After overnight rain, SVL and Tittmoning gathered at the POCC Ground to decide who would get promoted to the coveted Bundisleagua for the 2023 season. Apart from the players, Tittmoning was also accompanied by an entourage of supporters. Interestingly, there were 2 members of the MLCC hovering around the ground. The ICC had organized 2 international fixtures for the very same day (Ind vs AUs & Pak vs Eng). But these 2 gentlemen from MLCC decided to instead watch the proceedings at Munich, still sulking over their disqualification because of their blatant violation of the BCV rules. The identity of these 2 MLCC players has been held back for GDPR reasons but everyone is welcome to make their guesses.

The damp outfield delayed the toss for a while but didn't stop the SVL captain, Varun to make the correct call later. Considering the weather forecast of possible rain in the later part of the day, Varun opted to ball first to use the Duckworth-Lewis to his advantage if it was to rain later and cause any loss of overs.

Avinash and Manjith started the proceedings with the new ball for SVL and got the ball to nip around for the first few overs and managed to keep both the batters quiet. With pressure building up, Tittmoning opener Mohammad decided to play an uppish drive, only to be brilliantly caught at covers by Ajay. With the ball getting wet and heavy, all the assistance for the bowlers soon vanished. The Tittmoning batters made good use of it and played some delightful cricket shots. Just when the partnership was getting dangerous, Manjith delivered a beautiful cutter, uprooting the off stump of the second opener. After the powerplay, the ball was handed over to the two spinners, Samdarshi and Vinay who had a rather tough time gripping the wet ball. Vinay, in particular, found it extremely difficult to control and both the batters, Amin and Ahmed Bilal took a full toll on him and got a good, steady and aggressive partnership going. With both the batters well set and playing with full authority, Varun brought in Ajay into the attack who bowled beautifully and managed to put some brakes on the scoring rate. At the halfway mark, Tittmoning raced to 132 for the loss of 2 wickets.

At the drinks break, SVL regrouped and discussed the need to take wickets and stay focused. The partnership was close to 100 and Varun decided to bring in both his spearheads Avinash and Manjith from one end to support Ajay at the other. Avinash almost produced a breakthrough at the very first over after drinks. Amin hit one straight to Ankur at the deep point boundary, precisely placed for this shot. To the SVL's disappointment, Ankur after having caught the ball, had one of his toes touching the boundary which was very closely observed by the Tittmoning crowd. Six was signalled and the partnership swelled. SVL missed a couple more tough chances. Varun could not grab a fierce cut at first slip and Avinash failed to grab one after covering a lot of ground at long-on. To the dismay of SVL, all resulted in boundaries. Finally, Manjith broke the all-important partnership by cleaning up Amin's stumps but not before Amin had made a well-compiled 72 off 63 balls.

At 155-3 after 23 overs, Tittmoning were still well placed to get a very good total in excess of 250. Bilal was still batting with great authority and playing shots all around the park. But with a new batter at one end, Ajay who had bowled really well up till now trapped Rahmanullah LBW for 7. As spinners were finding it tough to grip the ball, Varun decided to bring Gopi into the attack. He bowled at a rapid pace and also managed to rattle the set Bilal with a well-directed bouncer and cleaned up the new batter Saad for 1. Ajay continued hitting the right areas and dismissed Syed soon after and Bilal running out of partners, tried to be more aggressive and in the process lost his wicket to Ajay after a great knock of 89 of 61 deliveries. SVL now right back in the game after inflicting a collapse (206-7) decided to finish things off by attacking with Avinash again. He quickly removed Mubashir and Sohail for 1 and 0 respectively. The last wicket fell with a direct hit from Praveen. Tittmoning finished the innings 212 all out. A great comeback by SVL after the start the opposition got.

