A game of fine margins and nerves of steel - Vikings hold their ground!!

Vikings cut the lead down to 5-2 against the Infernos - By Chaitanya 

I will not bother with the details at specific points in the game (cos quite frankly I don't remember them. I'm no @⁨AK SOBHA 4022⁩ . It's a miracle I remember my kids' names).

This was a game that begged for someone to take control of it. It could have been any of Infernos' regular match winners, but Arjun decided it was going to be him. Forced to come in much earlier than his usual finisher position, Arjun injected momentum into the Vikings' innings. He stitched crucial partnerships and never let the runrate drop below 8. Also worth calling out is his decision to give Susmit (running for Harsha) out - a close but fair call. Rest of the Vikings team played their hand in putting up a respectable total on board (helped in no small part by some wayward bowling  and fielding from Infernos). But by half time neither team could be disappointed with their efforts.

Infernos started briskly on the back of some sublime hitting from Kings, who was suckered into a loose shot by Susmit. It was a crucial strike as Kings was threatening to run away with the game like last time. At 7 overs, with enough wickets in hand and ahead of the asking rate, Infernos were putting the pressure on Vikings. Once again, it took some smart bowling from Arjun to pull Infernos back. Also worth noting are a couple of run outs that shifted momentum. After periods of seesawing advantage the match was perfectly poised with 24 needed of 12. Susmit's penultimate over proved costly (thanks in part to an overthrow that ran for 4).

This set up a Titanic battle of nerves for the last over. This is what the fans wanted - Arjun vs Chaitanya. Turns out Arjun held onto his nerves better this time allowing just a measly 3, managing to keep Chaitanya away from strike long enough.

A well deserved victory for Vikings and a hard fought match. A game of fine margins, execution of skill and many a battle of wits (and of course some controversial moments - par for course in a close game).

This is the kind of match one wants to be a part of and I for one hope that this is the version of Vikings that turns up more often. And for those who want to hold out hope for a series going to the wire, look no further back than last season when Vikings overturned a similar deficit to win the series.