The series against Doyle Devils began with game 1 being played at Spring Canyon Ground (Small). Unfortunately, Vijay S lost the toss and it was no surprise that we were asked to bat first. The wicket in the area close to the concrete pathway, however is good for batting be it the first or second inning.
Parag and Shekhar opened the inning. A boundary and a couple of twos by Parag in the first over
resulted in a good start. Parag (batting with a runner was run-out in over number three) when the two runners set out on a non-existent run. Shekhar and Suresh almost repeated the same incident but fortunately the keeper Kapil, struck the stumps but let the ball go by before the stumps were hit. At the 10 over stage we were well placed at 59/2 with Suresh and Hari at the crease. Shekhar was out caught after having scored 15 (23b, 2*4).
After the break, Suresh launched one of his huge hits towards long on, where Ravi M could not hold on, and even worse let the ball go over the ropes for a six. Hari struck a few boundaries and the score kept moving along at a air pace. Suresh lost his wicket in a couple of balls after hitting the six, but by then had scored 21 (28b, 1*4, 1*6). At 93/3, in 13 overs a score in the range of 135-145 was a possibility. Ibrar, Vijay S were dismissed in quick succession. Overs 15 to 17 produced only 11 runs. Hari was caught at long-off with three overs to go. Hari scored a well made 23 (24b, 2*4, 1*3) despite being struck on the chest by a beamer bowled by Ravi M. Hari was all set to launch in the final 3 overs with most top order bowlers having completed their quota but was dismissed at the wrong time.
We finished with 127/9 in 20 overs which was a good score to defend on that wicket.
Tushnim and Narayan had other ideas. Kapil was dismissed early in the inning for a duck. The two batsmen put on a partnership between 80 and 85 runs with both scoring 38 each. the partnership brought them in sight of victory. All our bowlers tried their best but every trick in their sleeve was thwarted by these two batsmen at the crease. Tushnim was run-out by Parag (as a catch was dropped off Rosie) and Narayan was bowled by Siva.
This brought two new batsmen at the crease and before DD realized it, the asking rate soared high. In the final three overs 31 runs were required with two of them being dismissed without troubling the scorers much.
At this time, Hari was hit by nerves. Until then Hari had done exceedingly well in two overs with a wicket, a catch that dropped short of slips and hardly any runs being conceded. A few wide balls, a few short on the leg side and a six over long-off on an over pitched ball in over number 17, resulted in 14 runs being conceded. This meant DD had to score 17 runs in two overs and 5 wickets in hand. The game was then interrupted at 12:20 with the baseball team set to start their game at 12:30 pm.
The game was abandoned. A look at D/L chart, indicated that the game was a tie. DD had to score 112/5 runs in 18 overs for a win but finished with 111/5. With an additional wicket they would have had to score 113 runs for a win. We could have conceded one less run and would still have won.
We need to end the game by noon, else we risk a premature end was we had in this game. Whether players want to rectify their acts in terms of timeliness, is for them to decide. We know all too well what the collective result will be despite such occurrences .....
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdEhfM3Z2Rzdzc2RVcEZJZnJJRGZ0V0E&hl=en
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Match 16 against SDCricInfo/Mavericks on 10/10/2009 (1 of 3)
The first game of the series was played at Spring Canyon Ground (Small). Samir won the toss and elected to field first.
We did a fantastic job at bowling by dismissing the Mavericks for a meagre 74 in 17 overs. Not a single batsman from the Mavericks crossed 10 runs. Vijay S picked up 3 wickets for a mere 14 runs. Hari picked two wickets and Sam hardly conceeded any runs for a wicket. Suresh bowled Sushmit who had struck two boundaries in his short stay at the crease. Samir restricted the scoring towards the end with wickets having been taken regularly through the inning. Rahul B picked up two catches behind the wicket and also featured in a coupe of run-out dismissals. We did drop a simple and another moderate catch and also gave away a few byes. Every other act on the field was impeccable with just five boundaries being conceeded.
In reply Santosh H and Manish opened aggressively with Rajendra being struck for a boundary by each of the openers in over number two. The highlight of our inning while batting was the knock by Sam. Before being run-out when called for a second, Sam had scored 22 runs in just 17 balls. The inning had a boundary to square leg and a six on a full toss behind square on the leg side. Naman (11 in 15b, 1*4) and Hari (6 in 5b, 1*4) were the batsmen to remain unbeaten when the target was reached with 4 wickets and 30 balls to spare.
It was a convincing win and was done in a manner "howie" usually do it when not in the ocassional "bad team form". Batsmen who do not bat regularly at the top got an opportunity to go up the order. No player would have had any complaints over the proceedings of the day.
Well done, let's beat the Mavericks in Game 2 and register a series win, having lost one against the Strikers.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdEJSRzFQcWcwMDJJbHlGYlFpdjlZT2c&hl=en
We did a fantastic job at bowling by dismissing the Mavericks for a meagre 74 in 17 overs. Not a single batsman from the Mavericks crossed 10 runs. Vijay S picked up 3 wickets for a mere 14 runs. Hari picked two wickets and Sam hardly conceeded any runs for a wicket. Suresh bowled Sushmit who had struck two boundaries in his short stay at the crease. Samir restricted the scoring towards the end with wickets having been taken regularly through the inning. Rahul B picked up two catches behind the wicket and also featured in a coupe of run-out dismissals. We did drop a simple and another moderate catch and also gave away a few byes. Every other act on the field was impeccable with just five boundaries being conceeded.
In reply Santosh H and Manish opened aggressively with Rajendra being struck for a boundary by each of the openers in over number two. The highlight of our inning while batting was the knock by Sam. Before being run-out when called for a second, Sam had scored 22 runs in just 17 balls. The inning had a boundary to square leg and a six on a full toss behind square on the leg side. Naman (11 in 15b, 1*4) and Hari (6 in 5b, 1*4) were the batsmen to remain unbeaten when the target was reached with 4 wickets and 30 balls to spare.
It was a convincing win and was done in a manner "howie" usually do it when not in the ocassional "bad team form". Batsmen who do not bat regularly at the top got an opportunity to go up the order. No player would have had any complaints over the proceedings of the day.
Well done, let's beat the Mavericks in Game 2 and register a series win, having lost one against the Strikers.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdEJSRzFQcWcwMDJJbHlGYlFpdjlZT2c&hl=en
Match 3 of 3 against Strikers on 10042009
Having beaten the Strikers comprehensively in Game 2, this game was of utmost significance. The game was played at Cypress Canyon Ground (Big) in one corner of the ground restricting runs behind the wicket. Strikers won the toss and appropriately elected to bat.
We scored 94/8 in 20 overs with quite a few batsmen falling to loose deliveries. Strikers were missing a few regular bowlers but the replacements were good enough to fill in.
In reply Strikers opened with Siva and Gopal. Amit and Srinivas bowled a few tight overs at the start. Over number 5 however, yielded two boundaries to the Strikers. Gopal hit a couple of loose deliveries to mid-wicket and square leg respectively thereby relieving the tension for the Strikers. The next five overs continued to yield runs with just a couple of wickets falling. At the 10 over stage Strikers were placed at about 59/2 and seemed in complete control.
Our fielding department then fought back to peg the scoring by restrictive bowling that also produced wickets with fair regularity. The equation boiled down to 3 runs needed in the final over and two wickets in hand for the Strikers. The first ball from Hari was short and was hit to a vacant cover boundary with all fielders having been brought in to save singles.
Strikers thus won the three match series convicingly with just one loss chasing a real high score.
Scorecard - Unavailable at this time. Details are therefore limited and possibly vague.
We scored 94/8 in 20 overs with quite a few batsmen falling to loose deliveries. Strikers were missing a few regular bowlers but the replacements were good enough to fill in.
In reply Strikers opened with Siva and Gopal. Amit and Srinivas bowled a few tight overs at the start. Over number 5 however, yielded two boundaries to the Strikers. Gopal hit a couple of loose deliveries to mid-wicket and square leg respectively thereby relieving the tension for the Strikers. The next five overs continued to yield runs with just a couple of wickets falling. At the 10 over stage Strikers were placed at about 59/2 and seemed in complete control.
Our fielding department then fought back to peg the scoring by restrictive bowling that also produced wickets with fair regularity. The equation boiled down to 3 runs needed in the final over and two wickets in hand for the Strikers. The first ball from Hari was short and was hit to a vacant cover boundary with all fielders having been brought in to save singles.
Strikers thus won the three match series convicingly with just one loss chasing a real high score.
Scorecard - Unavailable at this time. Details are therefore limited and possibly vague.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Match 2 of 3 against Strikers on 09272009 (Game 6)
The second match of the series was played at Cypress Canyon Ground (Big). The pitch was dry, seemed good for batting and the outfield was slightly wet.
Strikers won the toss once again and elected to field first. Vijay S and Suresh opened the batting and the first two overs produced 20 runs. Vijay S pierced the off side field repeatedly and Suresh too seemed to have got a hang of the pitch. Suresh was caught behind in the third over being bowled by Shiva resulting in Hari walking to the crease. Vijay S got stuck into Haran in 4th over striking two boundaries towards fine leg. Both these were good looking shots and were not in the typical area that Vijay S usually hits his boundaries. Hari stood at the non-striker's end all through the over and in the next played a few dot balls. Hari then launched Shiva for a boundary over point that raced to the boundary despite the slow outer field. Vijay S (24, 23b, 2*4, 1*3) was held at point on the first ball of the 6th over being bowled by Pradeep. Parag joined Hari and played out the over having been offered two no-balls amidst the usual tight bowling of Pradeep. 42/2 in 6 overs was an excellent start made possible by the positive approach and bright start provided by Vijay S and Hari on what was a good batting strip. Vijay S, playing a game after a six week break, seemed to be in good batting form.
Hari struck Narasaiah for two boundaries in the 7th. The first was struck towards cover whereas the second was a lofted straight drive over the bowlers head. Five wides and two boundaries meant that a useful 15 runs were accumulated in a single over. Pradeep bowled another quiet over at the other end conceding just 4 runs. A bowling change was necessary resulting in Kishore being introduced into the attack. Hari struck a good looking boundary towards extra-cover and Parag pulled one towards fine leg bringing 12 runs in the 9th over. Another quiet over from Pradeep yielding just 3 runs resulted in us going into the break at 76/2.
The first over after the break was bowled by Narasaiah and yielded 9 runs with Hari picking up a couple of twos and Parag hitting one fine on the leg side for a well run three. Ajay bowled the 12th over conceding just a single and tested Hari with his good line and length. Parag struck a two and a boundary towards square leg on the first two balls of the 12th over but hit one to square leg to be dismissed by Narasaiah for a 4th time in 6 games. Parag (18, 24b, 2*4, 1*3) featured in a 52 run partnership with Hari in 44 balls. Hari played a dominant role in the partnership hitting boundaries and quite a few twos.
Rupesh joined Hari at the crease and the next two overs were relatively quiet yielding just 8 runs. After 15 overs the score read 101/3 meaning at 8 an over from there on a score of 140 was a possibility. Rupesh launched two boundaries in the 16th over being bowled by Haran. The first was struck straight piercing long-on and long-off. The second was struck towards fine leg taking the score to 113. Shiva conceded a boundary to Rupesh and three twos to Hari, thereby giving away 12 runs in the 17th over taking the score to 125/3. The 18th over was fruitful, the highlight being a straight shot from Rupesh that sailed over Gopal at long-on. It looked like a six from our position outside the ropes at point but was called a four by those close to where the ball landed. Pradeep picked up Hari caught behind, in the 19th over that yielded just six runs. Hari played a superb knock of 42 (43b, 4*4, 7*2) and occupied the crease from the 3rd over, right into the 19th over. He featured in two partnerships with Parag and Rupesh, the second of which yielded 42 runs in 34 balls.
Samir walked in at the fall of Hari's wicket. Rupesh was held well by Pradeep in the final over off the bowling of Ajay. Pradeep ran back from short mid-wicket making the difficult catch look easy. Rupesh played a valuable, attacking knock of 26 (20b, 4*4, 2*2) runs and looked in good touch despite a long break. Samir struck a straight boundary between long-on and long-off scoring a quick 9 in six balls. We thus scored a mighty 148/6 in 20 overs, a score range that we have not reached for a long time now. Pradeep with figures of 4-0-14-2 was the only bowler who walked away with good bowling figures but the rest of the bowlers had a forgetful day for the Strikers.
It seemed like a score our good bowling line-up for the day could defend, even given the good batting strip we would be bowling on. Amit and Srinivas bowled a steady first over each, to begin the second inning on a good note. Roopesh was hit on the eye by a ball that hit the edge and also struck his nose. Roopesh had to retire but that brought the in-form Pradeep to the crease. Pradeep struck a huge six towards a vacant mid-wicket in the 4th over being bowled by Srinivas and followed that up with a boundary in the 5th over being bowled by Amit. With Pradeep at the crease and in good batting form, the game seemed on but we were bowling with a good attack and a huge cushion in terms of runs. Vijay S, our bowler with wicket taking ability struck with two wickets in the 6th over. Pradeep played out two quiet balls on the back foot, facing balls that were at good length. The third was a beauty that was well pitched up and came in to knock the middle-stump. The very next ball Shiva edged to Rahul B behind the stumps. Gopal joined Manav at the crease and struck a couple of twos in the 8th over being bowled by Vijay S. Vijay S then forced Gopal to lob one to Ajay at gully who held a good catch moving quickly to his left. Rupesh had bowled a quiet first over but struck in his second, the 9th of the inning dismissing Ajay, caught behind by Rahul B. Strikers walked into the break with a score of 46/4 and most of the attacking force in batting having returned to the pavilion.
