HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford Cricket capped off their weekend double header with an away match against old rivals Merion Cricket Club. While The Fords were troubled by a new and unfamiliar pitch, Haverford's defensive prowess would prove too much for the hosts to overcome, with Haverford defending a total of 127.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Haverford got off to a rocky start, losing both opening batters in the first three overs. This brought Junior stalwart Sidd Phatak and Senior Samanyu Kurra to the crease. The pair stabilized Haverford's innings, batting through the next five overs without losing their wicket. Kurra's steady knock of 19 deliveries came to an end in the eighth over, bringing up Haverford's middle order. Phatak struggled to find a consistent partner, with the fourth through seventh batters all falling short of double digits.
It would be Haverford's tail end which saved the innings. Sophomore Ishpuneet Singh and Junior both achieved personal best scores with the bat. Not only that, but both batsmen scored more in this innings than they had in their collegiate cricketing careers up until this point.
First years Sanil Kagalwala and Anuj Poddar both made their batting debuts for the college. While runs had been hard for Haverford to come by, Kagalwala ensured that the Fords pushed to a competitive total. Putting away anything pitched in his batting arc, Sanil's 21 runs came off just 11 deliveries, which included two fours and a six.
Senior Captain Eugene Yang shared the new ball with Singh. The pair knew it was their responsibility to give the Fords a solid start in their defense, and they did just that. Giving up just 19 runs in the powerplay, Yang made the first breakthrough for Haverford. With the Merion batsmen attempting a quick single, Yang sent the ball on a direct flight from the covers to the stumps, catching the opening batsman short of his crease.
Just two balls later, Singh would continue the pressure campaign when the new batsman sent the ball straight back to Singh, who made a clean catch off his own bowling.
The first bowling change saw Junior Deep Patel joined Kagalwala who demonstrated that they too had a hunger which only wickets could satisfy. Kagalwala picked up his maiden wicket for the college in his second delivery of the match when he clean bowled Merion's number four batsman. Patel joined in the fun, tempting the batsman into a lofted drive which was caught by Phatak at long off in another excellent display of fielding.
Inspired by Yang's fielding, Poddar joined in the fun when he sent the ball flying into the stumps from square leg, dismissing the batsman with a direct hit run out. Senior Joshua Corbett repeated his Saturday temptations, once again drawing the batsman down the crease for Captain Rebecca Stern to quickly stump the batsman.
Much more impressive than the consistency with which Haverford took wickets was their uncanny ability to limit Merion's scoring opportunities. Clever, tight bowling combined with aggressive and drilled fielding, all led by the masterful strategies of fielding captain Phatak to produce a defensive masterclass. Haverford managed to limit Merion to two runs or less in an impressive 9 of Merion's 25 overs.
Haverford's efforts in the field meant that Merion fell 17 runs short of a winning total. This victory brings Haverford to 2-0 for the fall season, the first time they have started a fall season 2-0 since 2019.
Cricket hopes to continue this streak next weekend, when they welcome British Officers Cricket Club and the University of Pennsylvania for a pair of home matches.