We won the toss and elected to field in the 20 over game against the RBCC team lead by Bala M.
Early morning conditions coupled with disciplined bowling and a committed effort in the field ensured that we restricted the opposition score to 88/9 in 20 overs.
Mudit with figures of 4-0-15-3 impressed with the ball in hand. Siva was as economical as ever, with figures of 4-0-13-1. Saran, Satheesh and Srinivas picked up a wicket each with equally good economical figures. Yogesh provided variety to an otherwise medium pace based attack and did well to contain the opposition.
Narasaiah held a running catch at mid-wicket and another one at deep square leg, half way down the fence. Our Jesse Ryder of the day (i.e. bowler Mudit) picked up a sharp return catch even as he juggled the ball a couple of times.
Anuj (16, 19b, 1*4) and Sai (17, 27b) provided some acceleration to the score after we had restricted the score to 35/3 in 10 overs.
Narasaiah and Gopal began the chase in improved batting conditions. Narasaiah was held by Mohan in the slips in just the second over. Suresh joined Gopal and together they made good use of the 6 over restrictions. Gopal hit one high and wide towards mid-wicket, then hit a cover drive all along the carpet to cover and later followed it up with a lofted drive over long-on. Suresh struck a straight boundary and the score at the end of 6 overs was 37/1. Gopal (20, 19b, 3*4) was the first to be dismissed, when he was caught by Mohnish of his own bowling. Suresh (16, 23b, 1*4) edged one to the keeper which brought two new batsmen Saran and Yogesh to the crease.
The opposition kept them both under bay until the end of the 11th over. Saran struck two boundaries in the 12th over bowled by Mohnish to relieve the not so high asking rate. Saran later went into the shell against the bowling of Hari. Yogesh struck Nilesh for a straight boundary. With 10 runs required for a win in 4 overs, Saran made way for Siva. Mohan was spinning the ball sharply by flighting the ball and landing it just outside off stump. Mohan deceived three of our batsmen in the 17th over which was also a maiden to give some hope to the RBCC team. Siva lofted one high to long on only to see Anuj hold the catch not far away from the boundary. Yogesh (16, 29b, 1*4) hit one straight to the bowler as he could not reach the flighted ball. Satheesh mis-hit one to mid-wicket to give Mohan three wickets in 4 balls.
Nilesh then bowled a quiet 18th over yielding 4 runs. Parag (10*, 11b, 1*6) struck a six to wide long on on the last ball of the 19th over, being bowled by Mohan to give us a 4 wicket win with 6 balls to spare.
Mudit with the ball, Gopal with the bat and Narasaiah in the outfield proved their credentials in different departments of the game. Well done !
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpq_t3tDgt_mEw&hl=en
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Match 6 against Real Panthers on 03222009
Real Panthers won the toss and elected to field first. Parag edged one to the keeper in the very first over bowled by Ravinder Dua. Hari hit the opening bowlers for a boundary each in the third and fourth over each but was bowled by Upendra in the 4th over. Naman followed very soon when he was caught at short cover. Mudit and Vijay S played with caution for a while in conditions similar to English cricket. A light drizzle here and there was distracting the players on either side. Hari (12, 11b, 2*4), Vijay S (11, 26b, 1*4) and Gopal (11, 22b, 1*4) were the only batsmen to move to double digit scores. Satheesh (new player) and Gopal played well after the dismissal of Mudit and Vijay S. We reached a score of 83/9 in 20 overs with Samir (6 in 5b) batting low down in the batting order.
The chase began with a few rain induced breaks already being taken. Navin S was caught at square leg in the very first over but Chaitanya (the other opener) played with confidence hitting the ball well over cover and in the vacant mid-wicket/long on area for a few boundaries. Hari and Srinivas picked up a wicket each. Amit K deceived two batsmen in three balls to pick up 2 wickets. Real Panthers moved to a score of 56/5 in 11.33 overs amidst two other breaks caused due to rain that was harder than a drizzle.
Real Panthers seemed to be in control of the game and thereby eager to get the remaining 28 runs as quickly as possible. A quick knock of 22 (27b, 3*4) by Chaitanya had set the chase for Real Panthers. In the end the match was abandoned amidst much delibaration on either side.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpq204viH_TOFg&hl=en
The chase began with a few rain induced breaks already being taken. Navin S was caught at square leg in the very first over but Chaitanya (the other opener) played with confidence hitting the ball well over cover and in the vacant mid-wicket/long on area for a few boundaries. Hari and Srinivas picked up a wicket each. Amit K deceived two batsmen in three balls to pick up 2 wickets. Real Panthers moved to a score of 56/5 in 11.33 overs amidst two other breaks caused due to rain that was harder than a drizzle.
Real Panthers seemed to be in control of the game and thereby eager to get the remaining 28 runs as quickly as possible. A quick knock of 22 (27b, 3*4) by Chaitanya had set the chase for Real Panthers. In the end the match was abandoned amidst much delibaration on either side.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpq204viH_TOFg&hl=en
Match 12 against Mavericks on 03212009
Mavericks won the toss and elected to bowl. A good parthernship between Vijay S and Yogesh at the top allowed us to score at run a ball and took us to a score of 61/2 in 10 overs. Mudit and Yogesh were the batsmen to be dismissed at the half way stage. Yogesh hit 2 good fours behind the wicket in the second over bowled by Praveen and scored 12 (25b). Vijay S seemed to be in touch from ball one. He began by pushing the ball around for easy singles on either side of the wicket. Later on, he played some good strokes behind and square of the wicket on either side. He was caught off the bowling of Hanu just when he was looking to accelerate. Vijay S returned to the pavilion having scored a stabilizing 36 (38b, 1*4, 1*3) runs at the top of the order.
Parag (18*, 19b, 2*4) and Ramesh (20, 22b, 2*4) took a few deliveries to settle but added 45 runs in the last 6 overs to take the team to a score of 129/6 in 20 overs.
Ramesh B picked up Saurabh at point in the very first over of the chase. Anil N walked in and began with a boundary in the second over bowled by Abhishek. Anil N played with aggression at one end and Anil G played cautiously at the other to take the score to 49/1 in 10 overs.
Ramesh B picked up Anil G after the break. Amit K was introduced into the attack and deceived a couple of batsmen each in the second and third over of his spell to finish with excellent figures of 4-1-18-4.
The asking rate in the final 10 overs was high for the Mavericks but it did not deter Anil N from making a match of it. He hit many a flat and hard shot in the region from mid-wicket to long on and the area between long off and deep cover picking up six boundaries in an unbeaten knock of 64 (53b, 6*4). Mavericks finished with 112/9 in 20 overs losing by 17 runs.
Samir K did a fine job in utilizing 8 bowlers to defend a more than healthy target of 130 runs. Bowlers were provided an opportunity keeping up with trend of the chase. Vijay S with the bat and Amit K with ball made an impression on our side. Anil N played a lone hand and an aggressive unbeaten knock of 64 that took the Mavericks close enough so as to avoid any disappointment.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcprkd-w7CAx5JQ&hl=en
Parag (18*, 19b, 2*4) and Ramesh (20, 22b, 2*4) took a few deliveries to settle but added 45 runs in the last 6 overs to take the team to a score of 129/6 in 20 overs.
Ramesh B picked up Saurabh at point in the very first over of the chase. Anil N walked in and began with a boundary in the second over bowled by Abhishek. Anil N played with aggression at one end and Anil G played cautiously at the other to take the score to 49/1 in 10 overs.
Ramesh B picked up Anil G after the break. Amit K was introduced into the attack and deceived a couple of batsmen each in the second and third over of his spell to finish with excellent figures of 4-1-18-4.
The asking rate in the final 10 overs was high for the Mavericks but it did not deter Anil N from making a match of it. He hit many a flat and hard shot in the region from mid-wicket to long on and the area between long off and deep cover picking up six boundaries in an unbeaten knock of 64 (53b, 6*4). Mavericks finished with 112/9 in 20 overs losing by 17 runs.
Samir K did a fine job in utilizing 8 bowlers to defend a more than healthy target of 130 runs. Bowlers were provided an opportunity keeping up with trend of the chase. Vijay S with the bat and Amit K with ball made an impression on our side. Anil N played a lone hand and an aggressive unbeaten knock of 64 that took the Mavericks close enough so as to avoid any disappointment.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcprkd-w7CAx5JQ&hl=en
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Match 5 against Real Panthers on 03/15/2009
The first 10 overs of the 20 over game were played at Spring Canyon Ground (Small) but then the rest of the game had to be shifted to Cypress Canyon Ground (Small). Real Panthers won the toss and elected to field.
Highlights of the game:-
FAC Batting :- 72/10 in 18.3 overs
Parag 31 (37b, 3*4, 2*6), Siva 13 (20b, 1*4), Naman 7 (15b, 1*4)
Our batting collapsed after the 5th wicket dismissal of Parag. From 64/4 in 13.1 overs the team folded for 72 in 18.3 overs. Anil struck with 3 wickets for Real Panthers. A couple of our batsmen were needlesly run out with Anil and Chaitanya hitting the stumps directly from point.
FAC Bowling :- 75/5 in 16.4 overs (Siva : 3-0-10-3, Saran : 3-0-11-1)
Siva struck with 3 wickets of Naveen, Bhanu and Anil by the end of 5 overs. Chaitanya (15 in 24b, 2*4) and Upendra were dismissed by Nitin and Saran respectively. The 6th wicket partnership of Giresh and Vilas took the Real Panthers to their first victory against us. With 15 runs required to win in 5 overs Vilas (20* in 19b, 4*4) struck 4 boundaries, 3 of them in the 16th over itself to make the game a no contest in the end.
Naman held a low catch at point and Mudit held one running from long on to get rid of Bhanu and Anil respectively.
