Match 1: The Philadelphians vs New England Eagles

New England Eagles : 131/9(20.0 overs)

The Philadelphians : 133/5(13.1 overs)

Chiranshu Bhatia leads the charge as The Philadelphians rout New England Eagles

The Philadelphians kicked off their MiLC 2022 campaign in style with a comprehensive victory over New England Eagles beating them by 5 wickets with 41 balls to spare.

On a hot and humid afternoon with a heavy outfield, Drysdale started off proceedings with a wicket off the first ball scalping NEE opener Mazhar. Maheshram and Nakkeeran consolidated for a few overs before Nakkeeran was caught and bowled by Karima Gore. A 70-run partnership between Maheshram and Darlington helped NEE cross the 100 run mark. Before things became ominous, Abdul Jabbar delivered the crucial breakthrough dismissing Maheshram. Chiranshu Bhatia, one of the 2 players with the franchise since inception, siezed the opportunity to enable a collapse for The Eagles with his nippy bowling, scalping his first ever MiLC 5-fer in the process and subsequently also winning the DafaBet MiLC Player of the Match. Sharp bowling by Chiru combined with brilliant catching and ground fielding by Philly restricted the Eagles to a sub-par 131/9 in 20 overs.

After losing the flamboyant Derrick Narine early in the chase, Abdullah and Milind launched a double barrel attack in the powerplay giving no margin of error for the bowlers, ensuing a whirlwind 36-ball 72 run partnership. When captain Milind (45 off 23) got out, The Philadelphians were already in the driver's seat. 'The Tank' Abdullah ensured there was no time wasted by smacking 59 off 27 with 8 monstrous sixes, earning the BetParx Impact Player of the Match award. 131 was chased down in 13.1 overs, scoring at 10 RPO and with 41 balls to spare, completing a near perfect day for The Philadelphians.

The high spirited camp of Philly managed to shake off the ghosts of the Church St. Park roller coaster ride from the Independence Day weekend with a commanding victory chasing a big score and throwing the tournament wide open again. On to the next one !