HAVERFORD, Pa. - In their first of two matches this weekend, Haverford Cricket took on Columbia University Cricket Club this past weekend. Haverford was challenged by both a longer format as well as the absence of both of its captains in Saturday's matchup. Stand-in Captain Rebecca Stern led a Haverford XI consisting entirely of underclassmen in a 30-over match.
Sent to field first, the Fords started their innings on a good note. In the very first over, Sidd Phatak claimed the first wicket with the opening batsman cutting the ball straight to Nathan Moore at point, who scooped up a low catch to complete the wicket. The Fords continued to put pressure when an excellent diving catch by Mohanish Bajaj off the bowling of Eugene Yang sent the number three batsman walking in the fourth over.
Columbia would recover after the two quick wickets, putting up a 76 run partnership over the next 12 overs. While Bajaj would make the next breakthrough, dismissing the opening batsman caught and bowled, Columbia had already created a strong foundation to their innings. The return of Phatak into the attack would help stymie the flow of runs, with Phatak taking two wickets in his final spell—with one delivery finding the edge before being caught by Stern at keeper and another delivery beating the bat altogether before finding its way into the stumps. Phatak would end the day with career-best figures of 58-3.
Columbia's final wickets would come from Stern, whose sharp throws caught the batsman short of their ground twice with two direct hits. Despite the late flurry of wickets, Columbia still managed a total of 208-7.
Josh Corbett would join Bajaj to open Haverford's chase of 208. The pair opened patiently, seeing out the first six overs before Corbett would have to depart. Bajaj would continue, finding a consistent partner in Phatak. While Bajaj top scored for the Fords with 38, Phatak followed close behind with an innings of 32, including two huge sixes to the long end of the ground.
A few quick wickets meant Haverford's tailenders got ample opportunity to bat. Leo Gruenstein, Ken Lin, and Samuel Ross would score their first runs for the college.
Despite these contributions and those of Bajaj and Phatak, Haverford fell 103 runs short, losing 105-9 to 208-7. However, the Fords saw a bright side in this defeat—while the struggled with the loss of some experienced players, this allowed some newer cricketers to gain valuable game experience which they can take into the following seasons.