It was an immature approach to batting that let us down. 64/5 could have been consolidated to a score of at least between 90 and 100 with the loss of just two or three additional wickets.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpr7rT_uWvV5JQ&hl=en
Highlights of the game:-
FAC Batting :- 72/10 in 18.3 overs
Parag 31 (37b, 3*4, 2*6), Siva 13 (20b, 1*4), Naman 7 (15b, 1*4)
Our batting collapsed after the 5th wicket dismissal of Parag. From 64/4 in 13.1 overs the team folded for 72 in 18.3 overs. Anil struck with 3 wickets for Real Panthers. A couple of our batsmen were needlesly run out with Anil and Chaitanya hitting the stumps directly from point.
FAC Bowling :- 75/5 in 16.4 overs (Siva : 3-0-10-3, Saran : 3-0-11-1)
Siva struck with 3 wickets of Naveen, Bhanu and Anil by the end of 5 overs. Chaitanya (15 in 24b, 2*4) and Upendra were dismissed by Nitin and Saran respectively. The 6th wicket partnership of Giresh and Vilas took the Real Panthers to their first victory against us. With 15 runs required to win in 5 overs Vilas (20* in 19b, 4*4) struck 4 boundaries, 3 of them in the 16th over itself to make the game a no contest in the end.
Naman held a low catch at point and Mudit held one running from long on to get rid of Bhanu and Anil respectively.
It was an immature approach to batting that let us down. 64/5 could have been consolidated to a score of at least between 90 and 100 with the loss of just two or three additional wickets.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpr7rT_uWvV5JQ&hl=en
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Semi-Final – Panthers Vs Mavericks: 03/14/2009
Last week Panthers had achieved what they had desired when the tournament began. Secure a semi-final spot and if possible top the tables to be in the right frame of mind when the crucial knock-out phase begins. Panthers had done so in style while only losing to Eagles whereas Panthers had gained entry in the top 4 beating Blazings last week. Start of the match Panthers had the proverbial upper hand against Mavericks courtesy the drubbing they (Panthers) meted out to them (Mavericks) in the league match.
It was overcast and bit chilly and Panthers were playing for the first time at Cypress Canyon ground. Rupesh won the toss, not for the first time, and invited Mavericks to bat first. The pitch was an absolute belter and the exact same one where Eagles had thrashed Blasters with relative ease while chasing a score in excess of 120.
Saurabh and Balaji started the proceedings for Mavericks. Vijay S started for Panthers and soon realized that there was nothing in for the bowlers. Even the overcast condition didn't help much with the swing and altering the length of the ball intelligently was the key. The first over saw the ball coming on to the bat easily. In fact Saurabh pulled a good length ball towards the square leg to get Mavericks off to a good start scoring 6 runs off the first over. Ramesh started the second over and bowled at nice pace to give only three runs off his first over. Vijay S struck for the Panthers by removing Balaji to a ball which was pitched up enough to deceive the batsman and uproot his middle and leg stump. Anil N the captain walked in and tucked off a ball on his leg towards the square leg on the very first ball. At the end of 3 overs the score read an even 13 runs at the loss of 1 wicket. Ramesh continue his probing line and length giving away just 2 runs. Anil who usually is free flowing batsman from word go didn't looked comfortable at all. At the other end Saurabh was striking the ball pretty well in the gaps for singles.
Vijay S started his 3rd over and the innings 5th. Anil has the tendency to scoop the ball towards short third man now and then. Rahul Bedi moved himself intelligently next to the square leg umpire. Santosh was keeping today for Panthers and hence Bedi was allowed to show his other fielding talents. The ploy worked and Anil gave an easy catch to Rahul to be dismissed for 2 runs off 9 balls. Saurabh dispatched the next delivery after the wicket fell towards the deep midwicket region for a welcome boundary. Rajesh joined in Saurabh. Vijay S struck again in the over by dismissing the set Saurabh. The ball was pitched on perfect length and the line was nagging enough that caught Saurabh in two minds and he just managed to get an inside edge on the off stump to give Vijay S his 3rd wicket. Panthers were right on top with only 18 runs off 5 overs and 3 wickets down.
Skipper Rupesh started the 6th over and not surprisingly bowled a brilliant line and length every ball. Rajesh couldn't read Rupesh at all and resulted in a maiden. Rosie started wonderfully as well. At the end of 10 overs Mavericks were looking down the barrel with 31 runs on the board and half the side back in shelter. Santosh and Raj started off cautiously by picking up singles and twos that were on offer. The track seemed to have eased off further with the ball bouncing predictably and zero lateral movement. Hari started off pretty ok and just conceded a 7 runs. There was a controversy though when Santosh edged (according to me and all the Panthers) one to the wicket-keeper and stood his ground. Yoga (Blazings Captain) standing a neutral umpire rightly gave Santosh out. Santosh for some reason didn't think he edged one and argued with Yoga. Leg umpire Saurabh and Yoga had a discussion and Yoga reversed the decision. Okie dokie.
