Gordonians cruised to a commanding 9-wicket win over Aberdeen Grammar in a one-sided NESC Grade 1 fixture at Rubislaw, thanks to a breath-taking century from opener M Khosla and a disciplined bowling performance.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, Aberdeen Grammar struggled to build momentum, eventually being bowled out for 180 in 38.4 overs. Swiergon top-scored with a patient 43 off 69 balls, while G Morrison added a useful 33 not out. Tom Murray chipped in with 27, but wickets fell at regular intervals, stalling any chance of a big total.
Gordonians’ bowlers shared the spoils, with Ahmed leading the attack with 3/30. He was well supported by Khosla (2/43) and Pandit (2/40), who struck early to put Grammar on the back foot.
Chasing 181, Gordonians made light work of the target, reaching 183/1 in just 28.1 overs. The star of the show was M Khosla, who smashed a scintillating 132 not out off 99 balls, peppered with 12 fours and 9 sixes. His innings was a masterclass in controlled aggression and clean hitting with Grammar bowlers failing to bowl consistently to him. While slow bowling had some success, the lack of consistency meant he was able to dominate.
Bhalani supported him with a patient 19, while Sultan remained unbeaten on 20 to see the team home with ease.
Man of the Match
Rob Sweirgon did his best with the bat but the slow start meant Grammar were always up against it.
Grammar Innings – 180 all out (38.4 Overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Bedaar | c N Sen b I Pandit | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| AM Haider* | c A Sultan b S Ahmed | 12 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 35.29 |
| L d’Costa | c ? b I Pandit | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| R Swiergon | c N Sen b M Khosla | 43 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 62.32 |
| AA Upadhyaya | lbw b Z Hussain | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 15.38 |
| S Bin Khalid | c N Sen b M Khosla | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| T Murray | c N Sen b J Shaikh | 27 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 67.50 |
| G Morrison† | not out | 33 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 89.19 |
| M Hassaan | b S Ahmed | 19 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 172.73 |
| H Javaid | b S Ahmed | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| P Poosappadi | run out (M Nadeemullah, N Sen) | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Extras | (lb 1, nb 3, w 22) | |||||
| Total | 180 all out (38.4 Overs) |
Bowling – Gordonians
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Pandit | 8 | 0 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| J Shaikh | 6.4 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Z Hussain | 5 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| S Ahmed | 8 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| M Khosla | 6 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| M Nadeemullah | 5 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
? Gordonians Innings – 183/1 (28.1 Overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Khosla | not out | 132 | 99 | 12 | 9 | 133.33 |
| J Bhalani | c AA Upadhyaya b S Bedaar | 19 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 40.43 |
| A Sultan | not out | 20 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Extras | (nb 1, w 11) | |||||
| Total | 183/1 (28.1 Overs) |
Fall of wickets: 109 (J Bhalani)
Bowling – Aberdeen Grammar
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Poosappadi | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| M Hassaan | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| S Bin Khalid | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| H Javaid | 6 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| AM Haider | 6 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S Bedaar | 4 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| AA Upadhyaya | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| L d’Costa | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R Swiergon | 0.1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |