Indians retain title by a hair

The Bay of Plenty Indians reserves celebrate their victory at the weekend. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The Bay of Plenty Indians reserves have posted one of the most unlikely victories ever seen at Rotorua's Ray Boord Park in defending their T20 crown following a bowl-off.

The Indians (Rotorua) met Taupo Old Boys in the T20 grand final on Saturday - in the Rotorua/Taupo senior reserve grade - with the match ending in a draw.

The match then went to a bowl-off to decide a winner - with each team taking six bowls at the stumps without anyone on strike.

Old Boys only hit the stumps once while Indians hit the stumps twice to successfully defend the title they won last year. What made the match even more remarkable was that the Indians looked dead and gone with only three overs left in the match.

They batted first and posted a modest 121 all-out before Old Boys put in a steady run chase and needed just seven runs to win, with three overs and plenty of wickets in hand. Two runouts and 12 balls later, the equation was reduced to just two runs needed off the last six balls.

Old Boys hit a single off the first ball of the final over but Lokesh Gahlan then bowled four dot balls. Taupo almost scored the winning run off the last ball of the innings but the batsman was run out. The match then went to a bowl-off and the Indians triumphed.

"It was so tense," Indians captain Shonit Chandra said.

"I have never played in such a game."

Chandra, who was one of the players to hit the stumps in the bowl-off, said spinner Gahlan bowled exceptionally well in that last over to tie the match.

"His bowling was mean. I used him late in the innings because he is a spinner and you don't get that much from artificial [pitch], but there was nothing to lose for us."

He said his side had been playing well all year and had about six new players this season.

- Results from the final:
Bay of Plenty Indians 121 (U Morarji 26,SPassi 20;ABatta 2/22,MRiverse 1/16) won in a
bowl off against Taupo Old Boys 121/6 (A Batta 60no ;DJohn 1/10,SChandra 1/24).