Raj was finally bowled by Hari and Rahul C came in next. Santosh continued well on the back drop of a reprieve he received earlier scoring a brisk 26 runs off 23 balls. Mavericks were looking good to score more than 100 with 73 runs on the board and 4 overs to go. Panthers bowled intelligently to restrict Mavericks for a modest 87 runs. The last over by Vijay S kept Rahul C off the strike. Prashanth hit one boundary but was caught brilliantly by Shekhar off the last ball. The ball was hit well enough to cross the boundary but Shekhar extended his right arm to take a wonderful one handed catch. Panther bowlers did a great job; each of them in fact. Vijay S (4-0-18-4), Rupesh (4-1-12-1), Ramesh (4-0-14-0) and Rosie (4-0-14-1) were pick of the bowlers.
Shekhar and Santosh started well for Panthers and scored 6 runs of the first over from Prashanth. Santosh struck a boundary with a wonderful hit towards the midwicket region. Both of them picked singles and twos effortlessly to take the score to 24 runs off 5 overs. Santosh was injured and had to return back whilst Hari joined Shekhar. Shekhar was in a magnificent form striking some elegant backfoot square cut drives. One shot off Santosh (from Mavericks) was a wonderful sweep shot. Mavericks were looking pretty dejected in the field when a few half chances were grassed by a few fielders. Hari was joining in the fun with two well hit boundaries but edged one to the keeper off Santosh when it was looking pretty stable for Panthers. Santosh returned back and at the end off 10 overs Panthers were comfortably placed at 51 runs and just a wicket down.
Santosh and Shekhar continued after the break on a positive note as well. The running between the wickets was excellent. A dab here and push there earned quite a few cheers from the Panthers camp which was reinforced by the presence of Parag Ahire, Ajay Kaul and Srinivas. Santosh holed out Balalji off Prashanth but not before making a superb 26 off 29 balls. Suresh, the star from the last match on this ground joined in. Shekhar played some deft strokes on the on side before edging one to the keeper off Rahul C. Shekhar played magnificently along with Santosh to score a brilliant 24 off 30 balls (4*4). The partnership between Santosh and Shekhar did it for Panthers who romped home easily with 19 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand.
It was a clinical win for Panthers who take on either RBCC or Blasters in the final.
Scorecard:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpqWNkObDMK-Wg
A happy Panthers team after the semi-final victory ...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 : Panthers v/s Real Panthers - Round 7 03-08-2009
Panthers were playing last of their games before the semis next week. The game was a dead rubber with Panthers fully knowing their spot in the semis was a guaranteed one and Real Panthers were just playing for the fun of it. First though, before the match began Panthers were greeted to celebratory news that their brothers, Eagles, had defeated Blasters quite impressively. This meant that whatever happens in this game Panthers will be at the top of the tables.
As has been the norm, Rupesh won the toss and decided to challenge his cadres to bat first on a slightly dampish pitch and overcast conditions. Hari and Aravind started the proceedings for Panthers and Anil and Bhupendra began for Real Panthers. The pitch had good bounce resulting in few of the deliveries going way above the batsman and the keeper. 11 runs were scored of which 10 runs were scored by extras courtesy boundaries of a wide and a no ball. Hari was playing watchfully and ably supported by Aravind who absorbed a few blows himself. Hari was hit quite a few times on the knuckle prompting a batting gloves demand from him. In spite of the ball kicking up from a good length spot the Panthers were able to progress to 34 off 5overs without loss.
Aravind was first to go caught off Bhupendra by Giresh who took a one handed catch at mid-off. In walked Samir Khatri. Samir found the bounce difficult to negotiate and add to that a few good overs in between which restricted the score to 59 off 10 overs and one wicket down. Hari though was going great with some intelligent batting. A deft touch towards the square leg, a punch down the ground and so on kept the scoreboard ticking. Samir was first to go after the break when he was run out via a direct hit attempting to steal a single. Rupesh walked in and immediately started sweeping from the word go and collected a single off his first ball. One magnificent 4 was struck over the square leg boundary by Rupesh and looked like his day. Hari on the other hand continued to take singles and picking up the odd boundary or two. Few off the strokes were pure timing; one in particular was a backfoot drive which pierced the gap between the cover region and sweeper position.
At the end of 15 overs Panthers were well placed at 89/2. Hari got out holding a catch to Bhanu off Bhupendra but not before making a wonderful 46 off just 43 balls. Hari's inning included 6 boundaries and definitely very few singles. Rupesh (11 runs, 12 balls, 1*4) was bowled by Chaitanya. In the end Real Panthers were asked to chase 126 runs on a pitch which had become a bit easy to bat on.
Vijay S started the proceedings to only see a chance being grassed off his 4th delivery by Santosh who had joined his team during the innings break. Ajay presented the opportunity and in the second over made good use of the opportunity by striking a boundary off Rosie. At the end of 2nd over Real Panthers were placed comfortably at 11 runs without loss of any wicket. Rosie presented a few full tosses to Sanyasi who latched on to them and stroked a boundary on the leg side. Vijay S though struck in his second over by clean bowling Sanyasi to an in cutting delivery and uprooting the leg stump. Chatainya joined Ajay and started putting up a good partnership. Rupesh brought himself on in the 4th over and immediately got into the groove. Hari started waywardly conceding 10 runs off his over.
