Falcons Level the Series

The inauguaral winners of the Katich Cup will be decided next week after a solid all round team performance from the Falcons saw them level the series 3-3 with a 23 -run victory over the Hawks in Zagreb on Saturday.

Stand in skipper Richard Probst won the toss for the Falcons and decided that having runs on the board was key and elected to bat. The opening pair of Gus Van Rensburg and Pero Bošnjak played sensible cricket and were looking good until Vivek Sharma spoilt things by disturbing the castle of both batsmen in two consecutive balls. The pair recovered well and ended up putting on 21 for the opening partnership.
 
Next in were Ibad Faruqui and Paul Mušin. The two scored consistently and with the help of a couple of boundaries put on the highest partnership of the match taking the total through to 58. With a platform set the key for the final pair of Probst and Tom Paske, last week's heroes, was not to lose wickets and apart from a couple of good run-outs from the Hawks, they managed to advance the score through to a very defendable 73.

With the Falcons chasing down an almost identical target last week, the Hawks were confident going into bat. Openers Daniel George and Robert Mihaljević got the Hawks off to the start Sharma would have wanted when through excellent use of the bonus runs off the walls, they comfortably put on 35 for the opening stand.

Next in for the Hawks were in form batsmen Adrian Beckett and the dangerous Vedran Žanko. A run-out off the second ball of the partnership set the scene for what was to follow in their remaining overs. 4 run-outs put a dent in what would have been a good partnership as the pair also constantly hit bonus run off the walls. They had to settle for only 15 though taking the score through to 50.

With 6 overs remaining the Hawks needed 4 runs an over to seal victory and clinch the Katich Cup. The responsibility fell on the shoulders of skipper Sharma and Krešo Kekez. The pair could not get going due to good death bowling from the Falcons. As the run-rate climbed so did the risk taking and the Falcons capitilsed. The Hawks ended with 50 and the 23-run win means game 7 next Saturday in the Croaitan capital will decide this seasons 2012 Katich Cup winners.

Player of the Series Top 5: (1 run= 1 point, 1 wicket = 5 points)

1. Paul Mušin 124
2. Jasen Butković 107
3. Vivek Sharma 103
4. Adrian Beckett 88
5. Daniel George 59