Rupesh then struck with two wickets in the 11th over. The first was a blinder taken by Parag standing at first slip, due to a leg injury. The ball clipped the gloves of the wicket keeper Rahul B but Parag stretched to his left and went for the ball diving and holding the catch one-handed. Arun then edged an easy catch to Parag at the same position on the very next ball. Both Vijay S and Rupesh were denied a hat-trick by the Strikers but theses double-wicket blows were lethal. With six wickets down and plenty to chase the game all but seemed a formaility after 11 overs with the Strikers precariously placed at 47/6. After 13 overs Strikers had reached 59/6 with both Vijay S and Rupesh having completed their spells wiping away six of the top eight batsmen. Figures of 4-0-17-3 for Vijay S and an even better figures of 4-0-10-3 for Rupesh, give an idea of what had been missing in recent games where our bowling lacked the ability to wipe out the opposition.
The game meandered from then on with members from both sides resorting to unnecessary verbal retorts over irrelevant matters. Kishore and Sumanth put on a partnership of sorts to push the score towards the 70's and 80's. Hari had Kishore caught behind and the batsman promptly walked. Srinivas bowled Sumanth in the 18th over. Amit meanwhile completed another tight spell with excellent figures of 4-0-16-0 but despite no wickets performed a splendid job for the team. Narasaiah struck some runs towards the end when our side was just going through the formalities of getting the game through the 20 overs.
The 45 run victory meant the series is now tied at 1-1, with a clinical performance by the entire team. Samir did a fine job as captain both on and off the field despite his rush in terms of time and imaptience of a few players on our side. Excellent effort with bat and ball brings us joy and a comprehensive win. A win in the final game should make up for recent losses.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdHVUcVd6Q0FtVWo3MVlTdEJrZ0lIV3c&hl=en
Strikers won the toss once again and elected to field first. Vijay S and Suresh opened the batting and the first two overs produced 20 runs. Vijay S pierced the off side field repeatedly and Suresh too seemed to have got a hang of the pitch. Suresh was caught behind in the third over being bowled by Shiva resulting in Hari walking to the crease. Vijay S got stuck into Haran in 4th over striking two boundaries towards fine leg. Both these were good looking shots and were not in the typical area that Vijay S usually hits his boundaries. Hari stood at the non-striker's end all through the over and in the next played a few dot balls. Hari then launched Shiva for a boundary over point that raced to the boundary despite the slow outer field. Vijay S (24, 23b, 2*4, 1*3) was held at point on the first ball of the 6th over being bowled by Pradeep. Parag joined Hari and played out the over having been offered two no-balls amidst the usual tight bowling of Pradeep. 42/2 in 6 overs was an excellent start made possible by the positive approach and bright start provided by Vijay S and Hari on what was a good batting strip. Vijay S, playing a game after a six week break, seemed to be in good batting form.
Hari struck Narasaiah for two boundaries in the 7th. The first was struck towards cover whereas the second was a lofted straight drive over the bowlers head. Five wides and two boundaries meant that a useful 15 runs were accumulated in a single over. Pradeep bowled another quiet over at the other end conceding just 4 runs. A bowling change was necessary resulting in Kishore being introduced into the attack. Hari struck a good looking boundary towards extra-cover and Parag pulled one towards fine leg bringing 12 runs in the 9th over. Another quiet over from Pradeep yielding just 3 runs resulted in us going into the break at 76/2.
The first over after the break was bowled by Narasaiah and yielded 9 runs with Hari picking up a couple of twos and Parag hitting one fine on the leg side for a well run three. Ajay bowled the 12th over conceding just a single and tested Hari with his good line and length. Parag struck a two and a boundary towards square leg on the first two balls of the 12th over but hit one to square leg to be dismissed by Narasaiah for a 4th time in 6 games. Parag (18, 24b, 2*4, 1*3) featured in a 52 run partnership with Hari in 44 balls. Hari played a dominant role in the partnership hitting boundaries and quite a few twos.
Rupesh joined Hari at the crease and the next two overs were relatively quiet yielding just 8 runs. After 15 overs the score read 101/3 meaning at 8 an over from there on a score of 140 was a possibility. Rupesh launched two boundaries in the 16th over being bowled by Haran. The first was struck straight piercing long-on and long-off. The second was struck towards fine leg taking the score to 113. Shiva conceded a boundary to Rupesh and three twos to Hari, thereby giving away 12 runs in the 17th over taking the score to 125/3. The 18th over was fruitful, the highlight being a straight shot from Rupesh that sailed over Gopal at long-on. It looked like a six from our position outside the ropes at point but was called a four by those close to where the ball landed. Pradeep picked up Hari caught behind, in the 19th over that yielded just six runs. Hari played a superb knock of 42 (43b, 4*4, 7*2) and occupied the crease from the 3rd over, right into the 19th over. He featured in two partnerships with Parag and Rupesh, the second of which yielded 42 runs in 34 balls.
Samir walked in at the fall of Hari's wicket. Rupesh was held well by Pradeep in the final over off the bowling of Ajay. Pradeep ran back from short mid-wicket making the difficult catch look easy. Rupesh played a valuable, attacking knock of 26 (20b, 4*4, 2*2) runs and looked in good touch despite a long break. Samir struck a straight boundary between long-on and long-off scoring a quick 9 in six balls. We thus scored a mighty 148/6 in 20 overs, a score range that we have not reached for a long time now. Pradeep with figures of 4-0-14-2 was the only bowler who walked away with good bowling figures but the rest of the bowlers had a forgetful day for the Strikers.
It seemed like a score our good bowling line-up for the day could defend, even given the good batting strip we would be bowling on. Amit and Srinivas bowled a steady first over each, to begin the second inning on a good note. Roopesh was hit on the eye by a ball that hit the edge and also struck his nose. Roopesh had to retire but that brought the in-form Pradeep to the crease. Pradeep struck a huge six towards a vacant mid-wicket in the 4th over being bowled by Srinivas and followed that up with a boundary in the 5th over being bowled by Amit. With Pradeep at the crease and in good batting form, the game seemed on but we were bowling with a good attack and a huge cushion in terms of runs. Vijay S, our bowler with wicket taking ability struck with two wickets in the 6th over. Pradeep played out two quiet balls on the back foot, facing balls that were at good length. The third was a beauty that was well pitched up and came in to knock the middle-stump. The very next ball Shiva edged to Rahul B behind the stumps. Gopal joined Manav at the crease and struck a couple of twos in the 8th over being bowled by Vijay S. Vijay S then forced Gopal to lob one to Ajay at gully who held a good catch moving quickly to his left. Rupesh had bowled a quiet first over but struck in his second, the 9th of the inning dismissing Ajay, caught behind by Rahul B. Strikers walked into the break with a score of 46/4 and most of the attacking force in batting having returned to the pavilion.
Rupesh then struck with two wickets in the 11th over. The first was a blinder taken by Parag standing at first slip, due to a leg injury. The ball clipped the gloves of the wicket keeper Rahul B but Parag stretched to his left and went for the ball diving and holding the catch one-handed. Arun then edged an easy catch to Parag at the same position on the very next ball. Both Vijay S and Rupesh were denied a hat-trick by the Strikers but theses double-wicket blows were lethal. With six wickets down and plenty to chase the game all but seemed a formaility after 11 overs with the Strikers precariously placed at 47/6. After 13 overs Strikers had reached 59/6 with both Vijay S and Rupesh having completed their spells wiping away six of the top eight batsmen. Figures of 4-0-17-3 for Vijay S and an even better figures of 4-0-10-3 for Rupesh, give an idea of what had been missing in recent games where our bowling lacked the ability to wipe out the opposition.
The game meandered from then on with members from both sides resorting to unnecessary verbal retorts over irrelevant matters. Kishore and Sumanth put on a partnership of sorts to push the score towards the 70's and 80's. Hari had Kishore caught behind and the batsman promptly walked. Srinivas bowled Sumanth in the 18th over. Amit meanwhile completed another tight spell with excellent figures of 4-0-16-0 but despite no wickets performed a splendid job for the team. Narasaiah struck some runs towards the end when our side was just going through the formalities of getting the game through the 20 overs.
The 45 run victory meant the series is now tied at 1-1, with a clinical performance by the entire team. Samir did a fine job as captain both on and off the field despite his rush in terms of time and imaptience of a few players on our side. Excellent effort with bat and ball brings us joy and a comprehensive win. A win in the final game should make up for recent losses.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdHVUcVd6Q0FtVWo3MVlTdEJrZ0lIV3c&hl=en
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Match 5 against Strikers on 09202009
Our recent underperforming trend continued with another easy loss against the Strikers today.
Strikers won the toss and elected to field first at Cypress Canyon Ground (Small).
Highlights :-
FAC : 78/10 in 18 overs
Hari 14 (31b), Mudit 11 (10b, 1*4)
Four of our batsman were needlessly run out. From 42/3 in 10 overs we were bundled in 18 overs.
Strikers : 79/5 in 14.4 overs
Pradeep 26 (23b, 2*4), Sumanth 11 (17b, 1*4)
Pradeep continued his good form against us remaining unbeaten for the second time in five outings. We dropped a couple of catches the first of which was in the second over. Pradeep was dropped at point later in the inning to deny 'Srinivas A' a wicket. That wicket could have given us a chance to get back into the game.
We have to now fight back from being 1-0 down in the three match series, with three losses on the trot against the Strikers. With 4 losses in the last 5 games and 6 losses in the last 13 we need to give some thought to our approach to these games.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdHZRRGk4MHpIczBidDFadGVPY293Y0E&hl=en
Strikers won the toss and elected to field first at Cypress Canyon Ground (Small).
Highlights :-
FAC : 78/10 in 18 overs
Hari 14 (31b), Mudit 11 (10b, 1*4)
Four of our batsman were needlessly run out. From 42/3 in 10 overs we were bundled in 18 overs.
Strikers : 79/5 in 14.4 overs
Pradeep 26 (23b, 2*4), Sumanth 11 (17b, 1*4)
Pradeep continued his good form against us remaining unbeaten for the second time in five outings. We dropped a couple of catches the first of which was in the second over. Pradeep was dropped at point later in the inning to deny 'Srinivas A' a wicket. That wicket could have given us a chance to get back into the game.
We have to now fight back from being 1-0 down in the three match series, with three losses on the trot against the Strikers. With 4 losses in the last 5 games and 6 losses in the last 13 we need to give some thought to our approach to these games.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdHZRRGk4MHpIczBidDFadGVPY293Y0E&hl=en
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Match 1 of 3 against Strikers on 09132009 (Game 4)
The first game of the three match series against the Strikers was played at Spring Canyon Ground (Small). Narasaiah won the toss and elected to field first.
Parag and Hari opened the batting. The opening over from Shiva was played away quietly with just two no-balls being conceded. Hari began with aggression lifting one over the infielder at square leg and then lofting one to long on for two successive boundaries. Shiva bowled another tidy over and Haran was replaced by Pradeep. Pradeep bowled a tidy over and the score after 4 overs was 17/0. In the next over from Shiva, Hari and Samir were bowled on the first and final ball of the over. At 18/2 the inning needed consolidation considering the fact that a wicket or two at that stage could have resulted in us not making use of the entire 20 overs. Shekhar joined Parag and together they did just that for the next few overs. Parag lifted one over mid-wicket for a boundary but in general the score seemed to be moving along at a slow rate. The score at the end of 9 overs was a meagre 29/2 and it was time to accelerate. The 10th over was bowled by Narasaiah and given his recent success it was possible we could lose wickets with him bowling. The two batsmen however managed to upset the rhythm of the bowler. While Shekhar preferred to make an attempt to move to the off-side and hit the ball behind square on the leg side, Parag preferred the switch hit. Both could not connect the ball as desired but quite a few wides were conceded and the movement of the batsmen resulted in the keeper getting distracted. 13 runs resulted with 7 of them being wides. We went into the break at 42/2 and an acceleration in the second phase of the inning was a necessity.
Pradeep continued after the break and gave away a meagre 3 runs in the 11th over. The 12th over however produced 7 runs with Parag hitting Kishore for a boundary towards mid-wicket. 11 runs were scored in the next two oves and the score after 14 overs was 63/2. Parag was bowled on the first ball of the 15th over and this brought Shiva his 3rd wicket in a 4 over spell. Shiva finished with excellent figures of 4-0-10-3. Parag scored 25 runs (43b, 2*4) and did well to steady the inning but could have tried to attain a better strike rate. Shekhar did hit Ajay for a good-looking boundary towards fine leg on a full length ball, by moving outside the off stump. Shekhar then retired for a brief while resulting in Santosh and Nitin B getting to the crease. Nitin B lofted one from Ajay over the off side for a three. He then lofted one from Prasad towards long-on for a boundary and hit a couple of twos in the same over bringing us the much desired acceleration. Santosh was run-out going for a second run bringing in Amit to the crease. Nitin B was bowled by Ajay and Shekhar walked in to resume his inning. Shekhar lofted one over extra cover for a boundary on the off-side and after 19 overs we had reached 94/5. Shekhar was bowled on the last ball of the 20th over but we did manage to score 100/5 in the allotted 20 overs. Shekhar played a role of consolidating the inning scoring 19 (39b, 2*4) runs.
The score seemed about 15 runs less than what we would have desired on that wicket, given the lack of a regular 5th bowler. The score however was a decent one against what was a pretty good bowling attack.
Srinivas and Hari opened the bowling attack. Srinivas bowled pretty well conceding just two runs in overs 1 and 3, and picked up the wicket of Roopesh, caught behind by Santosh. Hari picked up a wicket in the 4th over but conceded 14 runs in the process. Shiva moved to cut one on the off-side but was bowled by Hari. Amit bowled a tidy 5th over conceding three wides to place Cricket Communications (Strikers) at 19/2 after 5 overs. Chandra (new player) was introduced into the attack in the 6th over and conceded 15 runs including two boundaries, a three and a two. Pradeep cashed in on a few loose balls bowled by Chandra, who was bowling for the first time for our team. The complete balance of the chase changed with that one over resulting in Strikers reaching 34/2 in 6 overs. Samir and Amit continued to bowl well but a series of wides did not help, even though they did well to not allow the batsmen to score many of the bat. Strikers reached 48/2 in 8 overs. Srinivas came back to bowl the 10th over and picked up Manav. Santosh held a very sharp catch to his right bringing some initiative back on our side.
At 55/3 after 10 overs, Strikers seemed to be in control of the game. All they needed to do was to play our regular bowlers on merit and then wait for three overs from the 5th bowler. Pradeep was the batsman for the cause. Sumanth joined Pradeep but he could not last long. Santosh picked up another good low catch on the leg side giving Hari his second wicket in the 13th over. Ajay joined Pradeep and played with aggression. With Pradeep playing steadily, mixing caution with aggression and Ajay playing aggressively the remainder of the runs were shaved off quickly. After 17 over, the top four bowlers were used up and just 7 runs were needed in the final 3 overs. Ajay was dismissed by Samir in the 17th over, after he had score 18 runs in 15 balls (1*4). Amit held a good catch at long-on to send Ajay back to the pavilion. The ball was travelling and Amit judged the catch pretty well.
Shekhar ensured the game went into the 19th over but the end was a formality. Pradeep played a match winning knock to return 27 not out (44b, 3*4). With a spell of 4-0-14-1 and the 27 with bat, Pradeep sure is the MoM of this game. Srinivas had good figures of 4-0-12-2 and Amit gave away a meagre 7 runs of the bat but also bowled 8 wides in his 4 over spell.
We did drop a couple of catches and had a couple of overthrows and mis-fields but we did fight back. We bowled close to 5 extra overs with 29 extras being given to the opposition for free. For the Strikers, this was more of a convincing win compared to the first win. As for us, we need to perform better in both batting and bowling to win this series, being 1-0 down after game one. We also need to field a balanced team with every department of the game having a strong re-presentation in order to ensure the series stays alive after two games.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdDEtWkxsMnFqclVpYWRBTW1nTndBVmc&hl=en
Parag and Hari opened the batting. The opening over from Shiva was played away quietly with just two no-balls being conceded. Hari began with aggression lifting one over the infielder at square leg and then lofting one to long on for two successive boundaries. Shiva bowled another tidy over and Haran was replaced by Pradeep. Pradeep bowled a tidy over and the score after 4 overs was 17/0. In the next over from Shiva, Hari and Samir were bowled on the first and final ball of the over. At 18/2 the inning needed consolidation considering the fact that a wicket or two at that stage could have resulted in us not making use of the entire 20 overs. Shekhar joined Parag and together they did just that for the next few overs. Parag lifted one over mid-wicket for a boundary but in general the score seemed to be moving along at a slow rate. The score at the end of 9 overs was a meagre 29/2 and it was time to accelerate. The 10th over was bowled by Narasaiah and given his recent success it was possible we could lose wickets with him bowling. The two batsmen however managed to upset the rhythm of the bowler. While Shekhar preferred to make an attempt to move to the off-side and hit the ball behind square on the leg side, Parag preferred the switch hit. Both could not connect the ball as desired but quite a few wides were conceded and the movement of the batsmen resulted in the keeper getting distracted. 13 runs resulted with 7 of them being wides. We went into the break at 42/2 and an acceleration in the second phase of the inning was a necessity.
Pradeep continued after the break and gave away a meagre 3 runs in the 11th over. The 12th over however produced 7 runs with Parag hitting Kishore for a boundary towards mid-wicket. 11 runs were scored in the next two oves and the score after 14 overs was 63/2. Parag was bowled on the first ball of the 15th over and this brought Shiva his 3rd wicket in a 4 over spell. Shiva finished with excellent figures of 4-0-10-3. Parag scored 25 runs (43b, 2*4) and did well to steady the inning but could have tried to attain a better strike rate. Shekhar did hit Ajay for a good-looking boundary towards fine leg on a full length ball, by moving outside the off stump. Shekhar then retired for a brief while resulting in Santosh and Nitin B getting to the crease. Nitin B lofted one from Ajay over the off side for a three. He then lofted one from Prasad towards long-on for a boundary and hit a couple of twos in the same over bringing us the much desired acceleration. Santosh was run-out going for a second run bringing in Amit to the crease. Nitin B was bowled by Ajay and Shekhar walked in to resume his inning. Shekhar lofted one over extra cover for a boundary on the off-side and after 19 overs we had reached 94/5. Shekhar was bowled on the last ball of the 20th over but we did manage to score 100/5 in the allotted 20 overs. Shekhar played a role of consolidating the inning scoring 19 (39b, 2*4) runs.
The score seemed about 15 runs less than what we would have desired on that wicket, given the lack of a regular 5th bowler. The score however was a decent one against what was a pretty good bowling attack.
Srinivas and Hari opened the bowling attack. Srinivas bowled pretty well conceding just two runs in overs 1 and 3, and picked up the wicket of Roopesh, caught behind by Santosh. Hari picked up a wicket in the 4th over but conceded 14 runs in the process. Shiva moved to cut one on the off-side but was bowled by Hari. Amit bowled a tidy 5th over conceding three wides to place Cricket Communications (Strikers) at 19/2 after 5 overs. Chandra (new player) was introduced into the attack in the 6th over and conceded 15 runs including two boundaries, a three and a two. Pradeep cashed in on a few loose balls bowled by Chandra, who was bowling for the first time for our team. The complete balance of the chase changed with that one over resulting in Strikers reaching 34/2 in 6 overs. Samir and Amit continued to bowl well but a series of wides did not help, even though they did well to not allow the batsmen to score many of the bat. Strikers reached 48/2 in 8 overs. Srinivas came back to bowl the 10th over and picked up Manav. Santosh held a very sharp catch to his right bringing some initiative back on our side.
At 55/3 after 10 overs, Strikers seemed to be in control of the game. All they needed to do was to play our regular bowlers on merit and then wait for three overs from the 5th bowler. Pradeep was the batsman for the cause. Sumanth joined Pradeep but he could not last long. Santosh picked up another good low catch on the leg side giving Hari his second wicket in the 13th over. Ajay joined Pradeep and played with aggression. With Pradeep playing steadily, mixing caution with aggression and Ajay playing aggressively the remainder of the runs were shaved off quickly. After 17 over, the top four bowlers were used up and just 7 runs were needed in the final 3 overs. Ajay was dismissed by Samir in the 17th over, after he had score 18 runs in 15 balls (1*4). Amit held a good catch at long-on to send Ajay back to the pavilion. The ball was travelling and Amit judged the catch pretty well.
Shekhar ensured the game went into the 19th over but the end was a formality. Pradeep played a match winning knock to return 27 not out (44b, 3*4). With a spell of 4-0-14-1 and the 27 with bat, Pradeep sure is the MoM of this game. Srinivas had good figures of 4-0-12-2 and Amit gave away a meagre 7 runs of the bat but also bowled 8 wides in his 4 over spell.
We did drop a couple of catches and had a couple of overthrows and mis-fields but we did fight back. We bowled close to 5 extra overs with 29 extras being given to the opposition for free. For the Strikers, this was more of a convincing win compared to the first win. As for us, we need to perform better in both batting and bowling to win this series, being 1-0 down after game one. We also need to field a balanced team with every department of the game having a strong re-presentation in order to ensure the series stays alive after two games.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdDEtWkxsMnFqclVpYWRBTW1nTndBVmc&hl=en
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Match 10 against Real Panthers on 09232009
We won the toss and elected to field in the game against Real Panthers at Spring Canyon Ground (Small). The wicket was on a firm patch of grass and we knew pretty well batting second would be easy on this pitch given the morning dew on the wicket at the start of play.
Amit picked up two wickets in overs 1 and 3, resulting in Real Panthers going on the back foot right from the start. Ajay bowled a quiet 4th over and Shekhar picked up a wicket caught behind in the 5th over. The Real Panthers squad today seemed weak and it was time to get overs from the 5th bowler through. Real Panthers were 20/3 in 6 overs and seemed to have been started on a wrong note. The next four overs produced 8, 12, 7 and 9 runs respectively and Real Panthers went into the break at a confortable score of 56/3. Fielding was a bit erratic with a lofted drive to long-on resulting in a two when there should have been a single. To make matters worse, an went for a boundary resulting in 6 runs when there should have been a single.
Amit C began well after the break conceding only a single. Hari R, however started badly in the 12th over, going for two boundaries, having been hit for one in his first over, the 10th of the inning. Manish and Veeru had steadied the inning, aided by loose bowling and poor fielding. Shiva however provided the break with the wicket of Manish in the 13th over. Hari then picked up Veeru and Giresh in the very next over, the 14th of the inning. Nitin B, held the second catch this time at mid-wicket, while the previous one he had taken was held at short fine leg. The fielding and bowling thereafter tightened up with Hari and Naman holding good catches square of the wicket on the off side. Hari picked up two wickets in his final over, the 16th of the inning.
The final wicket fell in the form of a run-out. Anup and Anil N, laid a partnership for close to 4 overs to protect the final wicket. Real Panthers scored 95/10 in 19.5 overs. This was a targe t only 10 less than what we could not successfully chase at the same wicket only a week back. This time however the opposition bowling was different and seemed relatively weak with quite a few of their regulars missing.
Amit C had excellent figures of 4-0-9-2. Hari R picked up three wickets despite bowling a few loose balls.
Hari R and Amit opened the batting. Hari lofted Giresh to long-on for a good looking boundary. The first over thus yielded 6 runs of the bat. Amit C played out a quiet over from Veeru who started well. Sanjay bowled a good 3rd over but we were placed well at 19/0 in 3 overs. The 5th over however produced two boundaries and thereby 10 runs. Hari hit one over short cover for a boundary and then lofted one to long on for a two and followed it up with four in the same area. Anil N bowled an erratic 6th over giving away 5 wides a no-ball and two boundaries to Amit C. Amit C seemed to have been set with these hits and enjoyed the hits too. Anup had Hari caught at a deep gully position on the first ball of the 7th over giving Anup his first wicket. Nitin B however walked in and struck a 2, 4 and 6 in four balls of that over. Over pitched balls were hit towards long on and a full toss was hit to mid-wicket for a six. Giresh struck back by getting Nitin B bowled in the very next over. Shekhar played Giresh out bringing in Amit to the bowling in the next over for the Real Panthers.
Amit started with two no-balls that raced to the boundary behind the wicket keeper resulting in 10 runs without a ball being bowled. Amit conceded a boundary to Amit C but struck back to get Amit C bowled. Another 5 runs on another no-ball followed, coupled with 4 wides. Having conceded 23 runs in four legitimate balls Amit had to be replaced by Giresh to just get the over done with. The score raced from 64 to 91 in the 9th over. Shekhar struck Narasaiah for a boundary straight behind the keeper to finish the game giving us victory by 7 wickets and more than half the allotted overs to spare.
Real Panthers were a weak side today. Despite conceding 33 extra and dropping three catches on this day we managed to beat the opposition emphatically.
Hari 22 (18b, 4*4) and Amit 25 (28b, 4*4) did extremely well and displayed good form. Nitin B impressed with 12 runs in just 6 balls. Well done guys, its been a while since we thrashed an opposition to this extent.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdGxtOEZ6eWNEVjhOMGZ2czJmbVFyTWc&hl=en
Amit picked up two wickets in overs 1 and 3, resulting in Real Panthers going on the back foot right from the start. Ajay bowled a quiet 4th over and Shekhar picked up a wicket caught behind in the 5th over. The Real Panthers squad today seemed weak and it was time to get overs from the 5th bowler through. Real Panthers were 20/3 in 6 overs and seemed to have been started on a wrong note. The next four overs produced 8, 12, 7 and 9 runs respectively and Real Panthers went into the break at a confortable score of 56/3. Fielding was a bit erratic with a lofted drive to long-on resulting in a two when there should have been a single. To make matters worse, an went for a boundary resulting in 6 runs when there should have been a single.
Amit C began well after the break conceding only a single. Hari R, however started badly in the 12th over, going for two boundaries, having been hit for one in his first over, the 10th of the inning. Manish and Veeru had steadied the inning, aided by loose bowling and poor fielding. Shiva however provided the break with the wicket of Manish in the 13th over. Hari then picked up Veeru and Giresh in the very next over, the 14th of the inning. Nitin B, held the second catch this time at mid-wicket, while the previous one he had taken was held at short fine leg. The fielding and bowling thereafter tightened up with Hari and Naman holding good catches square of the wicket on the off side. Hari picked up two wickets in his final over, the 16th of the inning.
The final wicket fell in the form of a run-out. Anup and Anil N, laid a partnership for close to 4 overs to protect the final wicket. Real Panthers scored 95/10 in 19.5 overs. This was a targe t only 10 less than what we could not successfully chase at the same wicket only a week back. This time however the opposition bowling was different and seemed relatively weak with quite a few of their regulars missing.
Amit C had excellent figures of 4-0-9-2. Hari R picked up three wickets despite bowling a few loose balls.
Hari R and Amit opened the batting. Hari lofted Giresh to long-on for a good looking boundary. The first over thus yielded 6 runs of the bat. Amit C played out a quiet over from Veeru who started well. Sanjay bowled a good 3rd over but we were placed well at 19/0 in 3 overs. The 5th over however produced two boundaries and thereby 10 runs. Hari hit one over short cover for a boundary and then lofted one to long on for a two and followed it up with four in the same area. Anil N bowled an erratic 6th over giving away 5 wides a no-ball and two boundaries to Amit C. Amit C seemed to have been set with these hits and enjoyed the hits too. Anup had Hari caught at a deep gully position on the first ball of the 7th over giving Anup his first wicket. Nitin B however walked in and struck a 2, 4 and 6 in four balls of that over. Over pitched balls were hit towards long on and a full toss was hit to mid-wicket for a six. Giresh struck back by getting Nitin B bowled in the very next over. Shekhar played Giresh out bringing in Amit to the bowling in the next over for the Real Panthers.
Amit started with two no-balls that raced to the boundary behind the wicket keeper resulting in 10 runs without a ball being bowled. Amit conceded a boundary to Amit C but struck back to get Amit C bowled. Another 5 runs on another no-ball followed, coupled with 4 wides. Having conceded 23 runs in four legitimate balls Amit had to be replaced by Giresh to just get the over done with. The score raced from 64 to 91 in the 9th over. Shekhar struck Narasaiah for a boundary straight behind the keeper to finish the game giving us victory by 7 wickets and more than half the allotted overs to spare.