Aravind was brought on and immediately got into the act getting Ajay out for a slow 10 runs off 21 balls. Bhanu came in the middle to join Chaitanya. Rosie started the 8th over and the very first ball Bhanu decided to give a charge down the pitch to only miss the ball completely. Santosh immediately whipped off the bails to only find the umpire judging it not out. Vijay S fielding at point could immediately feel that the umpire was probably myopic. The very next ball Rosie bowled a beauty to get the outside edge to Santosh. Justice there. More surprisingly the same square leg umpire who had judged Bhanu not out raised his finger. A case of strong ears and weak eyes.
At the end of 10 overs Real Panthers did well to score 58 runs and the match looked pretty balanced. After the break Samir started for Panthers and restricted Anil and Bhupendra pretty well. At the end of 13th over Real Panthers required a very gettable 59 runs off 7 overs. Amit K was brought on and immediately provided the required impact. The loopy off-spinners were too much to handle for the Real Panthers. Chaitanya was first to stumped by Santosh. The next over by Amit was a maiden and the next two overs produced two more stumpings to give Amit a superb return of 4-1-4-3. In the end Real Panthers were 32 runs short of the target. Vijay S (3-0-7-1), Rupesh (4-0-16-1) and Samir (4-0-13-1) were impressive; but Amit with magnificent figures of 4-1-4-3 was bowler of the day. So was Hari with the bat scoring a wonderful 46 off 43 balls.
Panthers face Mavericks in the semis next week.
MoM : Hari Rajagopalan 46 (43b, 4*6). Quote - The ball was not travelling, I thought I had hit about 10 fours but the ball stopped short on four of those shots and I got just one run each time. The last time he scored 41, he did not get a MoM. There's do denying this time.
Santosh and Vijay S
Vijay S : Good job behind the stumps today !
Santosh : Thank you. What's up with you, you just got one wicket today?
Vijay S: Yes, I could have got more but then I would have had the highest wickets in the tournament. I have been told at home to secure no more "Man of the Series" trophies with the ball in hand
Scoresheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoiXdUKrT-GVw
As has been the norm, Rupesh won the toss and decided to challenge his cadres to bat first on a slightly dampish pitch and overcast conditions. Hari and Aravind started the proceedings for Panthers and Anil and Bhupendra began for Real Panthers. The pitch had good bounce resulting in few of the deliveries going way above the batsman and the keeper. 11 runs were scored of which 10 runs were scored by extras courtesy boundaries of a wide and a no ball. Hari was playing watchfully and ably supported by Aravind who absorbed a few blows himself. Hari was hit quite a few times on the knuckle prompting a batting gloves demand from him. In spite of the ball kicking up from a good length spot the Panthers were able to progress to 34 off 5overs without loss.
Aravind was first to go caught off Bhupendra by Giresh who took a one handed catch at mid-off. In walked Samir Khatri. Samir found the bounce difficult to negotiate and add to that a few good overs in between which restricted the score to 59 off 10 overs and one wicket down. Hari though was going great with some intelligent batting. A deft touch towards the square leg, a punch down the ground and so on kept the scoreboard ticking. Samir was first to go after the break when he was run out via a direct hit attempting to steal a single. Rupesh walked in and immediately started sweeping from the word go and collected a single off his first ball. One magnificent 4 was struck over the square leg boundary by Rupesh and looked like his day. Hari on the other hand continued to take singles and picking up the odd boundary or two. Few off the strokes were pure timing; one in particular was a backfoot drive which pierced the gap between the cover region and sweeper position.
At the end of 15 overs Panthers were well placed at 89/2. Hari got out holding a catch to Bhanu off Bhupendra but not before making a wonderful 46 off just 43 balls. Hari's inning included 6 boundaries and definitely very few singles. Rupesh (11 runs, 12 balls, 1*4) was bowled by Chaitanya. In the end Real Panthers were asked to chase 126 runs on a pitch which had become a bit easy to bat on.
Vijay S started the proceedings to only see a chance being grassed off his 4th delivery by Santosh who had joined his team during the innings break. Ajay presented the opportunity and in the second over made good use of the opportunity by striking a boundary off Rosie. At the end of 2nd over Real Panthers were placed comfortably at 11 runs without loss of any wicket. Rosie presented a few full tosses to Sanyasi who latched on to them and stroked a boundary on the leg side. Vijay S though struck in his second over by clean bowling Sanyasi to an in cutting delivery and uprooting the leg stump. Chatainya joined Ajay and started putting up a good partnership. Rupesh brought himself on in the 4th over and immediately got into the groove. Hari started waywardly conceding 10 runs off his over.
