After two successive failed attempts to get past semis, Gymkhana CC not only made it to its first ever CLNJ final, it bagged the championship.

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[Photos courtesy: Shashi Khurana]

After two successive failed attempts to get past semis, Gymkhana CC not only made it to its first ever CLNJ final, it bagged the championship.  For the experienced and seasoned Freedom CC, who racked up a second final in three years, the wait continues as they made a valiant attempt but failed to beat the new look Gymkhana playing under the stewardship of a new captain, Asghar Kazim, who led from the front throughout the season.

In the final played on Sunday, September 25th in Edison, Asghar Kazim won the toss and elected to bat on a rain affected damp outfield which saw a ball that was simply disinclined to travel.

In conditions that clearly favored the bowlers, Freedom CC sought early advantage.  After Amin Jasani had Ahsan Siddiqui caught for just 4 runs, Prashant Patel followed through with two more and soon, Gymkhana was reeling.  But Gymkhana captain Asghar Kazim, once again, set an example for his team by putting on a 33 run partnership with Aditya Mishra.  After Asghar (17) was caught brilliantly at extra cover by Chintan Patel off Jignesh Bhatt, Gymkhana lost another 4 wickets in quick succession.  It was largely due to the effort of Team USA cricketer Aditya Mishra's patient compilation of 50, which helped Gymkhana manage a total of 128 all out in just 36.4 overs.

This was Freedom's best chance to take home the CLNJ's coveted Division A title.  The campaign that started off on a steady footing with Prashant hitting a six in the third over and Jai Shah too was beginning to look settled.  However, Gymkhana captain removed Prashant and Jignesh off successive deliveries injecting life into the match.  Left arm spinner Nisar Ahmed left arm spinner picked up three wickets including the wicket of Amin Jasani (22) who threatened to unravel Gymkhana's resurgent ambitions.  Ubaid Razi took two wickets including a spontaneous caught and bowled effort.  Freedom tied itself up in knots unable to steady course and build a good partnership.  In the end, they were all out for 91 runs.

In the end, what was a low-scoring affair turned out to be a tight match amidst ground conditions that were not particularly conducive to big-hitting.  Not surprisingly, the pendulum kept shifting until the last ball.  In the award ceremony that followed, Aditya was awarded Player of the game for his 50.

Speaking on the occasion, Gymkhana CC Captain Asghar Kazim said: "This is a very special win for our club and playing in the finals against one of the best teams in the league and super sportsmen of Freedom was very exciting. I want to congratulate Amin Jasani, Raj Jasani and the entire Freedom CC for a fantastic season and I know they will be in the hunt for the championship again next year."

Asghar thanked his team mates and said: "This was a very emotional year for us.  The changes we made after losing half of our team strength before the season started, these were only possible because we believed that Gymkhana team was bigger than any player."  He said that the championship was a testament to the fact that teams win when they play as a unit and that no superstars were required.

Click here for detailed scorecard.