Haverford Cricket in London: Day 1 Blog | Day 2 Blog | Day 3 Blog
Today's schedule consisted primarily of our match against Eton College. However, a start time of 2 p.m. meant we had several hours free in the morning to explore the local cafes and prepare for the match. We boarded the bus for Eton at 11:30 and enjoyed spectacular views of Windsor Castle on the way.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the stunning cricket grounds at Eton College. We went through our standard pre-game rituals and warmups before taking the field in our first match of the tour. Senior captain Eugene Yang immediately got back into the action—fielding at midwicket, he took a sitter off Sidd Phatak's bowling in the very first over.
With the wicket on the greener side, Haverford's quicks had a field day. Sophomore Ishpuneet Singh was the next to strike, followed shortly thereafter by first-year Sanil Kagalwala. The greedy pair hogged the remaining seven wickets for themselves, each taking career-best figures. Kagalwala's impressive 4-12 was only bettered by Singh's 5-19. This marked the first five-wicket haul for a Haverford bowler since 2022. Also notable were first-year Anuj Poddar's efforts at covers, consistently stopping singles while the balls were incessantly hit in his direction.
Bowling the Eton side out for 103, Haverford turned to Phatak and Mohanish Bajaj to produce a steady chase. This proved to be a new and exciting challenge for the Haverford side. Having played exclusively on artificial wickets, this was the first time many on the team had batted on a real turf wicket. The adjustment showed early, with a quick wicket and slow start putting the 'Fords in a spot of trouble. However, Senior Samanyu Kurra joined Phatak to stabilize the innings.
While Kurra hit three 4s in his innings of 16 (crucial to stabilizing the shaky start), Phatak produced the majority of Haverford's run-scoring. He finished the day with 63 runs, not out. The perfectly manicured lawns meant Phatak's classy strokeplay was greatly rewarded, with any ball driven finding the boundary.
Haverford steadily chipped down the total, finishing the match in just under 21 overs, with 54 balls to spare. To celebrate, a team dinner was declared, and we gathered at a local restaurant. A hearty meal of Indian favorites was shared by the entire squad in celebration of our first victory of the tour.