Aravind was brought on and immediately got into the act getting Ajay out for a slow 10 runs off 21 balls. Bhanu came in the middle to join Chaitanya. Rosie started the 8th over and the very first ball Bhanu decided to give a charge down the pitch to only miss the ball completely. Santosh immediately whipped off the bails to only find the umpire judging it not out. Vijay S fielding at point could immediately feel that the umpire was probably myopic. The very next ball Rosie bowled a beauty to get the outside edge to Santosh. Justice there. More surprisingly the same square leg umpire who had judged Bhanu not out raised his finger. A case of strong ears and weak eyes.
At the end of 10 overs Real Panthers did well to score 58 runs and the match looked pretty balanced. After the break Samir started for Panthers and restricted Anil and Bhupendra pretty well. At the end of 13th over Real Panthers required a very gettable 59 runs off 7 overs. Amit K was brought on and immediately provided the required impact. The loopy off-spinners were too much to handle for the Real Panthers. Chaitanya was first to stumped by Santosh. The next over by Amit was a maiden and the next two overs produced two more stumpings to give Amit a superb return of 4-1-4-3. In the end Real Panthers were 32 runs short of the target. Vijay S (3-0-7-1), Rupesh (4-0-16-1) and Samir (4-0-13-1) were impressive; but Amit with magnificent figures of 4-1-4-3 was bowler of the day. So was Hari with the bat scoring a wonderful 46 off 43 balls.
Panthers face Mavericks in the semis next week.
MoM : Hari Rajagopalan 46 (43b, 4*6). Quote - The ball was not travelling, I thought I had hit about 10 fours but the ball stopped short on four of those shots and I got just one run each time. The last time he scored 41, he did not get a MoM. There's do denying this time.
Santosh and Vijay S
Vijay S : Good job behind the stumps today !
Santosh : Thank you. What's up with you, you just got one wicket today?
Vijay S: Yes, I could have got more but then I would have had the highest wickets in the tournament. I have been told at home to secure no more "Man of the Series" trophies with the ball in hand
Scoresheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoiXdUKrT-GVw
Sunday, March 8, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 : Eagles v/s Blasters Round 7 03072009
Abhishek won the toss and elected to bowl in the final game against the Blasters. The wicket at Cypress Canyon Park slows down in the second inning making it good for batting. Eagles were eager to do well knowing quite well that even a win may not earn them a semi-final slot. The plan was to restrict the Blasters to a score between 90 to a 100.
Vinay bowled a tidy first over against openers Ibrar and Ishwak. Ibrar launched Siva for a couple of boundaries in the second over that yielded 1o runs. Vinay bowling the 3rd over was hit towards deep fine leg for another boundary by Ibrar, who sure was in an attacking mood. Srinivas was introduced into the attack and Ibrar dispatched him for two boundaries towards mid-wicket and wide cover. Abhi bowled a relatively quiet over but Ibrar continued to attack. Ibrar hit one high over long on for a six just after he was dropped by Suresh standing at the same position.
Abhishek then made the right move by bringing in Ajay to bowl the 8th over, knowing that Ibrar would not adjust well to his lack of pace and bounce. Ibrar hit one towards gully and darted for a single. Naman smartly pounced on the ball and then threw it sharply to get rid of Ishwak by means of a direct hit. Ishwak played relatively slow but he was not required to experiment too much with Ibrar doing the damage at the other end. Harman walked in but was dismissed caught behind in the next over being bowled by Hari. This brought in Pavel with Abhishek bowling the 10th over. Pavel mis-hit one towards cover and the ball ballooned to Srininvas who held the ball fine but then grassed the prize wicket, as the spinning ball slipped out of his hands.
Eagles went into the break having picked up a couple of wickets but had also bowled a few loose deliveries at times, and to make matters worse also dropped a couple of crucial catches. Ibrar had given the Blasters a fantastic start with the score reading 54/2 in 10 overs.
Vinay bowled a tidy 11th over. Abhishek clean bowled Ibrar after he was hit for a boundary. Ibrar played a good knock of 42 (39b, 6*4, 1*6). Siva went for quite a few runs in the 12th over as Pavel now assumed the role of senior batsman. Shailesh joined the crease and managed to get a lucky 3 runs. Hari, Mudit, Srinivas went for a boundary each in the overs to follow with Pavel picking up vacant slots in various areas of the field with relative ease. The hit to Mudit was exquisite as a short rising ball was hit with great power over the cover region. Shailesh was bowled by Abhishek and Nitin gave away his wicket as Pavel went for a quick single to get to strike. Vinay fielding at short mid-wicket passed the ball to Srinivas resulting in the easy run out of Nitin. Pavel could not maintain the strike towards the end and thus the Blasters could not accelerate as they would have liked to. Abhishek, Siva, Hari bowled well in the death overs thus saving a good 10 runs of the final target. Pavel remained unbeaten on 35 (37b, 4*4) and the Blasters ended on 122/6 in 20 overs.