Since the rain had started to come down slowly, SVL discussed the importance of staying ahead of the required rate of around 5.3 throughout the innings in case the game is called off. Manjith and Manoj were off to a flying start bringing up the SVL 50 in less than 7 overs. Manjith in particular was the aggressor well supported by Manoj who was equally severe on any loose balls. Unfortunately, Manjith was adjudged LBW. The ball hardly bounced above the ankles. For a moment it seemed like we were playing on flixc. After the great start, things started to take an ugly turn for SVL. With the rain getting a little heavier SVL were torn between playing aggressively to maintain the run rate or to play the game like a normal 40-overs game. SVL completely lost the plot here and what we witnessed was a 30 minutes period of total madness from the SVL batters. It started with Praveen playing a rash shot to push the scoring rate up, skying one to the in-field. This was followed by a mixup between Manoj and Varun resulting in the run-out of well-set Manoj who was playing very sensibly and looking very comfortable. This brought the 2 SVL captains from the Reds and Blacks together. A lot was expected out of this pair but unfortunately, both played loose shots and got out cheaply. Ankur soon departed without troubling the score, missing a straight ball and getting cleaned up, another moment of reckless cricket. SVL then suffered a body blow when Ajay decided to have a mighty heave towards mid-wicket getting his stumps rattled. So from 50-0, SVL were reduced to 88-7 with 5 of them taken by the Tittmoning’s opening bowler, Zeeshan. Yes, there was pressure to stay ahead of the required run rate, but with the kind of start they got, there was no justification for this performance from the batters.

The mood at the SVL camp was very gloomy. On the other hand, celebrations had started in Tittmoning. There were rumours that the Tittmoning Rathaus had started preparing the congratulatory message for their team being promoted to the Bundisleagua. The Tittmoning spectators at the ground were also very upbeat and waiting for the last 3 wickets as a mere formality. Moreover, there was one member of the Tittmoning team who was really excited and had a comment or two after every ball in Punjabi. And of course, the 2 MLCC spectators were having a gala time. But no one could have imagined what was about to unfold in the next 90-odd minutes. The two spinners from SVL, Samdarshi and Vinay, who had a very rough day with the ball were in the thick of the action yet again but this time with the bat in hand. Slowly and steadily they started stitching a little partnership and runs required were under 100. While Samdarshi was taking the odd calculated risks, Vinay was keener on placing the ball in the gaps and running hard between the wickets. Tittmoning still confident of the win were starting to get a little uncomfortable. Superstitions had also started to kick in the SVL camp with captain Varun instructing every team member to stay put wherever they were. Avinash, Varun, Ankur, Sajal and Gopi were stationed at the long-on boundary. Manjith, Manoj, Ajay, Praveen and Sid were together at long off. Hell broke loose when all of a sudden Samdarshi played one of the most gorgeous cover drives all along the ground. The ground was extremely slow and heavy because of the rain, but such was the timing on that shot, to put it in Shashtri's words, it went like a tracer bullet. The shot sent shock waves across the Tittmoning camp. The over-enthusiastic Tittmoning spectator was visibly nervous. Though he continued his Punjabi comment after every ball, but here onwards Varun and co gave him back every single time. Gopi ensured Varun got a crash course in Punjabi.

In no time, Samdarshi and Vinay brought up the team's 150. High on confidence, Samdarshi kept smashing them to parts of the ground and Vinay also joined the party with a late cut for a boundary. The pair didn't look back and brought up the 100 partnership.

With 14 more runs to win, there was another twist in the tail. Vinay was adjudged caught behind in a controversial manner. The ball was nowhere near the bat, but the desperate Tittmoning team appealed in unison. The two umpires came together and declared him out. A rather unfortunate end to such a fine knock of 35 under extreme pressure. The over-enthusiastic Tittmoning team member suddenly found his voice again. This brought Avinash in the middle who had played a few useful knocks in the season already but was up against Saad who had suddenly found his rhythm and pace. Avinash did a fabulous job of seeing him through in his 7th over. The duo placed the ball in the gaps and brought SVL's score at par with Tittmoning but Saad bowling his last over managed to get one past Avinash knocking his stumps over. With 1 run to win, the number 11 for SVL, Gopi walked in. Saad as expected tried another quick yorker but dragged it down the leg side. Wide was signalled and SVL were the winners of the final.

SVL members rushed to the ground to mob Samdarshi who stayed right till the end with 73 not out off 60 balls. There were handshakes all around. The Tittmoning team were very gracious in the defeat and congratulated Samdarshi and Vinay for their fine performances. The 2 MLCC players were nowhere to be seen.

This was one of the most memorable days in SVL history. What we witnessed was the stuff dreams are made of. Samdarshi and Vinay fought against them like seasoned pirates, plundered their town, stole their crown jewel, drank all their beer and came back smiling. (I read this line somewhere, had to use it :P )

This marks the end of season 2022 for SVL. Hope you all enjoyed it. See you all next year. GO SVL!!
Yours truly
Ankur