A century from Sreehari Madyalkar supported a very good all-round team performance from Limerick’s 1st XI on Sunday afternoon as they cruised to a home win over rivals Cork County at the Manor Fields. The win keeps Limerick at the summit of the Premier League table with three games in the season remaining. 

Having lost the toss, Anvesh Bogavelly set his batting order knowing a significant target was needed to defend against the in-form Cork County. His opening pair of Nishant Kumar and Bharat Dahima won the battle of the opening exchanges, seeing off the new ball until the 11th over as Kumar acted as the accelerator, almost dealing solely in boundaries, on his way to another aggressive knock of 36 from 32 balls (7x4s,1x6).

74-3 played an even game at the cusp of the 20th over before Ramay and Madyalkar put on 72 runs for the fourth wicket, with Ramay eventually being dismissed as he looked to accelerate the run-rate. Madyalkar continued to hold his nerve as partners came and went at the other end. A significant stand of 91 runs for the seventh wicket brought the Shannonsiders to an admirable 246-6 with five overs remaining, as Bogavelly’s cameo of 39 from 36 came to a close with Madyalkar in the 90s. A fitting way to reach his ton, Madyalkar swept a fullish delivery on one knee to long-on for 6, crowning a magnificent knock in his debut season, as his side finished on 271.

In attack, Limerick sought an early breakthrough but were met with a strong rearguard from the opening pair. Ritesh Sah fell in the 8th over from the bowling of Prasad Hegde, a shot which fell safely into the hands of Nishant Kumar.This was the start of three wickets falling within 20 runs, as the score now read 61-3 with the visitors on the back foot. Madyalkar proved worthy with the ball also, as he claimed both Ross and O’Sullivan, with the latter falling to a sharp catch from Karur behind the sticks. From the other end, Ramay and Hari kept things tight before Hari turned the screw on the game, leading the batsmen into many a false shot.

He forced Donnely into a backwards pull which spooned to Dahima just behind square on the leg side for 115-6, before Singh and Donnelly went in similar fashion, catches taken by Alla and Karur once again, who did well to claim a skyward shot which was falling between three fielders. Hari’s final wicket marked the end of the game, as Fenn attempted a slog to cow corner which went straight down the throat of Nishant Kumar, to see County all out for 162, just shy of the 37th over.

RESULT| MCU Premier League 

We defeated Cork County by 109 runs today.

Limerick 1: 271 all out off 49.4 overs.

Sreehari Madyalkar 103

Anvesh Bogavelly 39

Cork County 1: 162 all out off 35.5 overs.

Ajay Hari 4-20

Sreehari Madyalkar 2-44

                                           * * *

Limerick’s 2nd XI welcomed Cork Harlequins to Adare on Saturday afternoon to try to revive their Division One campaign. Naming a strong starting XI, Mehmood elected to bat after winning the toss, with a wealth of experience in the top and middle order to exploit. 

Teke and Dahima got their side off to a good start, with an opening stand 42 inside six overs, before Teke took control of the innings. His eye was well in at this point, and as one of the leading run scorers in the club’s history, Teke carved out his 50 with a strong mix of aggression and patience. He would wander down the crease to lose his wicket after a brilliant 61 from 62 balls, setting a good tone for the middle order to continue. This was followed up with scores of 30 from the skipper and 34 from Madyalkar, before a timely half century from Kumar from just 44 balls (7x4s,1x6) pushed the hosts well past the 200-run mark. It was an innings which consisted of solid contributions throughout, including a late flurry from the tail which yielded 20 or so runs from the remaining two wickets, orchestrated by Skandan Lakshmanan with 13 from 23 balls, to finish with a score of 249 all out.

An early run out earned from the sharpness of Madyalkar had Limerick’s opening wicket within three overs, with a second coming just five overs later as Borghare clean bowled Gul for 39-2. Quins battled back determinedly, as 3-87 became 149-4 with game back in the balance once again. The introduction of Madyalkar from Mehmood proved crucial, with his three wickets depleting the middle order, making him the pick of the bowlers. An 8th wicket stand of 50+ got Quins over 200 with an unlikely steal on the cards, before Teke, Tanveer and Mehmood wrapped up the tail to ensure no surprises by the 43rd over, with the away side 30 runs short of the 350 target.

RESULT| MCU Division One.

We defeated Cork Harlequins by 30 runs yesterday. 

Limerick 2: 249 all out off 43.2 overs.

