Asian Latina have had a terrific season throughout winning all but one game in the league stages, but sadly they have failed to go all the way today. They will play the bronze place match but will be disappointed not to go to the finals. Royal Roma on the other hand, will go to the finals with a lot of confidence having turned this game around and will be aiming for the title from here. We shall find out if they can indeed go all the way later in the day, but for now switch tabs to find out who they will face in the finals. That's all from us folks! Along with Sarthak Karkhanis, I have been Ankit Sharma, taking your leave.
Royal Roma were in a position to lose the match and get eliminated but they've pulled out a magic trick of their own, to come back from an almost impossible position to clinch a victory. Fifth, sixth and seventh overs saw Roma pick up a couple of wickets in each over, and suddenly from 63-0 Latina were down to 76-6. They say in cricket one wicket leads to the other, and today was a classic example of it. One wicket led to six, turning the game completely around for the Royals. Although Asian Latina still had a chance to win, with 18 required off the final 6 balls. They even got off to a good start with a boundary in the first ball, but Anil Kumar did a fantastic job to bowl a couple of dot balls, to add more pressure. It was still possible with 9 needed off 2 but then a dot ball at the penultimate delivery, sealed the deal for Roma and even the boundary in the final ball could not do it for Latina.
What a nail biter this game, full of excitement and full of quality cricket, goes down right to the last ball, but Royal Roma have done an exceptional job to comeback after their horrific start to their second innings and clinch the finals spot. Asian Latina who were the favourites today have failed to step over the line sadly. They did a good job to restrict the score to 110, they also did a great job to start off their chase with the right mindset, right aggression and were scoring runs at a brisk pace, but they lost both their set batsmen in the 5th over and everything went downhill for them since. The stage was set, the platform made, but none of their middle order or lower order were up to the task of seeing their team through. They were already 60+ at the beginning of the fifth over, but after there it was the bowlers song.
This was down to the wire but Royal Roma, have emerged victorious and they will go through to the finals. Asian Latina who has lost just one game in all of the group stages fall just short in the semi finals, and lose by just 2 runs. But a loss is a loss, and Asian Latina have been knocked out.
9.6 Anil Kumar to K Dharam, SIX! Asian Latina who just lost a solitary game have been knocked out of the ECS Rome T10!
9.5 Anil Kumar to D Singh, length ball on the middle and he fails to dispatch it to the boundary.
9.4 Anil Kumar to D Singh, DOT BALL! Crucial at this stage and its a swing and a miss
9.3 Anil Kumar to D Singh, FOUR! Edged and races away to the boundary. Same as the first ball of the over but this time the keeper and the fielder had no chance4
9.2 Anil Kumar to D Singh, short of length delivery on the middle stump, the batsman steps back but extra bounce means the batsman's beaten
9.1 Anil Kumar to D Singh, FOUR! Length ball outside off and cuts to point for a boundary and it's game on here
Anil Kumar, back into the attack.
Lucky edge for Dharam who picks up a boundary off the last ball, but the asking rate is still a lot in the final over. But if Latina can manage a few edges, a few shots to connect, they can still take it over the line. 18 needed off the final over.
8.6 M Niazi to K Dharam, FOUR! The batsman is lucky on this occasion, swings his bat and gets an outside edge, past the batsman and the keeper as it races to the boundary
8.5 M Niazi to K Dharam, length ball on the middle stump, pulled to mid-wicket but a single
8.4 M Niazi to D Singh, outside off on the good length, slashes it but gets a top-edge and it falls short of the fielder
8.3 M Niazi to K Dharam, length ball outside off and pulls it to mid-wicket for a single
8.2 M Niazi to K Dharam, full-length delivery outside off and swings his bat hard for a boundary
