on Sunday.  Rahul Chopra dominated The Vision Shipping bowling despite wickets falling at the other end. His 47 balls knock had seven boundaries and five sixes and that helped MGM post 200 for 4 as well as restrict The Vision Shipping to 151 for 9 and win by 49 runs. 


This well-c0ntested tournament’s first semifinal between Brothers Gas, the table-toppers, and fourth-placed Karwan Blues will also be held on Sunday. The final will be played on Monday.

Speaking about his knock that lifted his team to the semifinal, Rahul Chopra said: “I played my natural game. Our team’s aim was to post a total over 170 runs, and I was delighted I could contribute to my team's score of 200 runs. I am not disappointed at not getting a century since that was not in my mind at all. My aim was to keep scoring runs for my team.”


A delighted MGM Cricket team owner Malik Ghulam Mustafa said: “In the MGM team we have some big guns and Rahul stood out in this match. This is his first season with us. He joined the MGM team in July 2021. The others are Ansar Khan, Waqas Ali, Mayank Choudhary, and Niaz Khan. They have all clicked in one match or the other. Adeel Malik hasn’t clicked yet and hopefully, we may see a good knock from him soon. We will try and win the semifinal, and if we reach the final we will win that too.”


MGM Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat. Opener Ansar Khan fell in the second over, caught by Junaid Shamsu at long-off off Jawad Ghani, for 5. Opener Adeel Malik too did not last long as he got caught by Aitizaz Habib off Jawad Ghani for 11.

Bilal Asif and Rahul Chopra steadied the innings through a 70-runs partnership for the third wicket. Aitizaz Habib provided the breakthrough in the 12th over by having Asif caught behind by wicketkeeper Abdul Rehman Jr for 22. Chopra kept the scoreboard moving at a brisk pace finding the gaps brilliantly. With Waqas Ali he took the score to 132 in 15.5 overs before Ali became Aitizaz Habib’s second victim, caught by Junaid Shamsu for 19.

No one expected the score to swell to 200 at this stage but Niaz Khan and Chopra put on a vital unbeaten partnership that also turned out to be a match-winning one. They put on an unbeaten 62 runs for the fifth wicket. Niaz Khan hit an unbeaten 36 off 14 balls with two boundaries and three sixes. Chopra ensured that his team reach the 200 run mark through a six to mid-wicket and remain unbeaten on 90.


Chasing the total, The Vision Shipping too started on a shaky note. They lost opener Dilshan Munaweera in the second over, caught by Mehboob Ali off Niaz Khan, for 3. Shahbaz Ali and Ali Abid took the score to 25 before Shahbaz got caught by Niaz Khan off Danish Qureshi for 12. Ali Abid kept stroking freely despite losing Abdul Rehman Jr, clean bowled by Adeel Malik for 11. Aitizaz Habib lit up hopes through a knock of 27 before getting caught by Bilal Asif off Mehboob Ali. His knock off 24 balls had three sixes. The Vision Shipping was placed at 97 for 4 in 12.5 overs needing another 104 runs.

Instead of taking up the challenge, the rest of the batsmen too fell one after the other. Niaz Khan got Junaid Shamsu out for 2. Ali Abid, who top-scored with 45 runs off 41 balls with six boundaries too departed, bowled by Ansar Khan. Fayyaz Ahmed became Bilal Asif’s victim for 2. When Jawad Ghani got stumped by wicketkeeper Rahul Chopra off Bilal Asif, MGM took a firm grip on the match. Bilal Asif also had Sajjad Malok clean bowled for a duck.

Malinda Pushpakumara through a quick unbeaten 19 off eight balls with three boundaries and six, and Sadaf Hussain unbeaten on 9, added another 28 runs but the target was too far to reach. As a result of this win, MGM finished third with eight points, and Vision Shipping bowed out of the tournament since they could muster only six points and finish fifth. Karwan Blues, who also picked eight points, finished fourth.

Brief scores:
MGM Cricket Club bt The Vision Shipping by 49 runs. MGM Cricket Club 200 for 4 in 20 overs (Bilal Asif 22, Rahul Chopra 90n.o, Niaz Khan 36n.o, Jawad Ghani 2 for 42, Aitizaz Habib Khan 2 for 31) The Vision Shipping 151 for 9 in 20 overs (Ali Abid 45, Aitizaz Habib 27, Niaz Khan 2 for 16, Bilal Asif 3 for 24)
Man of the Match: Rahul Chopra

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