HAVERFORD, Pa. - After a rain-delayed start, Haverford faced off against Merion Cricket Club for its first away match of the season. Haverford lost the toss, and Merion sent the Fords into the field first, hoping to capitalize on the slippery conditions.
Junior Nihaal Kochar shared the new ball with first-year Zaki Siddiqui. An economical powerplay did not provide the desired wickets until the very final ball, with Siddiqui finding his way past the Merion opener's bat and into the stumps.
After a few more economical overs by Siddiqui and senior captain Sanil Kagalwala, the Fords had the opposition on the fence approaching the drinks break, allowing just 44 through the first half of Merion's innings.
After the break, a few errant overs helped Merion recover. Merion managed to score over 7 runs an over until junior Vivaan Hingad made his presence known. His tediously slow pace combined with his meticulous line and length to tempt the opponents into overly ambitious shots.
In one over, Hingad dismissed both of Merion's danger batsmen, leaving the hosts at 89/4 after 18 overs. Hingad's wickets came in part due to Haverford's first stumping of the season, which came from Siddiqui, who had exchanged the new ball for keeping gloves. Junior captain Agastya Singh would add another wicket, but steady progress by Merion's middle and lower orders left the Fords a total of 128 to win.
The Fords' biggest challenge was yet to come as they had to adjust to a different wicket for the first time this season. First-year Kairav Khimji opened the batting with Singh. The flat outfield was perfect for Khimji's style of play, and he played classy drives to get the Fords ahead of the required rate.
Khimji looked at ease at the crease, as if he were going to send the Fords home early with a quick victory, but a miscommunication and a refused run led to his unfortunate demise with an unexpected run-out.
With Khimji and Singh out, Kochar looked to once again salvage Haverford's chase. He found support in Siddiqui at the other end. More important than his 19 runs were the 46 deliveries he faced. By defending good deliveries and attacking those in his arc, Siddiqui supported Kochar with a maturity and temperament rarely seen from a first-year.
Kochar used this support to attack the bowling, taking what balls he could to the boundary while protecting his wicket and keeping the required rate within reason. Kochar reached a deserved half-century in as many deliveries before shifting into high gear. He faced just 6 more deliveries and added 14 runs off those.
This aggression was needed to push Haverford towards a win, but it also cost Kochar his wicket, as aggressive batting always risks doing. This left Haverford's fate in the hands of Rustom Dubash.
Dubash channeled his inner MS Dhoni in an explosive finish that gave the Fords hope. Needing 13 runs off the last over, Dubash toyed with the bowler, pulled the ball hard and ran quick twos. The Fords needed just 10 off 3, then 8 off 2, then 6 off the final delivery.
Dubash knew he had to clear the boundary. The last ball was delivered, the bat was swung, and Dubash smashed the ball to fine leg, sending it over the boundary… along the ground for 4.
Haverford was handed its second heartbreaking defeat, falling two runs short of a winning total.