Real Panthers were a weak side today. Despite conceding 33 extra and dropping three catches on this day we managed to beat the opposition emphatically.
Hari 22 (18b, 4*4) and Amit 25 (28b, 4*4) did extremely well and displayed good form. Nitin B impressed with 12 runs in just 6 balls. Well done guys, its been a while since we thrashed an opposition to this extent.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdGxtOEZ6eWNEVjhOMGZ2czJmbVFyTWc&hl=en
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Match 3 against Cricket Communications (Strikers) on 08162009
We won the toss and elected to field in the game played at Spring Canyon Ground. The pitch had good pace and even bounce. It was the only spot where a wicket could be placed. Despite attempts to encourage players to be on time the game began only at 8:45 am.
Amit C, picked up Spandan on the last ball of the first over. Mudit began the second over and conceeded an easy boundary to Shiva. 12 runs were conceeded in the second over, with five of them being wides. Shiva seemed to have started well at the other end. He kept dabbing the ball slow on either side of the wicket, making the fielders run for the ball. Gopal was let down in the next over (in the slips) from Amit when his score was just one. In the very same over from Amit, Gopal edged one over the keeper/slips for a boundary to celebrate his much desired life. Gopal went on to repeat the feat in the next over from Hari hitting one with power, to mid-wicket for another boundary. Samir started well by moving the ball in the air but conceeded a few wides due to the excessive movement that he was able to generate. Gopal then struck Hari, to a wide mid-on position where Amit judged the ball to a nicety and held the ball one handed over his right shoulder. The ball was travelling even as it approached Amit, who did well to judge the trajectory early on, without moving too much or too early, taking his time, followed by a reflex action. Now, this is catching at its best.
In the next over from Samir, Srinivas K lobbed a straight forward catch to Suresh at short mid-wicket. At 41/3 in 6.3 overs, Sumanth walked in to join Shiva, who was batting steadily.
Samir was called for a no-ball in the very same over (due to a suspect action) that annoyed the fielding side but more than enraged Samir. Ajay bowled the 8th and kept the batsmen quiet with his lack of pace and a good length. Ajay was rewarded with the wicket of Shiva (in the 10th over) who was bowled by a ball that moved slightly and knocked the top of leg stump to take out just that bail.
The Strikers went in to the break with the score reading 54/4. Srinivas was unlucky in the first over after the break. A simple catch was hit feebly towards a short fine leg. It was one that Boycott's mom would have caught single-handedly with the right hand. But not for us, our fielding side found this a challenge and dropped that, almost not willing to accept easy chances thrown at us by the opposition. Srinivas K (from Strikers) , struck a short ball towards a vacant mid-wicket for a boundary to rejoice. Srinivas K (of our side) however, struck back to get the same person bowled the very next ball.
Prasad joined Sumanth and hit one good looking shot towards extra cover for a good looking two. In the 15th over from Hari, Prasad hit a full toss towards deep fine leg. Another regulation catch was dropped to give Prasad a life. The bowler to suffer was Hari who let out his frustration in no uncertain terms. Samir bowled Prasad who has a tendency to shuffle towards off even if the delivery is on leg stump. Sumanth was given a life at point as the fielder could not latch onto the ball that was struck not that firmly. Amit C, bowled Pradeep with a peach of a delivery that came in from a fullish length. Pradeep takes a stance outside leg, and moves in as the bowler bowls thereby keeping his options open to loft straight on both sides of the wicket.
Narasaiah struck a full toss from Samir to fine leg for a boundary towards the end of the inning. The Strikers crossed 100 in the final over and reached 104/8 in 20 overs. Sumanth was stumped on the final ball of the 20th over to give Hari his second wicket. Sumanth (20, 30b), Shiva (18, 23b, 1*4) and Gopal (13, 16b, 2*4) were the mainstay of the batting for the Strikers.
Srinivas K (4-0-15-1, 1Y and Ajay 2-0-6-1, 2Y) impressed with the ball in hand. The other bowlers on display were guilty of conceeding quite a few extras.
Our batting in recent outings did not seem stable and we were intent of getting to this target with wickets and overs to spare. The start was good with Parag picking 7 runs of the bat in the first over with a boundary struck towards fine leg on a full toss. Shekhar hit one uppishly on the last ball of the second over, where Sumanth held a good catch at point, to give Shiva his first wicket. Haran did not do particularly well in the 3rd over and conceeded another 8 runs with about four wides. Parag hit a pull towards fine leg on a shortish delivery from Prasad in the 5th over. Runs came at a steady pace for the first 6 overs with Shiva bowling 3 overs on the trot in the search of wickets at the start. At 41/1 in 6 overs we seemed to have started well in the search of the 3rd consecutive win against the Strikers.
Narasaiah introduced in the 7th over changed the complexion of the game. A few deliveries were tapped down the crease by Parag, who was trying to get used to the sharp decline in pace compared to the earlier overs. Three wides were sent outside off. The next ball on leg stump was hit towards mid-wicket. The bat turned a bit too early in the hands of the batsman, before the delivery pitched and a simple lofted catch was held at wide mid-wicket, on a shot that was intended to travel squarer, to a vacant mid-wicket. At 44/2 in 6.4 overs we seemed in a situation of ascendancy. Suresh played a quiet 8th over but on the final ball, stopped the ball with his hand as it was rolling towards the stumps. An appeal followed and Suresh was adjudged out, handling the ball. Mayank (new player) and Hari played the next couple of overs with caution and we walked into the break with 59/3 on board.
The approach after the break was to pick up runs steadily without taking too many risks with the asking rate being 4.6 an over and 7 wickets in hand. We then lost control of the situation immediately after the break losing the wickets of Mayank and Amit in the 11th over being bowled by Pradeep. Sumanth held a good catch at point and Amit edged one to the keeper. To make matters worse Hari was deceived by Narasaiah who hit a feeble shot to point where Sumanth made no mistake. Narasaiah deceived the second batsmen, with his controlled slow bowling.
Mudit and Samir picked up singles and an ocassional two to ensure the game went along without further loss of wickets but that lasted only a couple of overs. Narasaiah picked another wicket in the 15th over, this time that of Mudit who granted Sumanth his 4th catch of the game in the same position. With Adi, Srinivas and Ajay to follow we did not seem to have the depth in batting to give Samir company in the quest of 30 runs that were required in 5.5 overs. Although the equation in terms of runs and balls seemed in our favor the loss of wickets had placed us in a precarious situation.
Shiva, Haran and Prasad kept Adi quiet until the end of the 17th over. Fortunately for us we did not lose any more wickets. At 83/7 in 17 overs, the equation had tightened a bit with 22 needed in 18 balls. The 18th over yielded two boundaries towards third man. Four byes and an edge to third man brought down the required runs to 12 in 12 balls. Prasad balled an erratic 19th over conceeding 7 runs that also included two no-balls. One of the two was for overstepping, resulting in a free hit and another was a full toss over the waist. Prasad however struck back to get Srinivas bowled and Ajay played down two balls without a loss of a wicket to take the game to the final over. 5 runs were required in the final over from Pradeep. Samir flicked one nicely to fine leg for a two. Samir had been flicking the bowlers well on the leg side for ones and twos. One such shot off the bowling of Haran had yielded him a boundary. Ajay was run out on the second ball at the non-strikers end. Samir played a quiet shot on the third ball thereby resulting in 3 runs required in 3 balls and only a wicket in hand. The ever so accurate Pradeep, then bowled Samir on the 4th ball of the final over to give the Strikers victory by a slender margin of two runs.
It was the first win for the Strikers against our team. We had won the two previous games narrowly and given our previous performances against the opposition, had hoped the inevitable loss does not happen so soon.
Parag (18, 22b, 2*4) and Samir (18, 29b, 1*4) dropped anchor but most other batsmen yielded too easily. The effort from the two could have been better but Samir had only the tail to play with.
We conceeded 23 extras, dropped 4 regulation catches. The dropped catches resulted in 19 runs in favor of the opposition batsman. At the end of the day our own blunders cost us another game, even though we may have won a few with such errors in recent history. It is an indication of our falling standards. We managed to keep the standards high, over a period of the last four years but not so in recent games. Will we be able to rectify our issues and are those only temporary ? Only time will provide an answer over the next couple of months..
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdDFnRjNDR1Etek53ZmFoRmtWVG80Q0E&hl=en
Amit C, picked up Spandan on the last ball of the first over. Mudit began the second over and conceeded an easy boundary to Shiva. 12 runs were conceeded in the second over, with five of them being wides. Shiva seemed to have started well at the other end. He kept dabbing the ball slow on either side of the wicket, making the fielders run for the ball. Gopal was let down in the next over (in the slips) from Amit when his score was just one. In the very same over from Amit, Gopal edged one over the keeper/slips for a boundary to celebrate his much desired life. Gopal went on to repeat the feat in the next over from Hari hitting one with power, to mid-wicket for another boundary. Samir started well by moving the ball in the air but conceeded a few wides due to the excessive movement that he was able to generate. Gopal then struck Hari, to a wide mid-on position where Amit judged the ball to a nicety and held the ball one handed over his right shoulder. The ball was travelling even as it approached Amit, who did well to judge the trajectory early on, without moving too much or too early, taking his time, followed by a reflex action. Now, this is catching at its best.
In the next over from Samir, Srinivas K lobbed a straight forward catch to Suresh at short mid-wicket. At 41/3 in 6.3 overs, Sumanth walked in to join Shiva, who was batting steadily.
Samir was called for a no-ball in the very same over (due to a suspect action) that annoyed the fielding side but more than enraged Samir. Ajay bowled the 8th and kept the batsmen quiet with his lack of pace and a good length. Ajay was rewarded with the wicket of Shiva (in the 10th over) who was bowled by a ball that moved slightly and knocked the top of leg stump to take out just that bail.
The Strikers went in to the break with the score reading 54/4. Srinivas was unlucky in the first over after the break. A simple catch was hit feebly towards a short fine leg. It was one that Boycott's mom would have caught single-handedly with the right hand. But not for us, our fielding side found this a challenge and dropped that, almost not willing to accept easy chances thrown at us by the opposition. Srinivas K (from Strikers) , struck a short ball towards a vacant mid-wicket for a boundary to rejoice. Srinivas K (of our side) however, struck back to get the same person bowled the very next ball.
Prasad joined Sumanth and hit one good looking shot towards extra cover for a good looking two. In the 15th over from Hari, Prasad hit a full toss towards deep fine leg. Another regulation catch was dropped to give Prasad a life. The bowler to suffer was Hari who let out his frustration in no uncertain terms. Samir bowled Prasad who has a tendency to shuffle towards off even if the delivery is on leg stump. Sumanth was given a life at point as the fielder could not latch onto the ball that was struck not that firmly. Amit C, bowled Pradeep with a peach of a delivery that came in from a fullish length. Pradeep takes a stance outside leg, and moves in as the bowler bowls thereby keeping his options open to loft straight on both sides of the wicket.
Narasaiah struck a full toss from Samir to fine leg for a boundary towards the end of the inning. The Strikers crossed 100 in the final over and reached 104/8 in 20 overs. Sumanth was stumped on the final ball of the 20th over to give Hari his second wicket. Sumanth (20, 30b), Shiva (18, 23b, 1*4) and Gopal (13, 16b, 2*4) were the mainstay of the batting for the Strikers.
Srinivas K (4-0-15-1, 1Y and Ajay 2-0-6-1, 2Y) impressed with the ball in hand. The other bowlers on display were guilty of conceeding quite a few extras.
Our batting in recent outings did not seem stable and we were intent of getting to this target with wickets and overs to spare. The start was good with Parag picking 7 runs of the bat in the first over with a boundary struck towards fine leg on a full toss. Shekhar hit one uppishly on the last ball of the second over, where Sumanth held a good catch at point, to give Shiva his first wicket. Haran did not do particularly well in the 3rd over and conceeded another 8 runs with about four wides. Parag hit a pull towards fine leg on a shortish delivery from Prasad in the 5th over. Runs came at a steady pace for the first 6 overs with Shiva bowling 3 overs on the trot in the search of wickets at the start. At 41/1 in 6 overs we seemed to have started well in the search of the 3rd consecutive win against the Strikers.
Narasaiah introduced in the 7th over changed the complexion of the game. A few deliveries were tapped down the crease by Parag, who was trying to get used to the sharp decline in pace compared to the earlier overs. Three wides were sent outside off. The next ball on leg stump was hit towards mid-wicket. The bat turned a bit too early in the hands of the batsman, before the delivery pitched and a simple lofted catch was held at wide mid-wicket, on a shot that was intended to travel squarer, to a vacant mid-wicket. At 44/2 in 6.4 overs we seemed in a situation of ascendancy. Suresh played a quiet 8th over but on the final ball, stopped the ball with his hand as it was rolling towards the stumps. An appeal followed and Suresh was adjudged out, handling the ball. Mayank (new player) and Hari played the next couple of overs with caution and we walked into the break with 59/3 on board.
The approach after the break was to pick up runs steadily without taking too many risks with the asking rate being 4.6 an over and 7 wickets in hand. We then lost control of the situation immediately after the break losing the wickets of Mayank and Amit in the 11th over being bowled by Pradeep. Sumanth held a good catch at point and Amit edged one to the keeper. To make matters worse Hari was deceived by Narasaiah who hit a feeble shot to point where Sumanth made no mistake. Narasaiah deceived the second batsmen, with his controlled slow bowling.
Mudit and Samir picked up singles and an ocassional two to ensure the game went along without further loss of wickets but that lasted only a couple of overs. Narasaiah picked another wicket in the 15th over, this time that of Mudit who granted Sumanth his 4th catch of the game in the same position. With Adi, Srinivas and Ajay to follow we did not seem to have the depth in batting to give Samir company in the quest of 30 runs that were required in 5.5 overs. Although the equation in terms of runs and balls seemed in our favor the loss of wickets had placed us in a precarious situation.
Shiva, Haran and Prasad kept Adi quiet until the end of the 17th over. Fortunately for us we did not lose any more wickets. At 83/7 in 17 overs, the equation had tightened a bit with 22 needed in 18 balls. The 18th over yielded two boundaries towards third man. Four byes and an edge to third man brought down the required runs to 12 in 12 balls. Prasad balled an erratic 19th over conceeding 7 runs that also included two no-balls. One of the two was for overstepping, resulting in a free hit and another was a full toss over the waist. Prasad however struck back to get Srinivas bowled and Ajay played down two balls without a loss of a wicket to take the game to the final over. 5 runs were required in the final over from Pradeep. Samir flicked one nicely to fine leg for a two. Samir had been flicking the bowlers well on the leg side for ones and twos. One such shot off the bowling of Haran had yielded him a boundary. Ajay was run out on the second ball at the non-strikers end. Samir played a quiet shot on the third ball thereby resulting in 3 runs required in 3 balls and only a wicket in hand. The ever so accurate Pradeep, then bowled Samir on the 4th ball of the final over to give the Strikers victory by a slender margin of two runs.
It was the first win for the Strikers against our team. We had won the two previous games narrowly and given our previous performances against the opposition, had hoped the inevitable loss does not happen so soon.
Parag (18, 22b, 2*4) and Samir (18, 29b, 1*4) dropped anchor but most other batsmen yielded too easily. The effort from the two could have been better but Samir had only the tail to play with.
We conceeded 23 extras, dropped 4 regulation catches. The dropped catches resulted in 19 runs in favor of the opposition batsman. At the end of the day our own blunders cost us another game, even though we may have won a few with such errors in recent history. It is an indication of our falling standards. We managed to keep the standards high, over a period of the last four years but not so in recent games. Will we be able to rectify our issues and are those only temporary ? Only time will provide an answer over the next couple of months..
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdDFnRjNDR1Etek53ZmFoRmtWVG80Q0E&hl=en
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Match 16 against Doyle Devils on 08092009
Shekhar ensured that the Miramar College Ground was secured and all arrangements were done at 8 am. Doyle Devils won the toss and wisely elected to field first. Players in our side arrived late as usual with utter disregard for a person like Shekhar who came to the ground about 75 minutes prior to the actual start of the game.
Abhishek and Santosh opened the batting and provided a good start of 16 in 3 overs. Abhishek mis-hit one and was caught by Srinivas square of the wicket on the off side. Abhishek and Santosh were both dismissed in the same over that was shared between Ashwin and Venkat. Shekhar and Rahul B them put on a partnership of about 25 runs between them to take the team to a score of 48/4 in 8 overs. Venkat bowled Rahul B and Shekhar was caught behind to giving Sai his first wicket. The 10 over break was taken with two balls to go in the 10th over. Hari had flicked one to fine leg on the first ball he had faced from Venkat. Hari also lofted Prashant for a straight four over long on. Prashant however bowled Suresh with an over pitched delivery. Vijay S was dismissed in a similar manner by Sai. Hari hit one square of the wicket to give Srinivas his second catch and Venkat his third wicket.
Parag hit a full toss from Ashwin towards fine leg for a boundary but was bowled by Prashant as he shuffled across to a delivery bowled from around the wicket. The innings folded in the 20th over with Srinivas and Aravind being bowled by Pankaj. A score of 97 seemed about 10-15 less than what we should have reached given that we were 57/5 in 10 overs.
Srinivas began the bowling well making left-hander Srinivas from Doyle Devils reach for the ball. Srinivas was bowled on the last ball of the final over to give us a fantastic start. Abhishek began erratically conceding 10 runs in the second over but Srinivas kept Anil tied up in the third over. Rahul B held a sharp catch at short square leg that was hit with power and was travelling fast. Hari had Karthik caught behind by Santosh in the 6th over. Vijay S bowled Venkat in the 7th over to place the Doyle Devils at 24/4 in 7 overs. Tushnim was run out in the next over as Shiva called for a non-existent run making the situation worse at 28/5. Shiva was caught behind in the 9th over giving Rosie a wicket in his first over. Doyle Devils went into the break with 6 wickets gone and a deficit of 66 runs. The situation could have been worse but Joy was let down at short square leg. This particular catch was lower down but straight forward in comparison to the blinder that was taken earlier in the inning at the same position.
Saurabh was intent on slogging every delivery he faced but could not last long the moment he changed his approach to play as per the merit of the ball. Saurabh edged one to keeper Santosh giving Rosie a wicket in his second over, the 11th of the inning. Pankaj walked in with a tight equation and a score of 37/7 in 10.3 overs. He seemed nervous but took a liking to the bowling of Abhishek in the 12th over. 1o runs came the way of Doyle Devils but Rosie struck back dismissing Pankaj in the 13th over and worsening the situation for Doyle Devils with a score of 46/8 in 12.2 overs.
Prashant walked in to join Joy at the wicket. It was just a matter for the fielding team to close the game, grabbing opportunities that came ones way without trying too hard. The onus was completely on the Doyle Devils to make a game in this situation. Belief, temperament and application are the factors that play a role when batsmen are faced with this situation. Prashant and Joy did just that and put on a 47 run partnership in the next 38 balls to take the Doyle Devils from a situation of adversity to one of ascendancy. Joy was bowled by Rosie in his fourth over providing us a vital break that came a bit too late. 5 runs were required for a win for the Doyle Devils and 8 balls to go with just a wicket in hand. Sai negotiated two deliveries from Rosie with caution to take the game to the final over.
Abhishek was given the final over and had to bowl a magical over to bring us victory that we deserved until mid-way of the 13th over of the second inning. We helped the cause of Doyle Devils with sloppy catching and erratic fielding. Prashant and Joy ran the singles well, placed the ball for an occasional two or three and ran hard all the time. The runner taken by Joy added to the sloppy fielding by distracting the fielders who threw to the wrong end or were misled by three batsmen around.
Prashant hit one to fine leg for two and then picked up a single on the third ball. A wide was conceded with Sai on the crease. The scores were tied and an easy catch was dropped square of the wicket on the off side to bring delight and a well deserved victory for the Doyle Devils. The partnership for the 9th wicket paid dividends. Doyle Devils walked away with smiles on their faces whereas we walked away wondering how we can avoid such narrow losses.
We had ourselves to blame with about 6 catches being dropped, three of them being fairly easy ones. Fielding at times was shambolic and the lack of bowling options for the captain meant he could not try something different even as he saw certain overs were costly ones. This is where a couple of backup bowlers come handy but we seem to not believe in carrying backups into a game.
Joy (28, 2*4) and Prashant 26 * (2*3) were heroes on the day with the bat. Srinivas, Hari and Vijay S bowled economically and Rosie continued his dream spells at this ground with the ball. In the end, fortune favored the brave and the team that maintained a stable head under adverse conditions won.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdC1KQldFdmczTEo4RjYyNXZhaDJNaHc&hl=en
Abhishek and Santosh opened the batting and provided a good start of 16 in 3 overs. Abhishek mis-hit one and was caught by Srinivas square of the wicket on the off side. Abhishek and Santosh were both dismissed in the same over that was shared between Ashwin and Venkat. Shekhar and Rahul B them put on a partnership of about 25 runs between them to take the team to a score of 48/4 in 8 overs. Venkat bowled Rahul B and Shekhar was caught behind to giving Sai his first wicket. The 10 over break was taken with two balls to go in the 10th over. Hari had flicked one to fine leg on the first ball he had faced from Venkat. Hari also lofted Prashant for a straight four over long on. Prashant however bowled Suresh with an over pitched delivery. Vijay S was dismissed in a similar manner by Sai. Hari hit one square of the wicket to give Srinivas his second catch and Venkat his third wicket.
Parag hit a full toss from Ashwin towards fine leg for a boundary but was bowled by Prashant as he shuffled across to a delivery bowled from around the wicket. The innings folded in the 20th over with Srinivas and Aravind being bowled by Pankaj. A score of 97 seemed about 10-15 less than what we should have reached given that we were 57/5 in 10 overs.
Srinivas began the bowling well making left-hander Srinivas from Doyle Devils reach for the ball. Srinivas was bowled on the last ball of the final over to give us a fantastic start. Abhishek began erratically conceding 10 runs in the second over but Srinivas kept Anil tied up in the third over. Rahul B held a sharp catch at short square leg that was hit with power and was travelling fast. Hari had Karthik caught behind by Santosh in the 6th over. Vijay S bowled Venkat in the 7th over to place the Doyle Devils at 24/4 in 7 overs. Tushnim was run out in the next over as Shiva called for a non-existent run making the situation worse at 28/5. Shiva was caught behind in the 9th over giving Rosie a wicket in his first over. Doyle Devils went into the break with 6 wickets gone and a deficit of 66 runs. The situation could have been worse but Joy was let down at short square leg. This particular catch was lower down but straight forward in comparison to the blinder that was taken earlier in the inning at the same position.
Saurabh was intent on slogging every delivery he faced but could not last long the moment he changed his approach to play as per the merit of the ball. Saurabh edged one to keeper Santosh giving Rosie a wicket in his second over, the 11th of the inning. Pankaj walked in with a tight equation and a score of 37/7 in 10.3 overs. He seemed nervous but took a liking to the bowling of Abhishek in the 12th over. 1o runs came the way of Doyle Devils but Rosie struck back dismissing Pankaj in the 13th over and worsening the situation for Doyle Devils with a score of 46/8 in 12.2 overs.
Prashant walked in to join Joy at the wicket. It was just a matter for the fielding team to close the game, grabbing opportunities that came ones way without trying too hard. The onus was completely on the Doyle Devils to make a game in this situation. Belief, temperament and application are the factors that play a role when batsmen are faced with this situation. Prashant and Joy did just that and put on a 47 run partnership in the next 38 balls to take the Doyle Devils from a situation of adversity to one of ascendancy. Joy was bowled by Rosie in his fourth over providing us a vital break that came a bit too late. 5 runs were required for a win for the Doyle Devils and 8 balls to go with just a wicket in hand. Sai negotiated two deliveries from Rosie with caution to take the game to the final over.
Abhishek was given the final over and had to bowl a magical over to bring us victory that we deserved until mid-way of the 13th over of the second inning. We helped the cause of Doyle Devils with sloppy catching and erratic fielding. Prashant and Joy ran the singles well, placed the ball for an occasional two or three and ran hard all the time. The runner taken by Joy added to the sloppy fielding by distracting the fielders who threw to the wrong end or were misled by three batsmen around.
Prashant hit one to fine leg for two and then picked up a single on the third ball. A wide was conceded with Sai on the crease. The scores were tied and an easy catch was dropped square of the wicket on the off side to bring delight and a well deserved victory for the Doyle Devils. The partnership for the 9th wicket paid dividends. Doyle Devils walked away with smiles on their faces whereas we walked away wondering how we can avoid such narrow losses.
We had ourselves to blame with about 6 catches being dropped, three of them being fairly easy ones. Fielding at times was shambolic and the lack of bowling options for the captain meant he could not try something different even as he saw certain overs were costly ones. This is where a couple of backup bowlers come handy but we seem to not believe in carrying backups into a game.
Joy (28, 2*4) and Prashant 26 * (2*3) were heroes on the day with the bat. Srinivas, Hari and Vijay S bowled economically and Rosie continued his dream spells at this ground with the ball. In the end, fortune favored the brave and the team that maintained a stable head under adverse conditions won.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdC1KQldFdmczTEo4RjYyNXZhaDJNaHc&hl=en
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Match 15 against Doyle Devils on 08012009
The game was moved from Doyle Park to a school in the same area beside Genesse Ave. The ground had a thin covering of grass and seemed to be a hard field, characteristic of a fast outfield.
Rahul B won the toss and elected to field first. On just the second ball Amit C struck by getting Sourav caught behind by Parag. Srinivas, the other opening batsman however struck a few boundaries behind the wicket on the leg side. Shiva tried to hit a short one from Amit over the infield, square of the wicket on the leg side but lobbed a simple catch to Rahul B. Left hander, Srinivas had managed to not allow any of our bowlers settle into a rhythm with unconventional shots on the leg side. Samir however bowled one in the corridor and Srinivas edged to Parag behind the wicket and out walked the batsman. Venkat and another new batsman (unfamiliar name) however felt the need to consolidate. Both were given a reprieve early on by the bowler. Samir could not latch to a low and hard shot by Venkat. Sam could not hold one that came at a good height and straight to him on the off side. Suresh dropped two catches at long on to give the new batsman two lives. One of those was a slightly difficult one, since the ball was to the right and high over Suresh's shoulder. Doyle Devils went into the break at 56/3. Parag held a sharp low catch to his left, behind the wicket to finally dismiss the new batsman, who had three lives. Mudit struck back after being hit around for a few runs. The new batsman, played quite a few good shots mostly towards mid-on and mid-wicket region where he struck at least 2/3 boundaries.
After 14 overs Doyle Devils were around 80/4 and seemed set to hit at least 110 runs. The game was interrupted as the little league soccer team had reserved the ground. This then forced an abandonment of the game as no grounds were available in the UTC area.
It is time that we realize that we either play in the afternoon on Sunday or make it a point to pay and obtain a permit to play at other times of the weekend.
Rahul B won the toss and elected to field first. On just the second ball Amit C struck by getting Sourav caught behind by Parag. Srinivas, the other opening batsman however struck a few boundaries behind the wicket on the leg side. Shiva tried to hit a short one from Amit over the infield, square of the wicket on the leg side but lobbed a simple catch to Rahul B. Left hander, Srinivas had managed to not allow any of our bowlers settle into a rhythm with unconventional shots on the leg side. Samir however bowled one in the corridor and Srinivas edged to Parag behind the wicket and out walked the batsman. Venkat and another new batsman (unfamiliar name) however felt the need to consolidate. Both were given a reprieve early on by the bowler. Samir could not latch to a low and hard shot by Venkat. Sam could not hold one that came at a good height and straight to him on the off side. Suresh dropped two catches at long on to give the new batsman two lives. One of those was a slightly difficult one, since the ball was to the right and high over Suresh's shoulder. Doyle Devils went into the break at 56/3. Parag held a sharp low catch to his left, behind the wicket to finally dismiss the new batsman, who had three lives. Mudit struck back after being hit around for a few runs. The new batsman, played quite a few good shots mostly towards mid-on and mid-wicket region where he struck at least 2/3 boundaries.
After 14 overs Doyle Devils were around 80/4 and seemed set to hit at least 110 runs. The game was interrupted as the little league soccer team had reserved the ground. This then forced an abandonment of the game as no grounds were available in the UTC area.
It is time that we realize that we either play in the afternoon on Sunday or make it a point to pay and obtain a permit to play at other times of the weekend.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Match 2 against Cricket Communications on 07/25/2009
The game was played at Doyle Park and began late due to delay due to ground availability. Rahul B won the toss and elected to field.
Amit C could not control the ball in the first over but Mudit started with a maiden over. Amit struck in the very next over to get Shiva clean bowled. Mudit continued with a tidy over. Samir coming in first change bowled Narasaiah as he moved outside off to hit the ball towards leg side. Ravi M and Gopal consolidated the inning to an extent. Both were kept relatively quiet by Samir who struck to get Ravi M bowled. The pitch had awkward bounce and a few balls flew over the keeper for extras. Gopal was bowled by Hari, with the ball keeping very low. Gopal left amidst complaints that the ball should be declared dead.
Naveen and Pradeep provided further consolidation. Pradeep played with aggression, starting with a boundary against Suresh. Amit was struck by Pradeep for a huge six towards long on with the ball sailing over Suresh standing a few yards in. Naveen lofted one towards wide long on but Suresh ran in hard to his right and held the ball well above his right shoulder. Sumanth was run out in a mix up with Pradeep. Pradeep however continued to attack as the overs came to a close. Srinivas was hit for a boundary over long-off and then for a six over long-on. Srinivas however struck back by getting Pradeep bowled and then immediately dismissed Srinivas bowled on the very next ball. Arun was run out by Amit fielding well at short mid-off. Samir got the last batsman caught behind. Cricket Communications lost their way in the final 5 overs and were dismissed for 95 with 5 balls to spare. Pradeep scored 31 (27b, 2*4, 2*6) and impressed with his big hitting skills. Samir (3), Srinivas (2), Hari (2) and Amit (1) were among the wickets.
The chase did not begin well with Mudit being bowled by Pradeep on just the 3rd ball of the first over. Hari joined Samir but was caught and bowled by Naveen in the 4th over of the inning.
Shiva had Abhishek caught by Pradeep at long on. Suresh walked in to join Samir but very soon, Samir was dismissed. Samir tried to hit one towards wide-fine leg but the ball bounced and took the upper edge of the bat and flew to Naveen standing at short fine-leg at the edge of the circle and held the ball with ease. Samir scored 16(226, 2*4, 1*4) and was dismissed just when he seemed set to score runs with confidence.
Parag joined Suresh but edged one to the keeper within four balls. With 5 batsman dismissed and the score reading less than 45 runs the team was under pressure. Suresh struck a straight six over the head of Gopal standing at long-off. Narasaiah introduced himself into the attack and deceived Suresh in the very first over. Rahul B was bowled by Haran and with just 3 wickets to get Cricket Communications were confident of winning this game. Naman was bowled by Pradeep, who was introduced to try and clean up the inning. Shekhar and Amit however played with caution and were also helped by the continuous offering of wides by the Cricket Communications bowling. Shekhar struck Narasaiah for a boundary towards fine leg and later hit one high over point for a boundary. With just 6-7 runs to get Amit decided to loft one over long-off. Amit could not clear Gopal standing about 50 yards away and was held to with ease, increasing the hopes of a win for Cricket Communications (also known as Strikers). the partnership between Shekhar and Amit had saved us the blushes, but could Cricket Communications get the final wicket and save the 6 runs. The overs were not an issue but we had to avoid losing a wicket. Srinivas held fort and finally a wide down leg side went for a boundary to bring us victory with 8 balls to spare.
It was a close game that could have gone wither way but in the end good, responsible batting by Shekhar (14*, 23b, 2*4) saw us through. Amit and Shekhar put on a good partnership for the 9th wicket and got us close enough, thus easing the pressure on Srinivas.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdERzdTYzNE15RVhJUGhBT1A2V3lCWnc&hl=en
Amit C could not control the ball in the first over but Mudit started with a maiden over. Amit struck in the very next over to get Shiva clean bowled. Mudit continued with a tidy over. Samir coming in first change bowled Narasaiah as he moved outside off to hit the ball towards leg side. Ravi M and Gopal consolidated the inning to an extent. Both were kept relatively quiet by Samir who struck to get Ravi M bowled. The pitch had awkward bounce and a few balls flew over the keeper for extras. Gopal was bowled by Hari, with the ball keeping very low. Gopal left amidst complaints that the ball should be declared dead.
Naveen and Pradeep provided further consolidation. Pradeep played with aggression, starting with a boundary against Suresh. Amit was struck by Pradeep for a huge six towards long on with the ball sailing over Suresh standing a few yards in. Naveen lofted one towards wide long on but Suresh ran in hard to his right and held the ball well above his right shoulder. Sumanth was run out in a mix up with Pradeep. Pradeep however continued to attack as the overs came to a close. Srinivas was hit for a boundary over long-off and then for a six over long-on. Srinivas however struck back by getting Pradeep bowled and then immediately dismissed Srinivas bowled on the very next ball. Arun was run out by Amit fielding well at short mid-off. Samir got the last batsman caught behind. Cricket Communications lost their way in the final 5 overs and were dismissed for 95 with 5 balls to spare. Pradeep scored 31 (27b, 2*4, 2*6) and impressed with his big hitting skills. Samir (3), Srinivas (2), Hari (2) and Amit (1) were among the wickets.
The chase did not begin well with Mudit being bowled by Pradeep on just the 3rd ball of the first over. Hari joined Samir but was caught and bowled by Naveen in the 4th over of the inning.
Shiva had Abhishek caught by Pradeep at long on. Suresh walked in to join Samir but very soon, Samir was dismissed. Samir tried to hit one towards wide-fine leg but the ball bounced and took the upper edge of the bat and flew to Naveen standing at short fine-leg at the edge of the circle and held the ball with ease. Samir scored 16(226, 2*4, 1*4) and was dismissed just when he seemed set to score runs with confidence.
Parag joined Suresh but edged one to the keeper within four balls. With 5 batsman dismissed and the score reading less than 45 runs the team was under pressure. Suresh struck a straight six over the head of Gopal standing at long-off. Narasaiah introduced himself into the attack and deceived Suresh in the very first over. Rahul B was bowled by Haran and with just 3 wickets to get Cricket Communications were confident of winning this game. Naman was bowled by Pradeep, who was introduced to try and clean up the inning. Shekhar and Amit however played with caution and were also helped by the continuous offering of wides by the Cricket Communications bowling. Shekhar struck Narasaiah for a boundary towards fine leg and later hit one high over point for a boundary. With just 6-7 runs to get Amit decided to loft one over long-off. Amit could not clear Gopal standing about 50 yards away and was held to with ease, increasing the hopes of a win for Cricket Communications (also known as Strikers). the partnership between Shekhar and Amit had saved us the blushes, but could Cricket Communications get the final wicket and save the 6 runs. The overs were not an issue but we had to avoid losing a wicket. Srinivas held fort and finally a wide down leg side went for a boundary to bring us victory with 8 balls to spare.
It was a close game that could have gone wither way but in the end good, responsible batting by Shekhar (14*, 23b, 2*4) saw us through. Amit and Shekhar put on a good partnership for the 9th wicket and got us close enough, thus easing the pressure on Srinivas.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArRZKVChcIaXdERzdTYzNE15RVhJUGhBT1A2V3lCWnc&hl=en
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Match 15 against SDCricInfo/Mavericks on 07/19/2009
The game was played at Miramar College Ground (Small). Vijay S won the toss and promptly elected to field first.
Amit C bowled a tidy first over but Hari K could not control the length. Sushmit scored 11 runs in the second over with two boundaries. Amit struck in the 3rd over by dismissing Sushmit having him caught at square leg. Praveen (fielding for Hari R - who was late to arrive) held the catch with ease. Vijay S snapped Anil G, by making him lob an easy catch at short cover/mid-off. Rosie bowled Anil N in the very next over, only the 5th of the inning. Raghavendra was caught by Naman at point and Mavericks seemed to be in deep trouble with the top four batsman gone.
Neeraj and Rajendra steadied the inning and took the Mavericks into the break and a score of 39/4. The next three overs bowled by Samir, Amit and Hari went for 4, 8 and 9 runs respectively. The two batsmen seemed to be gathering momentum. Samir however provided the vital break by having Neeraj (a left hander) caught brilliantly by Rahul B behind the wickets. Vijay S introduced Rosie into the attack and was rewarded for his decision with two wickets in the over. Pavan was needlessly run out in a mix up with Yoga. Rosie picked up a wicket in his next over, having picked one on the last ball of his previous over and almost had a hat-trick only to see Samir not being able to latch to a sharp catch standing at silly-point. Vijay S, started his 3rd over, the 18th of the inning and picked up the last batsman. Mavericks were shot out for a score of just 70 runs. It was a fantastic all round effort in bowling, bringing back memories of few games where other teams were subjected to the same fate in crucial games by our bowling attack. Rosie seems to have a special liking for this ground finishing with figures of 4-0-10-4. Vijay S did well too with 3 wickets in his bag and only conceded 7 runs. Amit C and Samir picked up a wicket each hardly giving away any runs.
It was a small target and in walked Naman and Parag. Disaster struck on the fourth ball itself, with Parag being bowled on the very first ball he faced. Shekhar departed very soon and Amit C was run-out in a mix-up with Naman, in a circumstance with the batsman needing to wait for the ball to pass the bowler. Naman was bowled by Rajendra and the situation seemed to have become slightly uneasy. Two points were on our side at that moment of time, a small target and a good run-rate. Hari R walked in and began in the usual aggressive mode by launching a boundary to a vacant mid-wicket. Hari R kept chipping the ball in the gaps and also played some good ground strokes on the leg side. Gopal struck a straight boundary on the first ball he faced and it seemed we would get to the target without further loss of wickets. Gopal, Samir and Vijay S were dismissed in single digit scores. Hari K joined Hari R and together they knocked the 10-12 runs required for victory. Hari R 29 *(25b, 3*4) was the backbone of the batting that was bent by the bowling attack of the Mavericks. Hari's quickfire inning ensured that thoughts of a win were always out of sight for the Mavericks in inning two.
Had we lost about 4 fewer wickets, the win would have been a thumping one. Nevertheless, a good effort in the field with ball set this victory for the team. Vijay S once again led from the front and was ably supported by all bowlers. The entire team rallied around, given our recent losses against the Mavericks.
Good win guys, that's the form we need to maintain.
Our motto going forward - A few individuals may fail but the team must still win.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tmJejGSoRzQAFa59LUSMhdA
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Match 14 against SDCricInfo/Mavericks on 06/27/2009
The game was played at Mira Mesa Community Park (Outer). Mavericks won the toss and elected to bat on a field with uneven patches of grass and soil. Sushmit and Vikas opened the batting for the Mavericks. Naman started the first over erratically conceding 11 runs including a four, 3 no-balls and a wide. Rosie, Samir continued the bowling but Sushmit seemed to be in good touch. Boundaries were hit in the next few overs being bowled but we also picked up a few wickets. Mavericks reached 49 in 6 overs. Balaji hit a straight six on the short straight boundary. A ball from Shiva shot high over the keeper, Parag for four byes. Sushmit played good shots to the cover region and Mavericks seemed to be prospering well. Mavericks reached 66/4 in 10 overs and Sushmit seemed to be in control and guided the inning well.
Rosie picked up Sushmit after the break. Sushmit returned with a well made 31 (32b, 5*4) on a pitch that was not predictable in either bounce of movement. We then pulled the scoring back and dismissed the Mavericks for 102 in 17.1 overs. Naman featured in two run-outs with Nagendra falling short at the keeper's end and Arun falling short at the non-strikers end. Mudit standing at short square leg hit one direct to get rid of Balaji. Amit hit one from short cover/mid-off. A good effort in the field had brought us back in the game after a bad start to our bowling. The pitch however was one where a batsman could get bounced into discomfort.
Our start to the chase was even worse. We lost a wicket in the second over, another two in the 3rd and two in the fifth. The score read a shabby 26/5 in 4 overs. Samir was bowled by Vikas after having hit a nice looking boundary square on the off-side. Rajendra picked up Gopal and Naman in the space of three balls in the third over. Vikas returned in the 4th to pick up Aravind and Mudit. Mudit was caught one handed at deep mid-wicket by Sunil. The previous ball was a no-ball for overstepping and Srinivas had declared a free hit in a low tone. Mavericks went for the appeal and demanded the wicket saying that we have never played with this rule in the past. Mudit walked back with annoyance for a second time in two weeks on the same ground.
Shiva was scoring a few runs but then lobbed one straight up to short square leg. Parag hit Pavan for a six towards deep square leg on a full toss on or outside leg stump. The pitch was a difficult one to survive and with 6 wickets gone and plenty of overs to go, a partnership was needed to change the tide. The wicket continued with Amit, Rosie and Narasaiah dismissed in quick succession after the loss of 6 wickets. Parag (8 of 21b, 1*6) was the last to be dismissed just before the 10 over break.
It was a pathetic display of batting with the entire batting squad returning to the pavilion with just 5o on board. Mavericks thus won by a huge margin of 52 runs.
Rosie picked up Sushmit after the break. Sushmit returned with a well made 31 (32b, 5*4) on a pitch that was not predictable in either bounce of movement. We then pulled the scoring back and dismissed the Mavericks for 102 in 17.1 overs. Naman featured in two run-outs with Nagendra falling short at the keeper's end and Arun falling short at the non-strikers end. Mudit standing at short square leg hit one direct to get rid of Balaji. Amit hit one from short cover/mid-off. A good effort in the field had brought us back in the game after a bad start to our bowling. The pitch however was one where a batsman could get bounced into discomfort.
Our start to the chase was even worse. We lost a wicket in the second over, another two in the 3rd and two in the fifth. The score read a shabby 26/5 in 4 overs. Samir was bowled by Vikas after having hit a nice looking boundary square on the off-side. Rajendra picked up Gopal and Naman in the space of three balls in the third over. Vikas returned in the 4th to pick up Aravind and Mudit. Mudit was caught one handed at deep mid-wicket by Sunil. The previous ball was a no-ball for overstepping and Srinivas had declared a free hit in a low tone. Mavericks went for the appeal and demanded the wicket saying that we have never played with this rule in the past. Mudit walked back with annoyance for a second time in two weeks on the same ground.
Shiva was scoring a few runs but then lobbed one straight up to short square leg. Parag hit Pavan for a six towards deep square leg on a full toss on or outside leg stump. The pitch was a difficult one to survive and with 6 wickets gone and plenty of overs to go, a partnership was needed to change the tide. The wicket continued with Amit, Rosie and Narasaiah dismissed in quick succession after the loss of 6 wickets. Parag (8 of 21b, 1*6) was the last to be dismissed just before the 10 over break.
It was a pathetic display of batting with the entire batting squad returning to the pavilion with just 5o on board. Mavericks thus won by a huge margin of 52 runs.
Match 13 against SDCricInfo/Mavericks on 05/30/2009
We lost the game by a relatively huge margin of 48 runs. SDCricInfo scored 140 in 20 overs. Our bowling was guilty of conceeding 50 runs in the last 4 overs.
Our chase went well with a score of 75/4 in 10 overs. We then lost six wickets within the next 4.1 overs scoring only 17 additional runs.
The scorecard is with Gopal K and will be uploaded, if and when received.
Our chase went well with a score of 75/4 in 10 overs. We then lost six wickets within the next 4.1 overs scoring only 17 additional runs.
The scorecard is with Gopal K and will be uploaded, if and when received.
Match 14 against Doyle Devils on 06/21/2009
We lost the 16 over game against Doyle Devils. The start of the game was delayed due to late arrivals of of team members. Doyle Devils did not appreciate our lack of punctuality the least bit. We need to improve upon ensuring the team as a whole arrives within a reasonable time span.
The scoresheets are with the Doyle Devils team and will be uploaded, if and when received.
The scoresheets are with the Doyle Devils team and will be uploaded, if and when received.
Match 12 against Doyle Devils 05/09/2009
FAC won this game against Doyle Devils. The scorecard will be uploaded once received from Ajay K.
Match 9 against Real Panthers on 0712209
Miramar College Ground (Big) was the venue for Game 9 against Real Panthers on July 12th 09.
Real Panthers won the toss and elected to bat first on a ground with thick grass and 70 yard boundaries. Real Panthers were not happy with the huge boundaries, given the thick grass and asked for about 55 to 60 yard boundaries. We never play with shorter boundaries unless the ground has restrictions on a certain side.
Neverthless, the game got under way around 9 am. Amit and Srinivas opened the bowling and the first five overs produced 3 wickets. Amit bowled Anil on just the second ball of the game. Hari K held a sharp catch above his head to give Srinivas his first wicket to dismiss captain Giresh. Siddhartha followed one outside the off stump and nicked one to keeper Santosh to give Srinivas his second wicket in the fifth over. Naveen S and opener Santosh then realized the situation demanded consolidation. Both played the bowling to merit and started taking some chances only in the latter half of the period prior to the break. The last ball of the 10th over resulted in the dismissal of Santosh to give Hari R a welcome wicket. Real Panthers were at 43/4 in 10 overs.
One over from Gopal, saw the first boundary being hit by Naveen S towards deep fine leg. Gopal however caused the dismissal of Vilas who hit one high in the air to see Santosh to hold the catch a few feet behind the stumps. Amit soon dismissed Naveen S in the final over of his spell. Bhanu coming in at the fall of the wicket of Vilas, played with aggression after initial uncertainty against the bowling of Hari R. One such hit travelled just over Srinivas at mid-wicket for a boundary. Another loose ball from Hari K was dismissed to the cover boundary on a lofted hit. Srinivas was hit for a straight hit for six over long-off. Bhanu was bowled by Sam in the 19th over by a yorker length delivery. Sanjay edged one to Santosh behind the stumps in the final over to give Hari K his first wicket.
Real Panthers finished with 100/8 in the allotted 20 overs. Amit was the pick of the bowlers (is it new?) with figures of 4-0-14-2. Hari K, playing after a long time bowled well to concede 19 runs in 4 overs and picked up a wicket. Hari R, Sam, Srinivas and Gopal played their part to restrict the opposition to a score that was not too daunting. The fielding was good with no simple chances being dropped. Santosh, infact picked up four catches behind the stumps. Bhanu (24), Santosh (18) and Naveen S (16) brought respectability to the score for the Real Panthers.
Our chase began with Parag and Hari opening the batting and playing the initial overs with caution. The 5th over produced 8 runs with Parag, hitting one for three to deep fine leg and then hitting one square of the wicket for a boundary. The ball was timed well and it bounced ahead of the fielder and jumped over the head of the fielder as he came in. At 23/0 in 6 overs the platform was laid down but it was time to accelerate. There were no loss of wickets and the score at the end of 10 overs read 47/0. The team now required 54 in the last 10 overs with all wickets intact.
Santosh bowled Hari on the final ball of the 11th over. The 49 runs partnership with Parag seemed to have set us for the chase. Hari scored 16 (29b) but returned just when he was intent on providing the acceleration. It was now time for batsmen coming in to take advantage of the 4th and 5th bowlers. Gopal however started uneasily and missed quite a few deliveries against Santosh and Anil. Parag was scoring runs but in general played with caution. Boundaries were hard to come by as Anil and Bhanu reduced their pace drastically. Parag hit few shots well behind the stumps on the off side as well as square of the wicket and behind the wicket on the leg side. A loose ball from Anil was hit a couple of yards away from the fielder standing inside the circle at short fine leg to bring only the second boundary of the inning. Runs did not come in a flurry and soon the asking rate moved up from 6 an over to almost 8 an over over a period of 4 overs starting at the 14th over.
31 runs were required in 24 balls, that then changed to 21 in 18 balls. Gopal made way for Santosh to join Parag who by now was exhausted. 3 runs came on a no-ball, and Santosh took a single off Sanjay. Parag hit a full toss, with no great power to mid-off standing about 50 yards away. Giresh held the catch with ease and that brought Shekhar in to the crease. Parag had scored 43 (58b, 2*4) but fell just when the final 17 runs were required. Shekhar and Sam were dismissed in the search for runs with no time to get their eye-in. 13 runs were required in 2 overs. Bhanu conceeded 9 runs in the 19th over. Santosh hit five of those with a three followed by a two and Hari K hit a three. The second ball of the 20th over was hit by Hari K towards an open mid-wicket for a boundary.
We thus won with four balls to spare and with six wickets in hand. Rahul B did a fine job utilizing the bowlers well and encouraging players on the field. It's our second win on the trot against Real Panthers who were without a couple of tough players but certainly need to be taken on with might. It was a fantastic performance over a 40 over period with the game not slipping past our grips at any moment of time. Well done all !
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tEm5mFkJI-f9-mWErwOXSHQ
Real Panthers won the toss and elected to bat first on a ground with thick grass and 70 yard boundaries. Real Panthers were not happy with the huge boundaries, given the thick grass and asked for about 55 to 60 yard boundaries. We never play with shorter boundaries unless the ground has restrictions on a certain side.
Neverthless, the game got under way around 9 am. Amit and Srinivas opened the bowling and the first five overs produced 3 wickets. Amit bowled Anil on just the second ball of the game. Hari K held a sharp catch above his head to give Srinivas his first wicket to dismiss captain Giresh. Siddhartha followed one outside the off stump and nicked one to keeper Santosh to give Srinivas his second wicket in the fifth over. Naveen S and opener Santosh then realized the situation demanded consolidation. Both played the bowling to merit and started taking some chances only in the latter half of the period prior to the break. The last ball of the 10th over resulted in the dismissal of Santosh to give Hari R a welcome wicket. Real Panthers were at 43/4 in 10 overs.
One over from Gopal, saw the first boundary being hit by Naveen S towards deep fine leg. Gopal however caused the dismissal of Vilas who hit one high in the air to see Santosh to hold the catch a few feet behind the stumps. Amit soon dismissed Naveen S in the final over of his spell. Bhanu coming in at the fall of the wicket of Vilas, played with aggression after initial uncertainty against the bowling of Hari R. One such hit travelled just over Srinivas at mid-wicket for a boundary. Another loose ball from Hari K was dismissed to the cover boundary on a lofted hit. Srinivas was hit for a straight hit for six over long-off. Bhanu was bowled by Sam in the 19th over by a yorker length delivery. Sanjay edged one to Santosh behind the stumps in the final over to give Hari K his first wicket.
Real Panthers finished with 100/8 in the allotted 20 overs. Amit was the pick of the bowlers (is it new?) with figures of 4-0-14-2. Hari K, playing after a long time bowled well to concede 19 runs in 4 overs and picked up a wicket. Hari R, Sam, Srinivas and Gopal played their part to restrict the opposition to a score that was not too daunting. The fielding was good with no simple chances being dropped. Santosh, infact picked up four catches behind the stumps. Bhanu (24), Santosh (18) and Naveen S (16) brought respectability to the score for the Real Panthers.
Our chase began with Parag and Hari opening the batting and playing the initial overs with caution. The 5th over produced 8 runs with Parag, hitting one for three to deep fine leg and then hitting one square of the wicket for a boundary. The ball was timed well and it bounced ahead of the fielder and jumped over the head of the fielder as he came in. At 23/0 in 6 overs the platform was laid down but it was time to accelerate. There were no loss of wickets and the score at the end of 10 overs read 47/0. The team now required 54 in the last 10 overs with all wickets intact.
Santosh bowled Hari on the final ball of the 11th over. The 49 runs partnership with Parag seemed to have set us for the chase. Hari scored 16 (29b) but returned just when he was intent on providing the acceleration. It was now time for batsmen coming in to take advantage of the 4th and 5th bowlers. Gopal however started uneasily and missed quite a few deliveries against Santosh and Anil. Parag was scoring runs but in general played with caution. Boundaries were hard to come by as Anil and Bhanu reduced their pace drastically. Parag hit few shots well behind the stumps on the off side as well as square of the wicket and behind the wicket on the leg side. A loose ball from Anil was hit a couple of yards away from the fielder standing inside the circle at short fine leg to bring only the second boundary of the inning. Runs did not come in a flurry and soon the asking rate moved up from 6 an over to almost 8 an over over a period of 4 overs starting at the 14th over.
31 runs were required in 24 balls, that then changed to 21 in 18 balls. Gopal made way for Santosh to join Parag who by now was exhausted. 3 runs came on a no-ball, and Santosh took a single off Sanjay. Parag hit a full toss, with no great power to mid-off standing about 50 yards away. Giresh held the catch with ease and that brought Shekhar in to the crease. Parag had scored 43 (58b, 2*4) but fell just when the final 17 runs were required. Shekhar and Sam were dismissed in the search for runs with no time to get their eye-in. 13 runs were required in 2 overs. Bhanu conceeded 9 runs in the 19th over. Santosh hit five of those with a three followed by a two and Hari K hit a three. The second ball of the 20th over was hit by Hari K towards an open mid-wicket for a boundary.
We thus won with four balls to spare and with six wickets in hand. Rahul B did a fine job utilizing the bowlers well and encouraging players on the field. It's our second win on the trot against Real Panthers who were without a couple of tough players but certainly need to be taken on with might. It was a fantastic performance over a 40 over period with the game not slipping past our grips at any moment of time. Well done all !
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tEm5mFkJI-f9-mWErwOXSHQ
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A year gone by .......
It has been just over a year since we have been maintaining this blog.
Checkout team results over last year & overall record since Sept 2005
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rCVETnYrc9RVjT3LopAqsLw
Checkout team results over last year & overall record since Sept 2005
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rCVETnYrc9RVjT3LopAqsLw
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Match 1 against Cricket Communications on 06232009
We were playing Cricket Communications for the first time. As usual the hunt for an appropriate ground preceeded the start of the game. The game was played at Mira Mesa Community Park (Outer) on a pitch that was uneven with patches of soil.
Narasaiah (captain of Cricket Communications) won the toss and elected to field. Rosie (captain on the day) decided to open with Naman and Mudit. The first over bowled by Anil was a quiet one with the batsmen unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Pradeep bowled a few short balls to start with and conceeded four no-balls on the trot with one evading a jumping keeper and going for a boundary down the slope. Naman expected the bouncers to continue and was deceived by a fast fullish delivery to see his stumps knocked down. Srinivas joined Mudit and cut the first ball over the slips for a boundary. There was the usual uncertainty in running with Mudit and Srinivas at the crease. One such incident resulted in Srinivas backing up too far and being run-out at the non-strikers end. Nitin B joined Mudit and within the first couple of balls hit one straight shot that sailed over the boundary and a waiting long-on fielder for a six. His aggressive intent soon resulted in his downfall. Nitin missed a straight full length delivery only to see his stumps rattle.
Santosh joined Mudit and there began a consolidation of the inning. Mudit hit one forcibly to cover. The ball kept running away from the fielder and went for a four on the soiled area devoid of grass. Mudit let out a hearty laugh, seeing a forced ground shot yield a boundary. Earlier, a wild throw to the non-striker resulted in a two being converted to an all-run six as the ball evaded the bowler and went to the cover boundary. The fielders at cover and long-off (Gopal) were caught napping and to add to that a hapless bowler (Shiva) had to chase the ball in vain almost to the boundary.
