HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford Criicket opened their fall slate this weekend with a Saturday match versus Germantown Cricket Club (GCC).  With a team chock full of experienced veterans and exciting new first years, Haverford started their season with a thumping victory, completing a thrilling run chase in the last over.  Losing the toss, Haverford was sent into field first with Senior Eugene Yang and Junior Sidd Phatak making their debuts as captain and fielding captain, respectively. 

A subdued start saw Germantown at 58 through the first eight overs for no loss before Sophomore Ishpuneet Singh provided Haverford's first breakthrough. A good length delivery saw Germantown's opener loft the ball straight to the waiting hands of first year Sanil Kagalwala.  Yang and Singh continued their superb form from the spring season, demonstrating their unplayable swing skills and restricting GCC to a measly 32 runs through the powerplay. 

Germantown, however, came back strong after the loss of the first wicket, putting on a 50-run second wicket partnership. With a set batsman, the Fords looked in a spot of trouble until the introduction of Senior Josh Corbett. The loopiest of moon balls from Corbett tempted batsman down the crease with the quick hands of Deep Patel flicking off the bails to stump the batsman.  

The momentum continued to swing throughout the rest of the innings. Junior Leo Grunstein picked up his maiden wicket for the college with a lofted drive finding Phatak in the deep, who made a beautiful running catch. Corbett would make another breakthrough, this time in the field when he enacted a runout against a distracted batsman.  Yang would finish the innings with superb death bowling, finding the safe hands of Deep Patel at long off to take the Fords  final wicket. 

Heading into the innings break, it was still anyone's match to win with the Fords needing a total of 175 runs off their 25 overs. After the graduation of their regular opening batsman, Haverford tasked Phatak and Patel with opening the batting for Haverford. The pair started cautiously, with Patel scoring just 3 off his first 14 deliveries and Phatak taking 10 deliveries to score as many. This meant Haverford finished with just 30 runs off the powerplay, but crucially for the loss of no wickets. 

The pair's caution demonstrated the value of protecting your wicket and batting deep into an innings. Patel played a supporting role to the power hitting Phatak, scoring a cautious, yet personal best 34 off 56 deliveries.  Patel's steady support was just what Phatak needed to score freely. The pair had one of the largest partnerships in recent years, amassing a mammoth 134 runs until Patel departed in the 21st over. 

Phatak's innings was a masterclass the likes of which Haverford Cricket has not seen since Nathaniel Rolfe's innings of 97 in 2019. Whether tapping the ball in the gap or driving it past cover for four,  GCC had no reply to Phatak's brilliance. 

As the overs ticked down, the question still remained, though, whether Phatak's brilliance would be enough to see the 'Fords to the finish—they still required a hearty 41 off their final 5 overs.  While Phatak managed to whittle the total down to 14 runs off the final two overs the match was still teetering precariously.  

GCC called upon their star bowler for the penultimate over.  Having gone for just 9 runs off his first three overs, this bowler threatened to bring Haverford's very-doable 14 off two overs to a much-more-difficult 11 off the final over, or even more. After Samanyu Kurra selflessly sacrificed his wicket off the first ball to put Phatak on strike, GCC restricted Haverford to just a dot and two singles off the subsequent balls.  The total stood at 11 runs off 8 deliveries.

Phatak showed his cricket savvy and power hitting prowess. Anticipating a Yorker, Phatak went deep in his crease, turning a well-executed delivery into one in the slot. Phatak would not miss out, sending the ball sailing over long-on, straight into the trees for 6 runs, effectively sealing Haverford's victory. 

Back on strike for the final over, Phatak scored the final runs in grueling style, sending the ball to deep extra cover, allowing him and Corbett to scramble for three and sealing victory with just four balls to spare.  These final runs brought Phatak to an astounding and unbeaten 95 runs off 77 deliveries, including seven fours and two sixes.  

For this innings, there was no question that Phatak would be awarded the first Man of the Match of Haverford Cricket's 2023 Fall season.