The only game from the weekend saw Limerick’s 3rd XI take on the LImerick Blasters at the Manor Fields in Adare on Saturday afternoon. With Limerick’s 1st XI encounter with County Kerry rained off, Vinaykumar Nagaraju lead his side out to seek a victory which would ensure a second place finish in Division 2A. 

After losing the toss, Blasters captain elected to bat as Nagaraju trusted once again in Waqar Ahmed with the new ball. He was supported by Jeevan Krishan from the other end and the pair, despite only taking one wicket, both produced economical spells. Some loose overs after the powerplay allowed the visitors to consolidate a decent partnership before the Shannonsiders gained control once again, with Deepak Nagaraju and Abubakar Aziz the perpetrators. Bhargav Kumar’s introduction was timely at the fifteenth over, who dismissed Sreejith and Thomas through bowling at a full length. Kumar then picked up his third, the important wicket of Jaison, whose shot found the safe hands of Ayan Ullah. A late flurry from Blasters was perhaps costly in hindsight for the hosts, who leaked 46 runs in the last ten overs without any dismissals, as the away side set a target of 179. 

Limerick recovered from the loss of Srivastava as Totad and Aziz occupied the crease and negotiated the new ball well. Aziz continued to anchor the innings despite the loss of wickets around him, as the youngster ensured there would be no collapse early on. The introduction of Ayan Ullah in the middle order at 83-5 had the game setup for an intriguing finish. Ullah and Aziz put on 44 runs for the sixth wicket, with Aziz’s dismissal eventually coming after he carried his bat for 30 overs. Ullah continued the charge towards the finish line, but was bowled by Raju for resilient 30 from 29 balls. 

The responsibility of the chase was left for the tail, as the Nagaraju brothers tried to steer the ship home with less than a run a ball needed. Blasters however, took the remaining wickets at crucial points, and the hosts were running out of batsman. Ahmed’s dismissal on 173-9 had Limerick just 6 runs short, but the gamble of a second run between the final pair of Nagaraju and Gopal did not pay off, with the resulting run-out marking the conclusion of the game. 

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We lost to Limerick Blasters by 3 runs today. 

Limerick Blasters 2 :178-8 off 40 overs.

Bhargav Kumar 3-31

Deepak Nagaraju 1-11

Limerick 3: 175 all out off 38.5 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 38

Ayan Ullah 30

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The weekend wraps up the seasons for every team bar one, with Limerick’s 2nd XI taking the honour of drawing the curtains on the club’s adventures for 2025. Waqas Mehmood’s side will entertain County Kerry at the Manor Fields on Saturday to mark his side’s final game in Division One as they look to avoid the wooden spoon against rock-bottom County Kerry.