The Düsseldorf Blackcaps Bundesliga outfit won the NRW Bundesliga 50 over championship for the second consecutive year.  Carrying on from their successful 2016 season, the Bundesliga outfit was more dominant in 2017 where they just lost one game throughout the league. However, it wasn't a walk in the park as it all came down to the final league match of the season for the championship to be decided.

 

Before the final game, Düsseldorf Blackcaps had 7 wins from from 9 games with 1 loss and 1 drawn leaving them with 60 points. on the other hand, Bonn Bluestars had 64 points with 8 wins and 2 loses.  This meant that, Blackcaps had to win their final game against Bonn Goldenstars to go to 68 points and win the championship.  The final league match against Goldenstars was played under murky weather conditions, which made it all the more tougher for Blackcaps as the pressure was on the defending champions to make a play to secure the championship. Blackcaps chose to bowl and were right on the money, dismissing Goldenstars for 105 runs, with all bowlers chipping in with wickets.  The chase was being steered expertly by Kashif and Majeed who were involved in a 50 run stand for the 6th wicket.  Any thoughts of an easy victory were quickly dismissed with a dramatic twist in the tale.

 

With only 5 runs needed and 5 wickets in hand, Blackcaps lost 3 wickets for no runs and the pressure was squarely back on the defending champions. However, the batting pair of Nitin and Sajid held their nerve to close out a hard fought victory which gave Blackcaps a second consecutive NRW Bundesliga championship.  At the end of the day, it was a fair reflection of the dominance shown by Blackcaps throughout the season winning 8 out of 10 games and losing just one.  The major reason for the success lay in the fact that every squad member played their role to perfection and chipped in with solid contributions on a consistent basis. With the regional championship won, the focus now shifts to the German Championship where Blackcaps will face Britannia Berlin in the Quarter finals and the team is quietly confident of winning the German Championship this year.