Abhishek and Suresh opened the inning knowing very well that the wicket would have eased up. Nitin and Shailesh opened the bowling for the Blasters. The first three overs were relatively quiet with just 10 runs coming of them. The second ball of the 4th over by Shailesh was lofted by Suresh over long on for a magnificent six. The next over by Nitin saw Suresh picking up a three and Abhishek hitting one in the gap in the mid-wicket region for a boundary. The 6th over by Ibrar was milked for a few singles. The 5th ball of the 5th over was hit high and wide over mid-wicket for a one bounce boundary by Suresh. The first ball of the 7th over being bowled by Suresh was then hit high and hard by Suresh for a 71 yard six, straight over the bowlers head. Ibrar then dismissed Abhishek in the 8th over to bring some cheer for the Blasters. Ashish B standing at short mid-off held the high catch with ease. The 49 run partnership between Suresh and Abhishek in just 7.4 overs was just what the Eagles had wanted from the openers. Parag walked in and settled in with Harman bowling the 9th over of the inning. At 55/1, Ashish B was introduced to bowl the 10th over of the inning. Parag lauched three boundaries in that over in the square leg/backward square leg region to take the Eagles to 70/1 in 10 overs, with 15 runs coming in that over. 53 to get in 10 overs then seemed a relatively manageable task.
Shaliesh then produced a fantastic 12th over that yielded just a single. The 13th over by Ashish M yielded 5 runs but also produced the wicket of Suresh who missed a straight one and was bowled. Suresh had scored a superb 37 runs (34b, 2*6, 1*4) to lay the foundation of a chase that seemed very much doable. Hari walked in and played the last over of Shailesh watchfully. A hard straight hit to long on yielded a boundary to Hari as Ibrar missed the ball that should have been easily stopped. Parag then hit Ashish M towards mid-wicket for a boundary but was caught by Pavel on the very next ball at deep long-on. A simple uppish push resulted in the ball sailing all the way towards the fence and into the hands of a fielder running in from the boundary. Parag played a quick knock of 28 (25b, 4*4, 1*3) to add some impetus to the chase but could not stay till the end. Hari and Siva then hit Ashish M for a boundary each bringing the Eagles closer to a much wanted victory with the score reading 98/3 in 15 overs. Ibrar then kept Hari quiet in the 17th over giving away just two runs resulting in 23 required in 4 overs. Hari lofted Harman towards mid-off where Ibrar ran in to hold the high catch with relative ease. Siva launched the next over pitched ball from Harman for a 73 yard hit over long off resulting in the ball crashing high on the fence which meant the ball would have carried even farther. Harman tried to adjust the length of the next ball but Siva rocked back and hit the ball over square leg for another good looking boundary. The next over by Ibrar saw Siva launch one straight and high over long on for a magnificent six. Within a few balls Siva hit one towards cover, over the infield for another good looking boundary. The quick fire 25 in just 12 balls by Siva (2*6, 3*4) left no doubt as to who the winner would be after 18 overs. With just two to get in 2 overs Eagles won the game with 10 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand.
The brilliant hits by Suresh and Siva were a treat to watch and also seemed to have been hit with relative ease. The helpless feeling of the opposition after each of those hard hits was to be seen to be relished.
Ibrar and Pavel played a stellar role in the 122 scored by the Blasters. Pavel seems to be the batsman of the series with his hard hitting ability, good strike rate, ability to stay at the crease and highest run aggregate.
Eagles thus finshed the tournament on a high, beating the Blasters and thereby winning 4 out of 7 games. The losses against RBCC, Mavericks and Shadows however resulted in them not making it to the final round of four. Abhishek as captain did well to use the available pool of players with the intent to impart opportunities as well as try and achieve results.
Well done Eagles, its not as bad as it was in the early stages of the tournament. It is now upto the Panthers to win the cup to make the team proud possessors of the winners trophy for a third time in succession.
Let's be there to cheer on the Panthers in the most important games of this tournament starting next weekend.
MoM: Suresh Tudor (37, 34b, 1*4, 2*6). Have I not told you that I fancy the bowling of Ibrar, Nitin and Shailesh. Send me as the opener against the Blasters.
Siva :- I never get a chance to yield my bat. This is what I am capable of.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcprPTWPutHh6Vg&hl=en
Vinay bowled a tidy first over against openers Ibrar and Ishwak. Ibrar launched Siva for a couple of boundaries in the second over that yielded 1o runs. Vinay bowling the 3rd over was hit towards deep fine leg for another boundary by Ibrar, who sure was in an attacking mood. Srinivas was introduced into the attack and Ibrar dispatched him for two boundaries towards mid-wicket and wide cover. Abhi bowled a relatively quiet over but Ibrar continued to attack. Ibrar hit one high over long on for a six just after he was dropped by Suresh standing at the same position.
Abhishek then made the right move by bringing in Ajay to bowl the 8th over, knowing that Ibrar would not adjust well to his lack of pace and bounce. Ibrar hit one towards gully and darted for a single. Naman smartly pounced on the ball and then threw it sharply to get rid of Ishwak by means of a direct hit. Ishwak played relatively slow but he was not required to experiment too much with Ibrar doing the damage at the other end. Harman walked in but was dismissed caught behind in the next over being bowled by Hari. This brought in Pavel with Abhishek bowling the 10th over. Pavel mis-hit one towards cover and the ball ballooned to Srininvas who held the ball fine but then grassed the prize wicket, as the spinning ball slipped out of his hands.