Sourabh Teke 61

Nishant Kumar 50

Cork Harlequins 2: 219 all out off 42.3 overs.

Sreehari Madyalkar 3-34

Parth Borghare 2-46

                                 

                                           * * *

Limerick’s 3rd XI were the unfortunate odd one out from the weekend as they fell short in their encounter to Nenagh’s 2nd XI on Sunday afternoon in Knockshigowna. A respectable total of 179 batting first was overcome by the home side with about 8 overs to spare. 

The Shannonsiders batted first having lost the toss and were underway with Hussein and Pawar following the early loss of captain Sathya Prabu. The two consolidated a 35-run partnership for the second wicket before both departed within two overs as the away side looked to rebuild again. At 98-5, following the departure of Prajapati, Prabu sought confidence in the young pairing of Aziz and Ramay, who showed resilience in nestling into a good rhythm, rotating the strike well and showing experience to keep out any good deliveries. Aziz made 42 from 52 balls, a much-needed knock for his side, with Ramay supporting well with 35 from 45 deliveries. Nenagh were economical in the final stages, taking four wickets in the final eight overs and yielding just 25 runs, a potential game changer in the long run.

Prabu struck early for the visitors but it was somewhat downhill from there, as 11-1 became 113-2 by the 21st over with the hosts needing roundabout 68 runs with eight wickets still intact. The attack chipped away with Hussein and Shinde both picking up a wicket apiece, but in the end it was comfortable for Nenagh who reached their target with four dismissals in the 33rd over.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We lost to Nenagh by 6 wickets today. 

Limerick 3: 179 all out off 39.1 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 42

Yousaf Ramay 35

Nenagh 2: 180-4 off 33.2 overs.

Sathya Prabu 2-31

Chinmay Shinde 1-22

* * *

Limerick’s 4th XI got back to winning ways in Division Five on Saturday with a superb away victory against top-of-the-table Waterford Vikings. The win sees Limerick back into second place in the league with a push for a title charge now back in contention. 

Skipper Ramji Lakshmanan won the toss and smartly elected to bowl with some strong seamers in his arsenal. Vikings started the stronger before Shekharaiah’s first spell yielded two important wickets, breaking down the opposition top order partnerships. The spinning duo of Aziz and Vercoe also proved dividends, with both bowlers taking one victim each from their spells. At 67-5, the Vikings began to somewhat collapse, with 90-6 soon becoming 114-8, with Darshan Gopal ensuring two dismissals in quick time. Shekharaiah’s second spell finished the innings with a target of 121 to chase. 

The Shannonsider’s made hard work of the run chase, with a number of batsmen failing to get into double digits. Opener Chiranjeevi Totad was immense throughout the innings however, being part of all partnerships bar the last, as his 44 from 52 balls (6x4s, 2x6s) steered his side towards the finishing line. His demise at 83-8 still left the visitors with 38 runs required with just two wickets remaining, where up stepped the captain alongside counterpart Tom Vercoe. With over 20 overs remaining, the pair maturely ambled their way towards the target, taking the sting out of the opposition attack and punishing anything loose to the boundary. It was fitting that Lakshmanan found his last boundary with the scores level to clinch a two-wicket victory, with Vercoe’s 15 not out from 27 proving crucial to the victory.

RESULT| MCU Division Five.

We defeated Waterford Vikings by 2 wickets today. 

Waterford Vikings 2: 120 all out off 29.2 overs.

Shravan Chandrashekharaiah 3-10

Darshan Gopal 2-27

Limerick 4: 124-8 off 29.1 overs.

Cheeranjeevi Totad 44

Ramji Lakshmanan 20*

* * *

Limerick’s U17 side continued their winning streak with a comprehensive 70-run win over Cork County B on Friday, ensuring full bonus points to maintain their 100% record. Replacement skipper Ghufran Chaudhry lost the toss and was put into bat at the Manor Fields. 

He opted for the opening pair of Robert McCutcheon and Yousaf Ramay who steadied their way into the game with a run-a-ball strike rate. The dismissal of McCutcheon just short of the power play introduced Shinde to the crease. Boundaries dried up in the partnerships that followed, with some starts not converted into bigger scores for the Shannonsiders. The middle order pairing of Abubakar Aziz and Atharvan Alagesan produced a crucial 37-run partnership in the middle overs, with Alagesan top-scoring with 23 from 21 balls in just his second game at U17 level. A flurry of runs in the late stages of the innings brought a target of 132 for the visitors to chase.

