Pehle do matches mein haar ke baad, fans ke dil mein thodi si mayoosi thi. Ek taraf Durham ne unhe kheench liya tha, aur doosri taraf Nottinghamshire ke against 225 runs banane ke bawajood, unki bowling unhe jeet nahi dila payi. Lekin Edgbaston mein Yorkshire Vikings ke khilaaf khela gaya match ek nayi ummeed lekar aaya. Captain Alex Davies ne apni shandaar batting se Bears ko season ki pehli jeet dilayi, jabki Yorkshire ko teesri baar haar ka mooh dekhna pada.
Alex Davies ne is match mein 65 runs ki shandaar paari kheli, jisme unka saath diya New Zealand ke opener Tom Latham ne. Dono ne mil kar century partnership banayi, jo Bears ki jeet ka mool aadhar bani. Yorkshire ne pehle batting karte hue 165 runs ka target diya tha, jo shayad unke liye kaafi nahi tha. Bears ke bowlers Jake Lintott, Moeen Ali aur Danny Briggs ne pehli innings mein wickets lekar Yorkshire ko chhote score par rok diya. Davies ne na sirf batting mein, balki wicketkeeping aur field mein bhi apni captaincy ka jadoo dikhaya, baar-baar bowling changes karke Yorkshire ke batsmen ko settle nahi hone diya.
Yeh jeet Bears ke liye ek nayi shuruaat hai. Ek hafte pehle Nottinghamshire ke khilaaf 225 runs banane ke bawajood, unki team mein kuch kami dikhi thi. Lekin is baar, team ka balance behtar tha. Hassan Ali aur Dan Mousley ke aane se team ko aur mazbooti mili. Mousley, jo recently England Lions ke liye khel rahe the, ne bhi apna yogdaan diya, haalanki unka wicket ek shandaar catch ke saath gaya. Yeh jeet yaad dilati hai 2003 ki us T20 campaign ki, jab Warwickshire ne apne ghar mein ek ke baad ek shandaar performance di thi aur title tak pahunchi thi. Davies ki yeh innings bhi unki leadership aur consistency ko darshati hai, jaise ki unhone is season ke County Championship mein bhi teesri baar 50-plus score banaya tha.
Lekin Yorkshire ke liye yeh match ek aur jhatka tha. Ek depleted team ke saath khelte hue, unke batsmen, jaise Dawid Malan, ne kuch shandaar shots khele, lekin consistency ki kami dikhi. Unki fielding bhi kaafi kamzor rahi, jisse Bears ke openers ne faida uthaya. Yorkshire ki yeh teesri haar unhe sochne par majboor karegi, kyunki group stage mein abhi 11 matches baaki hain, aur unhe apni strategy mein badlaav karna hoga. Yeh yaad dilata hai 2024 ke us match ka jab Yorkshire ek strong position se bhi haar gaya tha Surrey ke khilaaf, jab Jonny Bairstow ke 89 runs bhi unhe jeet nahi dila sake.
Bears ke liye yeh jeet ek boost hai, lekin unke raaste mein abhi bhi kaafi challenges hain. T20 Blast ek unpredictable tournament hai, aur ek jeet se pura season nahi badalta. Agle matches mein, unhe apni bowling aur batting dono ko aur sharp karna hoga, kyunki Durham aur Nottinghamshire jaise teams unka intezaar kar rahi hain. Yorkshire ke liye bhi, yeh ek wake-up call hai. Agar unhe quarter-finals mein jagah banani hai, toh unhe apne key players jaise Malan aur Bairstow par zyada depend karna hoga, lekin saath hi naye talent ko bhi mauka dena hoga. Cricket ke is khel mein, ek din aap hero hote hain, aur doosre din zero. Ab dekhna yeh hai ki kaun si team apne momentum ko barkaraar rakhti hai.
