Champions again: Dundalk lift Leinster T20 Cup in dramatic final

Swords 2: 137/6 (15 ov) Nikhil 40, Umer 2-19

Dundalk 1: 138/4 (11.3 ov) Syed 59*, Tintu 2-14

Dundalk won by 6 wickets

A heroic batting display from captain Syed Ibnan and rising youth talent Mohammad Emran saw Dundalk’s first team lift their fourth provincial trophy in as many years at Lucan’s St. Catherine’s Park Saturday last.

Facing their Division 11 title rivals Swords II, the weather was less than ideal on a showery afternoon in West Dublin, and both captains agreed to a reduced 15-overs a side contest.

The weather did not dampen the atmosphere; both Dundalk’s second and third teams were also on the road and fortunately made it to the game on account of both their league fixtures being rained off earlier in the day.

The town fielded a strong XI for their second consecutive T20 final, with gifted Indian opener Yash Verma and left-arm spinner Liam Giggins the only notable absentees.

Ibnan won the toss and asked Vasanth Kumar’s Swords side to bat first, perhaps in the hope of drier weather come the second innings.

Swords put runs on the board at a swift rate from the outset, but a breakthrough did come early for the men in yellow and green, with right-arm pacer Amal Soman removing Swords opener Justin Jacob for 6 via a Qazi Khan catch at square leg.

As the score continued to rise, bowler rotation at both ends worked well for Dundalk, with inswinger Adarsh Hegde stemming the flow before club veteran Umer Khan bowled Farooq Hussain through the gate to leave Swords 42-2 halfway through the innings.

Left-arm off-spinner Muhammad Tayyab got the next wicket in the 11th over and may later have rued doing so as it saw the introduction of Swords wicket-keeper Nikhil Panikar, who closed out the innings with a destructive cameo appearance.

His 40 runs off just 16 deliveries left a hole in a Dundalk bowling performance which otherwise was economical and under control.

A batting performance in excess of 9 runs per over now stood between the town and back-to-back cup victories.

If worry hadn’t set into the Dundalk camp during the innings break it was palpable after two overs – a calamitous start with bat in hand saw the early dismissals of opener Sakhi Jan (0 off 3), Qazi Khan (1 off 3) and Shakeel Qamar (1 off 3).

This left Syed Ibnan, who promoted himself to open the batting, partnering with his vice-captain Sanju Thomas for the fourth wicket, the score sitting at a precarious 5 for 3.

Thomas’ immediate impact helped stabilise the innings quickly, giving time for Ibnan to grow into the game after a rocky start with many balls beating the bat.

They partnered for 48 runs before Thomas’ wicket fell in the 7th over, confusion between the pair leading to an unfortunate run-out.

Seventeen-year-old all-rounder Mohammad Emran then walked to the crease faced with a high-pressure scenario, Dundalk still needing 85 runs off 48 balls for victory.

As with his captain at the other end, it took a few balls for the attack-minded Emran to adjust and connect, after which a barrage of heavily-hit boundaries followed, with he and Ibnan sharing offensive duties and transferring pressure back over to the bowling side for the first time in the innings to the tune of horns and vuvuzelas on the sideline.

The pair rejected umpire offers to delay the game as drizzle turned to rain and continued their batting onslaught – the 10th over went for 26 runs and the 11th for 19 as Ibnan brought up his half-century striking at 200.

Three balls later, they drew the curtain on a 27-ball, 85-run batting masterclass which saw Dundalk claim an unlikely victory, the Carrick Road men lifting their third T20 cup in four seasons in a match that will be remembered by all present for many years to come.

Next weekend’s league fixtures: Dundalk 2 v North County 5 (Division 16A, Sat 12 Sep, home), County Cavan 3 v Dundalk 3 (Division 17A, Sun 13 Sep, away).

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