County were off to a similar start to the hosts with the bat before a number of quick wickets swayed the game back in the home side’s favour, as County went from 18-0 to 28-5, with the pick of the wickets a brilliant run-out from Muhammed Aziz, whose pick-up and direct hit from mid-on to the non-striker’s end showing a touch of class in the field. Chaudhry’s instruction was very clear to his seamers, who continued to target the stumps to claim more rewards, as Ramay, Tanveer and Shinde all claiming victims. Consistency allowed Limerick to see off the tail in relatively quick fashion, as County finished on 61 all out just after the 15th over. 

RESULT| MCU U17 Superleague 

We defeated Cork County by 70 runs today.

Limerick U17: 131-9 off 20 overs.

Atharvan Alagesan 23

Ghufran Chaudhry 16

Cork County U17: 61 all out off 20 overs.

Yousaf Ramay 3-15

Eshan Tanveer 2-12

Limerick doubled down on Saturday afternoon where six of the starting XI retained their place for the U15 clash against Cork County. Having previously qualified for the All-Ireland finals by winning the U15 Superleague, Ghufran Chaudhry and co. were looking to claim top spot in the league come the end of the season. 

Having been put into bat after losing the toss, Faizan and Chaudhry and Abubakar Aziz set the perfect foundation, scoring 38 runs in the first three overs as both went on for unbeaten scores. The loss of Alagesan and Khan put the brakes on some rapid scoring, before a strong middle order partnership between Raheem (20*) and Ravishankar (26*) consolidated the innings for Limerick once again. Muhammed Ibrahim and skipper Chaudhry were introduced in the final few overs and continued the momentum, with both batters going at near-on a 200 strike rate, ending the innings on 177-3.

Chaudhry carried his bowling attack, using all ten bowling options to great effect. Ibrahim and Alagesan dismissed both openers to make it 9-2, before Shinde and Aziz got in on the act. At 46-4 with five overs to go, Limerick remained economical without taking any wickets, securing a comfortable victory by over 100 runs.

RESULT| MCU U15 League 

We defeated Cork County by 117 runs today.

Limerick U15: 177-3 off 20 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 28*

Arnav Ravishankar 26*

Cork County U15: 60-5 off 20 overs.

Chinmay Shinde 1-0 

Abubakar Aziz 1-0

Limerick’s U13 side topped off a hat-trick of victories for the youths as they toppled Cork County by runs on Sunday afternoon in the Mardyke. Faizan Chaudhry ensured his sides 100% record with a strong captaining performance, which started with winning the toss and electing to bat.

The loss of opener Findlay Mayo early was recovered well with an excellent, unbeaten partnership between Anvit Bharadwaj and Atharvan Alagesan for the second wicket, scoring 50 runs in just six overs before both retired on scores of 30+. County bit back dismissing Singh for 2 from 10 deliveries, before Chaudry (15 from 12, 2x4s) was joined by Malu (12 from 25, 1x4) as the two accelerated the scoring once again. Late cameos from Vishnu Pavan (16 from 15) but more notably from Behroz Khan, who top scored for his side with 41 from 26 balls (6x4s) ensured a first innings score of 191. 

With a steep hill to climb, County could ill-afford early dismissals, but the bowling of Apoorvan Alagesan was too good for opener O’Neill who saw his stumps hit in the early stages of the chase. A 29-run partnership for County got things back on track for them before wickets from Pavan, Rajesh and Mayo all but ended the contest with most batters not able to get to a significant score. Rithwik Malu’s introduction was timely, a player with a number of wickets already to his name this season, picked up a further two dismissals in the contest as County finished on 123-7 after their 30 overs, 69 runs short of their target.

RESULT| MCU U13 League 

We defeated Cork County by 68 runs today

Limerick U13: 191-3 off 30 overs.

Behroz Khan 41*

Atharvan Alagesan 34*

County Cork U13: 123-7 off 30 overs.

Rithwik Malu 2-7

Apoorvan Alagesan 1-5

* * *

Next weekend sees the return fixture in the Premier League, where Bogavelly and co. will look for back-to-back wins against Cork County in the Mardyke on Sunday. On the same day, Limerick’s 3rd XI will be looking to bounce back when they welcome UCC to the Manor Fields. With all adult teams in action, Saturday sees the 2nd and 4th XI sides also in action against Midleton and County Kerry respectively. The excitement will start earlier in the week however, as the U17s face off against Cork County A in the Superleague with a 1pm start time in Adare on Wednesday.