Leicestershire Foxes ne socha hoga ki 196 runs ka score khada karke woh Derbyshire Falcons ko dhool chata denge. Lekin kya? Aneurin Donald ne toh unke saare sapne chur-chur kar diye! Ek aisa opener, jo shuru se hi bowler ke saamne aag ugalta hai, aur is baar bhi usne wahi kiya – 25 balls mein 60 runs, jisme se 52 runs toh boundaries se aaye! Yeh koi mazak thodi hai, Leicestershire ke bowlers ko toh laga hoga ki unki bowling nahi, koi punching bag hai jo Donald ke bat se thok-thok ke baja raha hai.
Par yeh Aneurin Donald ka magic hai. Ek aisa batsman jo T20 mein aate hi bowlers ke dil mein darr baitha deta hai. Derbyshire ke liye yeh jeet sirf ek match nahi, balki ek bada statement tha. Kal hi unhone Notts Outlaws ko haraaya tha, aur aaj Leicestershire ko 10 balls bache hue chase kar liya. Yeh do din mein do jeet – Derbyshire Falcons ke liye toh jaise Diwali aur Eid ek saath aa gaye! Samit Patel ne bhi 32 balls mein unbeaten 52 runs banaye, aur Wayne Madsen (35 runs) ke saath unka partnership ne chase ko asaan bana diya. Lekin asli hero toh Donald rahe, jinhone shuru se hi Leicestershire ke bowlers ko peeche daudaya.
Aneurin Donald ka yeh dhamaka koi naya nahi hai. 2024 ke T20 Blast mein unhone do fifties sirf 19 balls mein banayi thi, jo Derbyshire ke liye sabse tezz fifties thi. Aur yaad hai 2016 ka woh match? Jab unhone Glamorgan ke liye Derbyshire ke khilaaf 136 balls mein 234 runs thok diye the, jisme 15 sixes aur 26 fours shamil the. Us din toh Derbyshire ke bowlers ke haathon ke chhalle bhi toot gaye honge! Woh innings thi jisme Donald ne Ravi Shastri ka fastest double-century ka record barabar kiya tha. Aisa talent jab maidan par utarta hai, toh opposition ke liye bas dua hi bachti hai.
Derbyshire ka yeh comeback dekhkar dil khush ho jata hai. Ek team jo kabhi wooden spoon le rahi thi County Championship mein, ab T20 Blast mein aisi dhamakedaar performance de rahi hai. Yeh jeet Leicestershire ke liye ek sabak hai, jo shayad thodi si overconfidence mein thi. Sol Budinger (49) aur Shan Masood (43) ne Leicestershire ke liye shandar batting ki, par bowlers jaise Pat Brown (3 for 51) ke saamne Donald ka toofan rokna mushkil tha.
Yeh bhi yaad rakhna chahiye ki cricket mein chhoti teams bhi bade dhamake kar sakti hain. Yaad hai 2003 World Cup mein Kenya ka woh performance? Unhone South Africa aur Sri Lanka jaise bade teams ko hara diya tha. Aisa hi kuch Derbyshire ne kiya hai – ek team jo paper par shayad Leicestershire se kamzor dikh rahi thi, lekin maidan par unhone dikha diya ki dil aur talent bada ho toh runs aur wickets khud ba khud aate hain. Donald jaise players isiliye khaas hote hain – woh na sirf match jeetate hain, balki fans ke dil mein bhi jagah banate hain.
Lekin thodi si khatkhat bhi toh banta hai. Yeh jeet toh theek hai, par Derbyshire ko abhi consistency chahiye. Ek-do match jeetne se season nahi banta. Aur Donald bhi, kitna bhi talent ho, kabhi-kabhi over-aggressive ho jate hain, jaise is match mein Tom Scriven ne unka off-stump uda diya. Agle matches mein agar bowlers ne thodi aur planning ki, toh kya pata Donald ka yeh toofan bhi thanda pad jaye. Leicestershire ke liye bhi yeh haar ek wake-up call hai – agar bowlers aise hi boundaries khate rahe, toh T20 Blast mein aage ka safar mushkil ho jayega.
Toh filhaal, Derbyshire ke fans jashn mana sakte hain. Aneurin Donald ne dikha diya hai ki chhoti team bhi bade sapne dekh sakti hai. Par yeh cricket hai, yahan ek din toofan aata hai, toh doosre din sukhha bhi pad sakta hai. Ab dekhte hain yeh Falcons kitna ooncha udte hain
