Beyond his boundaries

No.10 Imitiyaz clears the ropes for the first time,scores 12 off the last two balls to help UP win

Till Friday,Imtiyaz Ahmed had never hit a six in his T20 career. In fact,he had in all scored six runs in three innings. And as he walked out to bat at No.10 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore,most of his Uttar Pradesh teammates had all but thrown in the white towel. The task after all was a monumental one,almost bordering on the improbable if not impossible.

Sixteen runs were required off the last over with two wickets standing. At the other end stood Umang Sharma playing his maiden T20 knock. Marking his run to bowl the 20th over was no mean customer either. Baroda8217;s Ajitesh Argal had made a name for himself by bowling a heroic last over during India U-198217;s World Cup winning campaign back in 2008. Even he could have been excused for considering the matter closed,and especially so after Sharma and Ahmed only managed two singles off the first three deliveries of the over.

Now,Uttar Pradesh required 14 off the last three balls with Ahmed on strike. After sneaking a couple off the fourth delivery,the 27-year-old right-hander8217;s task was suddenly very straightforward: hit the last two out of the ground. To everyone8217;s shock,including his own,that8217;s exactly what Ahmed did. He hit Argal for two massive sixes,taking Uttar Pradesh to the most dramatic of wins in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history.

And as Ahmed admits now,even he wasn8217;t really confident of performing what was almost a miracle. After all,he had never quite come this close to winning a match with the bat.

I could see the dressing room was losing confidence with each ball. Even my opponents seemed to be think that the job was done. I had nothing to lose,so I told myself to go for it and just swing the bat, an elated Ahmed said from Indore.

Ideally,Uttar Pradesh should have never left the match get to this situation. Chasing 129,they always seemed the favourites but despite four of their middle-order batsmen getting past 20,it had come down to Ahmed8217;s brawny shoulders. But like he revealed,it wasn8217;t just blind hitting. He did adopt some method to the madness.

I knew he would try for a yorker so I stood a little in front of my crease in order to convert it into a full-toss, he explained.

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Ahmed was right on cue as Argal8217;s delivery arrived right under his bat,allowing him to swing it over the fence. He now had to repeat the feat.

I have bowled in such situations before but never imagined myself here with a bat in hand. I just took a deep breath and told myself that whatever happens,happens, Ahmed admitted.

Argal by now was under immense pressure too. And he went with the tried-and-tested strategy again. Yet again,however,his attempted yorker arrived as a low full-toss,which Ahmed dutifully dispatched into the first tier of the Holkar Stadium. Not surprisingly,the entire Uttar Pradesh team and support staff was on the ground,engulfing their latest batting hero. And Ahmed couldn8217;t hold back his emotions either.

I had hoped that we will win but never thought that we will win in his fashion. I8217;m still over the moon. It8217;s not everyday that you hit a six off the last ball,two of the last two in fact,to win a game for your team, said Ahmed.

Kerala beat Orissa

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Meanwhile,a good all-round performance helped Kerala register a comfortable six-wicket victory over Orissa after they were dismissed for a modest 125 in a Group A encounter. Electing to field,Kerala restricted the opposition for 125 for eigth in the stipulated 20 overs which they chased down with six wickets in hand and four balls to spare.

For Orissa,opener Ankit Yadav made run-a-ball 28 which included three fours. Pacers Nizar Niyas 2/24 and VA Jagadeesh 2/10 bagged two wickets each while left-arm spinner Padmanabhan Prasanth got one wicket. Kerala,in reply,were 44 for three in 7.5 overs. Sanju Viswanadh scored unbeaten 41 runs including two sixes and a four,and shared a 64-run stand with Sachin Baby 33 to take Kerala home.