Team Affiliates has created history by becoming the champions of the iFest 2022. They defeated the Domainers by chasing down 135 in 14.3 overs in a thrilling contest that went down to the wire. The Affiliates required 12 off the last over with only five wickets in hand. However, Piyush Sharma soaked the pressure brilliantly to finish off the match with a double, four and a towering six. Piyush, Ankit Mandhan, Jai Sharma and Rachit Jain were the heroes in the finals with the bat. They played calmly under the immense pressure of the finals and took the right opportunities to attack the opposition and take the game away from the Domainers in the finals.
Here’s how Team Affiliates Became the Ultimate Champions by Clinching the Thrilling Finals:
The Domainers batted first and managed to post a good total of 134 despite losing early wickets. Their openers, Deepak Jat and Atinder Singh, were sent by Ankit Mandhan and Rachit Jain, respectively, in the match. Ronit Nahata and Piyush Sharma also took one wicket each in the finals.
The Domainers could only reach 134 despite having 6 wickets in their hand at the end of their inning due to the skilful captaincy by the Affiliates skipper Antas Ahuja. He kept rotating his bowlers to deny the opportunity of settling down to the opponent.
Chasing 135, Team Affiliates needed their senior player Jai Sharma to fire in the most significant encounter of the tournament. The saying, ‘big players rise on the big occasions’ was proved right by Jai Sharma with an inning that shaped the chase for the Affiliates. He scored a blitzing 31 off 19, which included 2 massive sixes and 3 fours.
Also Read: Team Affiliates Registers A Huge Victory in the Semifinals of iFest 2022
Rachit Jain was equally effective with the bat as he went on to contribute 25 vital runs in the Affiliates’ chase. Ankit Mandhan was yet again brilliant and led the charge with his fiery stroke play in the middle. He never let the scoreboard pressure pile on his team with his exquisite hitting. Mandhan played with a strike rate of 200 to score his 30 runs in the finals.
However, when Mandhan was caught out, the Affiliates’ chase was put in a bit of jeopardy as Gaurab Borah was also sent back in quick succession. Suddenly, The Affiliates required 18 off 12 with Piyush Sharma and Antas Ahuja on the crease. Even though Piyush was batting brilliantly, the pressure of the finals was definitely on with Affiliates 5 wickets down in the match.
Kaushal Sharma bowled an exceptional 14th over for the Domainers and brought the equation to 12 off 6 for the Affiliates. At this crucial juncture, the match was tilted more in favour of Domainers than the Affiliates.
However, Piyush Sharma was in no mood to let the trophy slip by. He went berserk in the last over to finish off the match with three balls to spare. On the first ball of the 15th over, he took a double which was followed by an authoritative four towards the deep wicket. He was in a hurry to win the game for his team as he deposited the following ball in the stands at deep mid-wicket. Sharma was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his epic contribution in the victory.
It was a team effort that made the Team Affiliates the champion of the iFest 2022. Everyone from the team had contributed at one moment or another to lead to the historic victory in the finals. The skipper Antas Ahuja and managers Akshay Garg and Puneet Rohaj deserve special appreciation for their roles which required added responsibilities.
Team Affiliates is sponsored by vCommission, V3Cars and Proxgy in the iFest 2022.
