We want to give thanks to The Most High for taking us to the Semi-Finals of the Atlanta Open. The past few days have been challenging, to say the least. Our team members flew in from several countries to create what is now called Lightning Cricket Club. We are a true team. One Team, One Dream. We are on positive vibes. We are aware that things won’t always go our way, but we believe in our team.
To quote our captain, Ricardo Powell, “A captain don’t make a team, a team makes a captain. And today was an indication of what the Lightning Cricket Team is all about. A combination of both experience and youth. I have two CPL captains (Ryad Emrit and West Indies Test captain, Denesh Ramdin) in my team who captained the team today, as I am out with an injury. He who also won CPL. In addition, we have the captain of the winning India under 19 team, Unmukt Chand, along with other outstanding CPL and USA players.”
Our score card is as follows:
Edison CC 186/6 (20 overs)
Lightning CC 190/5 (19.3 overs) Khary Pierre 66 (32) Sagar Patel 31 (33)
Lightning CC won by 5 wickets
We will see you all in the semi-finals, Lightning Is About To Strike
Lightning has struck! We won Match 3 & 4 Our team was in “Lightning Form” on Day 2 . And Lightning did not only strike once, it struck twice.
Congratulations to our team, in particular Mark Deyal who top scored in the first game with 122 not out off of 58 balls, and Sahil Charania who also made a strong contribution to the batting with a solid 71 off of 41 balls. The team then went on to win Match 4 with an outstanding innings from Unmukt Chand who made 89 from 51 balls, and Shamar Springer who made 33 from 19 balls.
Hope you all come out today and support all the teams at the Atlanta OpenTournament. Congrats to all the other teams who have advanced to the quarter final round. Here are the results from Day 2 / Match 3 & 4.
Match 3
Lightning CC 215/3 (20 overs) Mark Deyal 122* (58) Sahil Charania 71 (41)
Kings XI 168 all out (20 overs) Shamar Springer 4 for 41
The first game between Lightning Cricket, and PV Hurricane, was nail biting from the get go. It was not the best day for the batsmen, but USA player and opening batsman, Sagar Patel kept things steady and top scored with 41 runs off of 40 balls. In the end, Lightning cricket team lost by 7 wickets.
Lightning Cricket Club was officially launched on Sunday 10th October in Suwanee, Georgia. The official team, branding and philosophy were announced. The evening was hosted by none other than Mr. Ram Chenchu. Ram kicked off the proceedings by reminding guests and players that the management team of Lightning Cricket Club is very committed to the development of professional cricketers. He went on to add that diversity is very important to the management team at Lightning. The official motto of the club is “One Team, One Dream.” The décor was carefully done to represent the colors of the brand, but more importantly to communicate the mindset of Lightning Cricket Club, “A Player Is More Than A Number.” At Lightning, players will be treated fairly, and with respect they deserve. There can be no team without the players.
Every member of the management team reiterated these sentiments about” putting players first” in their speeches.All three members of the management team, co-owner, Mr. Vikram Ramani, co-owner Mr. Sankar Kaliaperumal, and the captain of the club, Former West Indies player, Mr. Ricardo Powell pledged their commitment to take care of the players. While the full roster of players who will represent Lightning Cricket at this weekend’s Atlanta Open Tournament, were not all present, most of the of the players attended in their official Lightning Team T-Shirt and expressed how excited they are to be representing a team where the happiness of the players is a top priority.
Many guests and players alike were astonished to learn that the club was formed just under five (5) weeks prior to the official launch. The décor and branding were executed with meticulous precision, to communicate the signifance of the night and the commitment and dedication of its founders. The sunflower was the centerpiece on every table, to symbolize loyalty, longevity and good luck.
There was a common feeling of pride and joy around the room. Both guests and players alike, shared their astonishment at the professionalism executed at the official launch. However, for Lightning Cricket, this is only the beginning. To quote the management, “Our launch is simply our way of saying that Lightning Cricket Club is here to stay.” To all our cricketers and who have graciously trusted us with the next stage of their careers, we would like to say, “Welcome to Georgia Y’all.” To our sponsors, S2 Integrators, we wish to say thank you for coming on this journey with us. We are very grateful for all your support and the confidence you have placed in us
The official team for the upcoming Atlanta Open Tournament is as follows: