Highlights of the fourth week
Rain threatens continually but both matches are played
Hafnarfjörður go down to their first defeat of the season
70 wides are bowled in the morning game
Dushan Bandara top-scores again for the Hammers
Jegadeesh Subramaniyam becomes the first Icelander perform the hat trick
Mohammad Kareem impresses on Kópavogur debut
Reykjavík openers post 141 in 14.3 overs
Career-best figures from Lal Mahagoda send Vesturbær to defeat
Kópavogur v Hafnarfjörður
Kópavogur 164 for 5 (20 overs) Nolan Williams 32, David Cook 20, Mohammad Kareem 20 Tajdar Khan 1—19
Hafnarfjörður 145 all out (17 overs) Dushan Bandara 44 Jegadeesh Subramaniyam 4—26, Mohammad Kareem 3—27
Kópavogur won by 19 runs Full scorecard
An astonishing 45 wides vastly inflated a solid but unspectacular batting performance from the Puffins. Bala Kamallakharan fell early to the accuracy of Mohammad Younas, but captain Cook and the newly-promoted Williams added 81 for the second wicket as they took toll of a wayward bowling effort from the Hammers. Ahsan Shah conceded 13 wides in his only over; the rest of the bowlers hardly fared better. Williams' 42-ball knock was the highest score, but late impetus from the debutant Kareem and Abhi Chauhan posted an competitive total. The Hafnarfjörður talisman Bandara came in at four with the match in the balance at 33 for 2 and he brought the total to a healthy 78 for 2 with the help of Younas (and a further 25 wides). This became 122 for 4 when he was alongside Sadiq. Then came Subramaniyam's hat trick, the first by any Icelander and the first in any Icelandic cricket match since Robert Kottman for the touring Fellowship team in 2011. When Bandara was eighth out, Hafnarfjörður's fate was sealed as Kareem's wrist spin mopped up the tail.
Reykjavík v Vesturbær
Reykjavík 163 for 6 (20 overs) Derick Deonarain 75, Ravi Rawat 41 Kathir Narayanan 2—36
Vesturbær 79 all out (15.1 overs) Sebastiaan Dreyer 25 Lal Mahagoda 4—7, Ankur Kumar 2—14
Reykjavík won by 84 runs Full scorecard
Vesturbær put the Vikings in to bat and found themselves playing catch-up all too soon. Reykjavík has hit upon an opening partnership that really works, and their stand of 141 in even time quickly put them in the strongest of positions. A spirited fightback from the Volcano, brought about by some wonderful fielding, saw six wickets fall for the addition of 20 runs. Inspiring though this was, this only served to pose the question of what might have been if only Deonarain and Rawat had been separated earlier. However, Vesturbær's top three again got them off to a very good start, and despite the premature departure of Nelson, Dreyer maturely kept the chase together as the score reached 51 for 1. He had built a good platform for his team mates, but they threw themselves from it en masse. The collapse was remarkable: nine wickets fell for 28 runs as the entire line-up imploded against Lal Mahagoda's seemingly harmless offies. The veteran Sri Lankan could not believe his luck as he claimed four scalps for just seven runs, having previously bowled only three overs in five seasons in the Arctic. It was a chastening experience for Vesturbær, who swapped league table positions with their conquerors.
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