Mudit backed up too far and was late to come back to the non-strikers end. The ball had hit Santosh's feet and there was no run to be taken. In normal circumstances we would not have given it out but this being an external game we had to call it as a wicket since Mudit was outside the crease when the stumps were brought down at the non-strikers end. A distraught Mudit walked back objecting to the mode of dismissal.
At 68/4 in 10 overs we were sitting in the drivers seat with a score of 120 being a distinct possibility. Cricket Communcations were eager to make a mark. Narasaiah introduced himself into the attack after the 10 over stage. Santosh fancied his chances against the slow bowling of Narasaiah, and kept playing the sweep towards square leg. Santosh and Vijay S had run a few quick runs between themselves but one such attempt for a two resulted in Santosh being dismissed at the keeper's end.
Rosie joined Vijay S but very soon Narasaiah struck with Gopal latching to a catch at long-off. Vijay S departed with a shake of his head. Rosie was stumped by Kiran to yield Narasaiah his second wicket. Parag played with caution but Hari seemed eager to up the ante. A lofted shot that almost sailed to the fence for a six was plucked by Gopal standing almost on the rope at long-off. Parag had earlier hit a four towards the short boundary at wide long-off. An attmept to hoick Narasaiah towards the mid-wicket fence resulted in Parag being caught by a reliable Vijay S (substitute fielder) about 5 yards inside the long off boundary. Samir fell within the space of two balls and we tumbled to 95/10 in 16.3 overs. It was a disapponting effort in the second half of our batting, resulting in us being 20-25 short in terms of runs with about 21 balls being unutilized. Narasaiah picked up 4 wickets and Gopal held two catches having dropped one early in the inning.
We were very much determined to not let Cricket Communications get even close to the modest target of 96. Hari and Samir started brilliantly with no runs and a wicket coming in three overs. The 4th over yielded another wicket and three runs. Samir picked up a wicket in the 6th over to increase the pressure on the batting of Cricket Communications.
Gopal started with aggression against the bowling of Vijay S and Srinivas playing forceful shots in the V on either side and also hitting towards cover. Sumanth at the other end was playing with caution, playing out defensibly and thereby mounting the asking rate for Cricket Communications. 64 runs were required in the final 10 overs with 7 wickets standing.
Rosie introduced himself into the attack and bowled Gopal with a fullish delivery. These were deliveries that Gopal had been hitting for runs in the V behind the bowler but Rosie's magical arm did the trick. Pradeep joined Sumanth and launched the bowlers for a few boundaries towards long-leg and mid-wicket. Mudit had bowled an erratic over yielding 12 runs forcing Rosie to bring in Hari into the attack. Sure enough, Hari delivered with Sumanth edging one to the Santosh behind the stumps. A sharp chance was let down by Samir in the slips as he stood there not being very alert as one expects a slip fielder to be. Hari was aggrieved and let out his opinions with usual emotion.
The asking rate had at one point come to less than a run a ball but the fall of two wickets brought it back up to a run a ball in the final four overs. Samir and Vijay S bowled out their last over each with 4 wicket remaining and two overs to go with 11 runs to get. A brief discussion ensued between Rosie, Parag and Santosh. It was decided Rosie would bowl the 19th over and Srinvas would bowl the final over. Pradeep and Shiva had been playing sensibly, running hard for singles and chipping balls for twos into the outfield that was well spread out.
Rosie struck with the first ball forcing Pradeep to loft one weakly on the leg side. Rosie went a few yards to his right and held the simple return catch to bolster our chances of a win. The next ball resulted in Narasaiah being run out at the keeper's end as he was slow to get to the stumps with Aravind and Santosh teaming up. Rosie bowled Anil on the next ball and a single wicket and 10 runs stood between victory or defeat. Haran tried to steal a two on the last ball of the 19th over. The batsmen had to run for everything on offer. Vijay S sprinting from long on hit the stumps directly from a good 30-35 yards to earn the final wicket.
We won by a narrow margin of 9 runs. Narasaiah with 4 wickets with the ball, Gopal (21 runs, 24b, 2*4) and Pradeep (18 runs, 20b, 2*4) did well for Cricket Communcations with the bat. Mudit 21 runs (26b, 2*4), Santosh 14 (20b, 1*4) put on a good patnership towards the half way stage of our batting only to see others undo the good work.
Samir was the pick of the bowlers on either side with excellent figures of 4-2-5-2. Hari had good figures of 4-1-13-1. Captain Rosie (with a do it self attitude) bowled the magical 19th over dismissing two and also enabling two run-outs helped by good effort in the field. That over sealed a game that could have swung either way with just 11 runs and 4 wickets separating the two teams.
Cricket Communications did well to challenge us at stages in their first game against us. We need to improve on consolidating our inning with a decent start in the first half of our batting. It is the second ocassion in 4 games that the batting has collapsed to fritter away a good start. Perhaps we are too eager to convert a score of 60 odd into 140, possibly swayed by chants to attack by uneasy individuals sitting in the dressing room. We need to learn that 120 is good enough on most ocassions. The aim should be to first get there and not set sights on too large a score, too early in the second half.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=r7dFrba4IVRxub8RBYYWROQ
Narasaiah (captain of Cricket Communications) won the toss and elected to field. Rosie (captain on the day) decided to open with Naman and Mudit. The first over bowled by Anil was a quiet one with the batsmen unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Pradeep bowled a few short balls to start with and conceeded four no-balls on the trot with one evading a jumping keeper and going for a boundary down the slope. Naman expected the bouncers to continue and was deceived by a fast fullish delivery to see his stumps knocked down. Srinivas joined Mudit and cut the first ball over the slips for a boundary. There was the usual uncertainty in running with Mudit and Srinivas at the crease. One such incident resulted in Srinivas backing up too far and being run-out at the non-strikers end. Nitin B joined Mudit and within the first couple of balls hit one straight shot that sailed over the boundary and a waiting long-on fielder for a six. His aggressive intent soon resulted in his downfall. Nitin missed a straight full length delivery only to see his stumps rattle.
Santosh joined Mudit and there began a consolidation of the inning. Mudit hit one forcibly to cover. The ball kept running away from the fielder and went for a four on the soiled area devoid of grass. Mudit let out a hearty laugh, seeing a forced ground shot yield a boundary. Earlier, a wild throw to the non-striker resulted in a two being converted to an all-run six as the ball evaded the bowler and went to the cover boundary. The fielders at cover and long-off (Gopal) were caught napping and to add to that a hapless bowler (Shiva) had to chase the ball in vain almost to the boundary.
Mudit backed up too far and was late to come back to the non-strikers end. The ball had hit Santosh's feet and there was no run to be taken. In normal circumstances we would not have given it out but this being an external game we had to call it as a wicket since Mudit was outside the crease when the stumps were brought down at the non-strikers end. A distraught Mudit walked back objecting to the mode of dismissal.
At 68/4 in 10 overs we were sitting in the drivers seat with a score of 120 being a distinct possibility. Cricket Communcations were eager to make a mark. Narasaiah introduced himself into the attack after the 10 over stage. Santosh fancied his chances against the slow bowling of Narasaiah, and kept playing the sweep towards square leg. Santosh and Vijay S had run a few quick runs between themselves but one such attempt for a two resulted in Santosh being dismissed at the keeper's end.
Rosie joined Vijay S but very soon Narasaiah struck with Gopal latching to a catch at long-off. Vijay S departed with a shake of his head. Rosie was stumped by Kiran to yield Narasaiah his second wicket. Parag played with caution but Hari seemed eager to up the ante. A lofted shot that almost sailed to the fence for a six was plucked by Gopal standing almost on the rope at long-off. Parag had earlier hit a four towards the short boundary at wide long-off. An attmept to hoick Narasaiah towards the mid-wicket fence resulted in Parag being caught by a reliable Vijay S (substitute fielder) about 5 yards inside the long off boundary. Samir fell within the space of two balls and we tumbled to 95/10 in 16.3 overs. It was a disapponting effort in the second half of our batting, resulting in us being 20-25 short in terms of runs with about 21 balls being unutilized. Narasaiah picked up 4 wickets and Gopal held two catches having dropped one early in the inning.
We were very much determined to not let Cricket Communications get even close to the modest target of 96. Hari and Samir started brilliantly with no runs and a wicket coming in three overs. The 4th over yielded another wicket and three runs. Samir picked up a wicket in the 6th over to increase the pressure on the batting of Cricket Communications.
Gopal started with aggression against the bowling of Vijay S and Srinivas playing forceful shots in the V on either side and also hitting towards cover. Sumanth at the other end was playing with caution, playing out defensibly and thereby mounting the asking rate for Cricket Communications. 64 runs were required in the final 10 overs with 7 wickets standing.
Rosie introduced himself into the attack and bowled Gopal with a fullish delivery. These were deliveries that Gopal had been hitting for runs in the V behind the bowler but Rosie's magical arm did the trick. Pradeep joined Sumanth and launched the bowlers for a few boundaries towards long-leg and mid-wicket. Mudit had bowled an erratic over yielding 12 runs forcing Rosie to bring in Hari into the attack. Sure enough, Hari delivered with Sumanth edging one to the Santosh behind the stumps. A sharp chance was let down by Samir in the slips as he stood there not being very alert as one expects a slip fielder to be. Hari was aggrieved and let out his opinions with usual emotion.
The asking rate had at one point come to less than a run a ball but the fall of two wickets brought it back up to a run a ball in the final four overs. Samir and Vijay S bowled out their last over each with 4 wicket remaining and two overs to go with 11 runs to get. A brief discussion ensued between Rosie, Parag and Santosh. It was decided Rosie would bowl the 19th over and Srinvas would bowl the final over. Pradeep and Shiva had been playing sensibly, running hard for singles and chipping balls for twos into the outfield that was well spread out.
Rosie struck with the first ball forcing Pradeep to loft one weakly on the leg side. Rosie went a few yards to his right and held the simple return catch to bolster our chances of a win. The next ball resulted in Narasaiah being run out at the keeper's end as he was slow to get to the stumps with Aravind and Santosh teaming up. Rosie bowled Anil on the next ball and a single wicket and 10 runs stood between victory or defeat. Haran tried to steal a two on the last ball of the 19th over. The batsmen had to run for everything on offer. Vijay S sprinting from long on hit the stumps directly from a good 30-35 yards to earn the final wicket.
We won by a narrow margin of 9 runs. Narasaiah with 4 wickets with the ball, Gopal (21 runs, 24b, 2*4) and Pradeep (18 runs, 20b, 2*4) did well for Cricket Communcations with the bat. Mudit 21 runs (26b, 2*4), Santosh 14 (20b, 1*4) put on a good patnership towards the half way stage of our batting only to see others undo the good work.
Samir was the pick of the bowlers on either side with excellent figures of 4-2-5-2. Hari had good figures of 4-1-13-1. Captain Rosie (with a do it self attitude) bowled the magical 19th over dismissing two and also enabling two run-outs helped by good effort in the field. That over sealed a game that could have swung either way with just 11 runs and 4 wickets separating the two teams.
Cricket Communications did well to challenge us at stages in their first game against us. We need to improve on consolidating our inning with a decent start in the first half of our batting. It is the second ocassion in 4 games that the batting has collapsed to fritter away a good start. Perhaps we are too eager to convert a score of 60 odd into 140, possibly swayed by chants to attack by uneasy individuals sitting in the dressing room. We need to learn that 120 is good enough on most ocassions. The aim should be to first get there and not set sights on too large a score, too early in the second half.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=r7dFrba4IVRxub8RBYYWROQ
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
20-20 World Cup
I happened to spot Ishant Sharma at Delhi airport on 28th May, the day the Indian team was to fly to England from Mumbai. I shook hands and wished him good luck for the 20/20 World Cup.
My wishes did not help much since India seem to be out of contention for the semis itself...
My wishes did not help much since India seem to be out of contention for the semis itself...
Monday, June 15, 2009
Match 7 against Real Panthers on 06062009
As reported by Ajay K:-
This match would probably go down as one with several points of drama during the course of the game.Hari won the toss and chose the bat. We had a slow start and the run rate seemed to hover around 4.00 till the 10 over break. The problem was that we had lost 4 wickets as well. It was during the break that we re-measured the pitch since several of our batsmen had complained that it seemed short. And presto! It was 5 yards short. Several options were put on the table - move the pitch to the correct length and change it back for RP for the first 10 overs, or restart the game. But finally we settled for status quo - we would bat all 20 overs on a pitch 5 yards short. Nothing eventful in our batting and we wrapped up at 74 in the last over.
It was a very small total to defend and the team seemed charged up. Vijay started the attack and got Kailash 2nd ball, to a great catch by Parag behind the stumps. Rosie bowled a wicket maiden at the other end and followed it with 2 more maidens and 2 more wickets. Never before had an opponent's scoreline read 5 for 4 at the end of 6 overs. And not to mention the 3 diving catches that Parag had taken behind the stumps.
RP continued to go at a slow pace, but once Sanjay and Navin C came to the crease, the consolidation started. We also became a little complacent as we sensed a win despite a low score. But a few expensive overs by Hari and yours truly, wrested the initiative away from us and as a result, it came down to the last over and RP needed 3 runs for a win. The writing was on the walls, but Samir did not give up and moved all the sharp catchers into close in positions. Srini walked in to bowl the final over.
Ball 1 - a weak shot towards mid-off and Hari runs back and takes the catch. 1 down, 3 more to goBall 2 - an uncotrolled flick towards backward square leg and Vijay runs back and takes the catch with one hand. 2 down, 2 more to go and Srini is on a hat-trickBall 3 - Ball takes the thick outside edge and balloons towards Samir at mid-off and he drops a sitter. The sun had a role to play, but that also allowed RP to get a single and the in-form Navin C on strike. Ball 4 - RP get the 2 runs needed for victory.
Kudos to Rosie for his 3 maidens on the trot. Kudos to Vijay S for an extremely economic spell and Kudos to Srini for keeping his nerves under control and bowling a great last over.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rggvWJ6X7izS-QC3qtZ7Xng
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