Fury XI 128/8 beat Stoke Gifford CC 100/6 by 28 runs
Stoke Gifford was treated to a competitive Twenty20 clash in Division 6 East as Fury XI visited North Bristol, eventually taking the win by 28 runs despite a magical opening spell with the ball from Tom Meadows.
Having won the toss, Fury XI opted to bat first, but they were immediately thrown onto the back foot by a devastating spell from Meadows. The Stoke Gifford bowler single-handedly tore through the visitors' top order, bowling Chaitanya Csk (11), Jagadeesh Thota (0), Vivek VijayKumar (5), and Anil Kumar (0). His four-over spell yielded an incredible 4 for 9, reducing Fury XI to 22 for 4 and putting the home side firmly in control.
Fury XI mounted a recovery through Manoj S, who anchored the middle overs with 26 from 37 balls, and Anand Nimkar, who added a brisk 24. Shabir Azizi ended Manoj's stay when Lewis Jefferies held onto a catch, and Roland Jones bowled Nimkar to keep the pressure on. Rich Stadden chimed in with two late wickets, bowling both Bhaskar Ganta (13) and Krishna Aluri (5), but a late flourish from Anurag Mishra (18 not out off 11 balls) helped push the visitors' final score to 128 for 8 from their 20 overs.
Set 129 for victory, Stoke Gifford got off to a steady start. Openers Lewis Jefferies and Alexander Carr built a 40-run platform before Carr was bowled by Vivek VijayKumar for 14. Jefferies struck two fours and a six in a lively 21 off 19 balls before retiring not out, but the run chase lost momentum against some extremely economical bowling from the visitors.
VijayKumar was virtually unplayable, finishing with astonishing figures of 1 for 1 from his three overs, including two maidens. Anand Nimkar kept the pressure high with 2 for 13, dismissing Roland Jones (12) via a catch by Pavan Raj before bowling Oliver Knight for a duck. Stoke Gifford's troubles were compounded by two run outs, with Nathan Wiltshire (3) and Robbie Seward (2) both falling short.
Jamie Franks offered solid resistance with a quickfire 18 from 17 balls, hitting three boundaries, while Shabir Azizi (11 not out) and Meadows (5 not out) ensured Stoke Gifford batted out their full 20 overs. However, the home side finished on 100 for 6, falling 28 runs short of the target.
While the result did not go Stoke Gifford's way, there were plenty of encouraging signs for the side, none more so than Meadows' outstanding figures and a bright start at the top of the order.