Revelstoke Cricket Club lost to Salmon Arm by just nine runs, falling agonizingly short of what would have been their first win at home.
Having both lost and won twice against each other last summer, the ‘Shuswap Derby’ produced fireworks again.
Winning the coin toss, Revelstoke elected to bowl first in the hope of capitalizing on conditions favourable to swing. The decision proved correct, as captain Nagender Kanwar claimed the first wicket with a beautiful delivery sending the middle stump cartwheeling.
The wicket triggered a dominant 16 overs from Revelstoke, restricting Salmon Arm to 53-7. It looked like the visitors would struggle to post a competitive score, but as the ball softened and temperatures soared, batting became easier.
Batting at number seven and nine for Salmon Arm, Manny and Karan Dhillon launched into a match-defining partnership. Revelstoke began bowling short and wide, allowing the opposition to hit boundaries regularly.
Revelstoke deserves credit for their reply as both Kanwar and Navdeep Samra finished with four wickets. But Salmon Arm posted a more than respectable score of 137. In reply, the home team made a steady start but quickly lost four top-order batters leaving the score at 58-4.
Keeping up with the run rate, it seemed as though Revelstoke were going comfortably as Matt Bramall and Gokul Basene built a small partnership. Even when Bramall fell, Basene kicked up a gear hitting two big sixes.
But the momentum was snatched back in Salmon Arm’s favour when Basene was bowled out with the score at 122-7. Kanwar and Kanoje fell quickly after. A four from Jaijit Singh gave Revelstoke one final taste of hope but he was eventually bowled out with the team all out for 128.
It was a much-improved performance by Revelstoke but they need to resolve basic errors as they host Vernon this Sunday.
Details of all upcoming matches and events can be found facebook.com/RevelstokeCC
