It wasn’t the first time this year Limerick’s 1st XI were reliant on the batting of Anvesh Bogavelly, whose superb 84*(6x4s, 6x6s) from just 48 deliveries, set up a grand stand finish on Friday evening against Galway in Lydican. 

Having lost the toss, Prasad Hegde and his team were put into field and they had to be sharp in the powerplay with the first wicket coming as a run out from the skipper himself. Galway began to get a foothold before seamer Mohit Malik dismissed buth Sidiqui and Mishra in quick succession to make it 79-3 at the halfway point. The batting side did get the upper hand in the second half of their innings, Limerick continued to take wickets but Nasim’s stint in the middle allowed the hosts to reach 181-8 from their 20 overs.

The required run-rate exceeded 9 runs per over and it was the hosts who got into their work early and had three wickets inside the powerplay as the dismissals of Teke, Waqar and Venkatesh left the visitors in a spot of bother on 20-3. Bogavelly initally came to the crease to anchor with counterpart Nishant Kumar, but once the two settled in they managed a 50+ run stand before the skipper joined Bogavelly for a 92-run partnership. At this point, Limerick had brough themseves within touching distance, with Bogavelly producing some wonderful strokes and Hegde supporting well with 24 from 19. Limerick needed 16 runs from the last over but a wicket on the fourth ball punctured the tyres with just 8 runs coming and Galway taking a margin of victory by 7 runs. 

RESULT| MCU Premier T20 League.

We lost to County Galway by 7 runs yesterday. 

County Galway 1: 181-8 off 20 overs.

Anvesh Bogavelly 3-30

Ajay Hari 2-38

Limerick 1: 174-5 off 20 overs.

Anvesh Bogavelly 84*

Prasad Hegde 24

                                           * * *

Limerick’s 2nd XI were desperately looking to return to winning ways against Nenagh on Saturday with too many below-par performances to date. Limerick were sitting too close to the foot of the table after some very successful years in the first division. The Shannonsiders made the journey to Knockshigowna on Saturday afternoon, won the toss and elected to bat first. 

Opener Nishant Kumar saw off the new ball but the loss of Nagaraju and Waqar meant Ayan Ullah’s introduction was earlier than expected. At 34-3, Ullah and Ramay batted down the hatches and took the sting out of the Nenagh attack. Limerick were able to then rebuild; Ullah’s contribution of 16 allowed Ramay to control the innings as he went on for a well-made 49 from 83 balls, falling just shy of another half-century. Despite being 124-8, Limerick’s tail contributed massively in the form of Asif Hussein (34) and Neeraj Kumar (16) to get their side over the 200-run mark after a remarkable recovery. 

The early stages of the second innings belonged to Limerick with Nenagh struggling on 41-4 after 10 overs, skipper Waqas Mehmood doing the business with the new ball. Nenagh’s middle order was crucial as they got their team back into the competition, Varickatharappel making 44 with other contributions. Mehmood brought himself back on to take another two wickets as he was the pick of the bowlers with 4-29. He was amply supported by Neeraj Kumar (2-31) with Hussein and Ramay also chipping in with one a piece. A tense finish arose as Nenagh pushed until the final over and fell just short by 11 runs as the 2nd XI got back on track with their first win in five games. 

RESULT| MCU Division One.

We defeated Nenagh by 11 runs yesterday.

Limerick 2: 203-9 off 45 overs.

Sarfraz Ramay 49*

Asif Hussein 34

Nenagh 1: 192 all out off 44.3 overs.

Waqas Mehmood 4-29

Neeraj Kumar 2-31

                                           * * *

The action continued on Sunday afternoon with Nenagh’s 2nd XI making the short trip to Adare to face the Limerick 3rd XI at the Manor Fields. Captain Sathya Prabu lost the toss and was put into bat by the opposition captain. 

The first innings ebbed and flowed in both teams’ favour. Ullah and Divyesh were the two standout batting performances for Limerick with 38 and 32 respectively. However, with only minor contributions elsewhere, the home side had to make do with a score of 166 from their 40 overs. 

The skipper gave himself the new ball with youngster Parth Borghare coming from the other end. Both players dismissed an opener each and were followed up by Ahmed, Ullah, Ammar and Sapkal who joined in. It was to be another close encounter with Nenagh edging close, going from 84-6 to 126-9. Ayan Ullah picked up the last wicket of Tiju George, caught by Prabu to end proceedings.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We defeated Nenagh by 20 runs today.

Limerick 3: 166-9 off 40 overs.

Ayan Ullah 38

Kumar Divyesh 32

Nenagh 2: 146 all out off 35.5 overs.

Parth Borghare 3-29

Ayan Ullah 2-21

Pratik Sapkal 2-22

                                           * * *

Limerick’s 4th XI entertained Cork County at the Manor Fields on Saturday, captain Ramji Lakshmanan made a number of changes to his side which included six U15 players who were given the chance to represent the club at adult level off the back of strong performances in their age group. 

Cork County elected to bowl and Limerick tried to accelerate their way through the initial overs, taking in some loose extras and settling in to the game at 35-0 after 5 overs. The away side got back into the game with the dismissals of Chandra and Krishna proving costly. Shayan Malik anchored the innings from 4 when he came in, despite wickets falling around him he secured a foothold in the game for Limerick and was well backed up by Yousaf Ramay from the other end to get their side over the 100-run mark. After Malik’s departure for 28 from 39, Ramay and his skipper still had 15 overs remaining to bat. The two put on a significant partnership of 42 runs for the final wicket before Ramay was dismissed by Donnelly with the score on 158. 

Eshan Tanveer took the new ball with open arms, his two wickets early on nerved the County middle order who were 46-3 after just 9 overs. A fourth-wicket partnership of note started to sway the game back in the visitors’ favour as Limerick tried to get a breakthrough. At 114-3, rain fell and never cleared, County still needing 45 runs or so but their DLS score was 37 runs ahead at the time. Limerick’s young bowling attack will be disappointed not to have had a better shot at securing some more wickets but nonetheless, the side can be happy with a strong performance and the chance for some youngsters to show their talents.

RESULT| MCU Division Three.

We lost to Cork County by 37 runs yesterday (DLS).

Limerick 4: 158 all out off 35 overs.

Shayan Malik 28

Ramji Lakshmanan 18*

Yousaf Ramay 18

Cork County 4: 114-3 off 22 overs.

Eshan Tanveer 2-14

Jeevan Krishna 1-23

                                           * * *

This Saturday will see the 2nd and 4th XI continue their league campaigns, with the 2nds travelling to face Midleton in Cork whilst the 4ths will make the short trip to Shnnon to face Clare at the Ballycasey Oval. The 1st XI will be in action on Sunday as they host both Cork County and Midleton at the Manor Fields for back-to-back T20s. In youth, Limerick’s U13 XI will take on Cork County at the Mardyke on Sunday morning, with action expected to get underway at 10am.