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          Suva Warriors win Easter tournament

          • Nitin SundarApr 6, 2010, 11:07 PM
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              Social media manager Nitin spent his formative years perfecting the art of landing the googly, before blossoming into a book-cricket specialist. More excellence followed in the underarm version of the game before, like the majority of India's misguided youth, he started taking studies seriously. After four forgettable years of electrical engineering, followed by a rigorous MBA and 16 months in the strategy consulting industry, he began to ponder life's more profound issues. Such as the angle made by Brian Lara's bat with the horizontal at the peak of his back-lift. A move to ESPNcricinfo followed and Nitin is now a prolific nurdler in office cricket, with a questionable technique against the short ball.

          Suva Warriors have won the re-scheduled Easter tournament final thanks to match-winning innings from Noa Acawei and Mesui Qalobula.

          Moce elected to bat first, however, when Cakacaka Sau was bowled by Sak Lomani without offering a shot the innings was off to a poor start. Suva continued to build the momentum as Lomani and Sam Draunivudi struck twice each to leave Moce reeling at 28 for 4. The Lau Islanders slipped further, to 36 for 6, before the recovery began.

          Jimione Duvu (18) and Iliesa Tale (16) helped steady the ship for Moce with some attacking hitting against a strong Suva bowling lineup to help them reach a competitive total of 9/94 from their twenty overs.

          The Moce bowlers started in the same vein as their Suva counterparts by claiming early wickets. Tagilala Rakuita (2 for 15) and Bale Taione (2 for 11) got the early breakthroughs to leave Suva in deep trouble at 6 for 32. Fortunately for the capital city side, Noa Acawei (43 not out) and Mesui Qalobula (26 not out) stepped forward to lead the charge to victory. They stepped up the run-rate towards the end and Acawei brought up the win with a six.

          Suva Warriors had cruised into the final with a comfortable five wicket win over Western Tigers in Monday's first semi-final. The Tigers were shot out for 69 thanks to Draunivudi (2 for 6) and Lomani (2 for14). Qalobula (31) steered the Warriors home for an easy win.

          Moce's path to the final was just as easy as they breezed past Suva Crusaders in the second semi-final. Thanks to a five wicket haul from Sekope Biaunicava and a hard hitting 32 from Sau the Lau Islanders overcame the strong Crusaders team.

          Biaunicava bowled four of the first five Crusader batsmen to leave the Suva combination at 5-10. The Crusaders did manage 78 all-out, a target which posed Moce with few problems. Cakacaka Sau gave the Moce innings early impetus and the Lau Islanders earned their place in the title decider.