After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Penguins’ captain Jason Robertson took the new ball and after finding some early swing pinned opener Michael Flowers (0) LBW with just the third ball of the match.
Sami Pir (0) came and went in the same fashion just two balls later, adding yet another duck to his already impressive tally. The aggressive Ali Khan was the next man in for the Cows and he immediately looked to counter-punch against the left-arm off spin of youngster Aneeq Islam.
It would be the bowler who would come out on top however as Khan (0) looked to strike a flighted delivery over the rope only to pick out the bucket hands of Rishi Sadarangani on the long-on boundary to leave the Cows reeling at three men down for 2 runs after just 2 overs.
The Penguins felt confident in finishing the game and hitting the bar early before Sameer Kahn (11) and Mayur Deuskar (61) steadied the ship with a much needed 60-run partnership before the former was knocked over by James Chataway prior to the drinks break.
Following drinks, Deuskar swiftly brought up his retirement, imposing 50 with some crisp striking as the score now read a much healthier 87-4 after 12 overs. Joe Ninan added a run-a-ball 13 to his teams score before the returning Richard Desmond cleaned up the Cows’ captain in an impressive first spell back.
Guddu Manoj (9) was next to go in perhaps the most bizarre dismissal ever witnessed at the ACG. Instead of smashing a boundary, Manoj only managed to smash his bat and could only look on helplessly as the splinter removed the bails from his stumps as Aneeq picked up his 2nd wicket of the match.
Michael Rhys Thomas (18) struck some much needed runs down the order which included three well-timed boundaries before Robertson found his off-stump at the start of the 18th over to bring last-man specialist Mayur back to the crease. Unable to run singles Mayur managed to add a four and a six to the score before Tony Van Blerk’s glove, shoulder and helmet all combined together to stump Deuskar in the final over of the innings off the bowling of Seemant Raju, the Cows posting a below par 136 all out.
Following the interval Chataway (31) and Van Blerk (48) combined for a well measured 62-run opening stand before Flowers made the much needed breakthrough in the 8th over.
The hard-hitting Rishi (20) looked to completely take the game away with some well struck boundaries before Rhys-Thomas’ lofted flight tempted the batsman to come down the track only for Flowers to pounce on the stumping opportunity in the 15th over.
Compatriots Morgan (19*) and Van Blerk had all but sealed the win when Rhys-Thomas struck once more in the 17th over to deny Van Blerk his 50 before Morgan put the contest put to bed in the following over, the Penguins finishing with a 6-wicket win with 13 balls remaining.
Man of the Match went to Mayur Deuskar for his resilient 61 (51) which gave the Cows something to defend while Robertson was equally deserving ripping through the Cows’ top order and finishing with the impressive figures of 3/13 from 4 overs.
Other Penguins performances of note included Aneeq’s returns of 2-30 from his 4 overs, Richard Desmonds solid returns of 1-11 from 2 overs on his much-welcomed return to Phuket cricket, whilst Van Blerk’s 48 from 52 balls with the bat ensured a comfortable run chase for his side.
Rhys-Thomas was the clear stand out performer for Cows with a solid contribution of 18 from 17 with the bat as well as impressive figures of 2-17 from 3 overs with the ball.
This Sunday (Feb 6) sees the conclusion of the Asia v Rest of World Series with the score locked at 2-2. The match is scheduled to start at 10:30am at the ACG. For further information please visit the Phuket Cricket Facebook page.