Eagles’ well-deserved victory

Having missed the Finals last season, the Eagles were keen to make amends this season and put in a strong performance against Epping.
The Eagles lost the toss and were put into bat with Captain, Asad Usman opening the batting with last season’s leading run scorer, Amanyjot Singh in grey overcast conditions, on a lively wicket that been affected by rain falling in the days leading up to game.
With the score on 29 the Eagles lost their first wicket when Usman was out caught for 1 run, while Singh fought hard against some tight, accurate bowling. The Eagles continued to lose wickets at a steady rate, with Singh fighting a lone hand combining solid defence with aggressive stroke play.
Things looked grim for the Eagles when Singh was dismissed for 57 off 54 balls, with score on 5/92. This brought Ibrar Tariq to the crease, who immediately took the attack to the Bulls bowlers and proceeded to hammer them to all parts of North Epping Oval. Tariq’s-dynamic innings of 76 runs from just 45 balls, included 5 x 4s and 7 x 6s, helped to propel the Eagles to a total 183 all out.
With the wicket starting to show signs of wear, the Eagles total of 183 was going to be a hard target for the Bulls to chase down.
The Eagles got off to a flying start with the ball due to some excellent seam bowling from opening bowler, Sajjad Qaiser. Bowling an impeccable line and length, Qaiser ripped the heart out of the Bulls top order, taking 5/20 off 10 overs. Qaiser was ably supported by spinner Danish Ahmed who took 2/33 off 9 overs.
The Bulls struggled with the early loss of wickets and were bowled all out for 138, giving the Eagles a well-deserved victory.
Lower Grade Scores:
2nd Grade: Auburn 135 (A Bailey-Fong 28, Z Jadoon 21) lost to Epping 3/136.
3rd Grade: No play.
4th Grade: Auburn 133 (M Minhaj 31, K Ashkar 20, I Nazir 27) lost to Epping 6/135 (P Bailey-Fong 3/30).
5th Grade: Auburn Def, Epping.