Eagles went into the break having picked up a couple of wickets but had also bowled a few loose deliveries at times, and to make matters worse also dropped a couple of crucial catches. Ibrar had given the Blasters a fantastic start with the score reading 54/2 in 10 overs.
Vinay bowled a tidy 11th over. Abhishek clean bowled Ibrar after he was hit for a boundary. Ibrar played a good knock of 42 (39b, 6*4, 1*6). Siva went for quite a few runs in the 12th over as Pavel now assumed the role of senior batsman. Shailesh joined the crease and managed to get a lucky 3 runs. Hari, Mudit, Srinivas went for a boundary each in the overs to follow with Pavel picking up vacant slots in various areas of the field with relative ease. The hit to Mudit was exquisite as a short rising ball was hit with great power over the cover region. Shailesh was bowled by Abhishek and Nitin gave away his wicket as Pavel went for a quick single to get to strike. Vinay fielding at short mid-wicket passed the ball to Srinivas resulting in the easy run out of Nitin. Pavel could not maintain the strike towards the end and thus the Blasters could not accelerate as they would have liked to. Abhishek, Siva, Hari bowled well in the death overs thus saving a good 10 runs of the final target. Pavel remained unbeaten on 35 (37b, 4*4) and the Blasters ended on 122/6 in 20 overs.
Abhishek and Suresh opened the inning knowing very well that the wicket would have eased up. Nitin and Shailesh opened the bowling for the Blasters. The first three overs were relatively quiet with just 10 runs coming of them. The second ball of the 4th over by Shailesh was lofted by Suresh over long on for a magnificent six. The next over by Nitin saw Suresh picking up a three and Abhishek hitting one in the gap in the mid-wicket region for a boundary. The 6th over by Ibrar was milked for a few singles. The 5th ball of the 5th over was hit high and wide over mid-wicket for a one bounce boundary by Suresh. The first ball of the 7th over being bowled by Suresh was then hit high and hard by Suresh for a 71 yard six, straight over the bowlers head. Ibrar then dismissed Abhishek in the 8th over to bring some cheer for the Blasters. Ashish B standing at short mid-off held the high catch with ease. The 49 run partnership between Suresh and Abhishek in just 7.4 overs was just what the Eagles had wanted from the openers. Parag walked in and settled in with Harman bowling the 9th over of the inning. At 55/1, Ashish B was introduced to bowl the 10th over of the inning. Parag lauched three boundaries in that over in the square leg/backward square leg region to take the Eagles to 70/1 in 10 overs, with 15 runs coming in that over. 53 to get in 10 overs then seemed a relatively manageable task.
Shaliesh then produced a fantastic 12th over that yielded just a single. The 13th over by Ashish M yielded 5 runs but also produced the wicket of Suresh who missed a straight one and was bowled. Suresh had scored a superb 37 runs (34b, 2*6, 1*4) to lay the foundation of a chase that seemed very much doable. Hari walked in and played the last over of Shailesh watchfully. A hard straight hit to long on yielded a boundary to Hari as Ibrar missed the ball that should have been easily stopped. Parag then hit Ashish M towards mid-wicket for a boundary but was caught by Pavel on the very next ball at deep long-on. A simple uppish push resulted in the ball sailing all the way towards the fence and into the hands of a fielder running in from the boundary. Parag played a quick knock of 28 (25b, 4*4, 1*3) to add some impetus to the chase but could not stay till the end. Hari and Siva then hit Ashish M for a boundary each bringing the Eagles closer to a much wanted victory with the score reading 98/3 in 15 overs. Ibrar then kept Hari quiet in the 17th over giving away just two runs resulting in 23 required in 4 overs. Hari lofted Harman towards mid-off where Ibrar ran in to hold the high catch with relative ease. Siva launched the next over pitched ball from Harman for a 73 yard hit over long off resulting in the ball crashing high on the fence which meant the ball would have carried even farther. Harman tried to adjust the length of the next ball but Siva rocked back and hit the ball over square leg for another good looking boundary. The next over by Ibrar saw Siva launch one straight and high over long on for a magnificent six. Within a few balls Siva hit one towards cover, over the infield for another good looking boundary. The quick fire 25 in just 12 balls by Siva (2*6, 3*4) left no doubt as to who the winner would be after 18 overs. With just two to get in 2 overs Eagles won the game with 10 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand.
The brilliant hits by Suresh and Siva were a treat to watch and also seemed to have been hit with relative ease. The helpless feeling of the opposition after each of those hard hits was to be seen to be relished.
Ibrar and Pavel played a stellar role in the 122 scored by the Blasters. Pavel seems to be the batsman of the series with his hard hitting ability, good strike rate, ability to stay at the crease and highest run aggregate.
Eagles thus finshed the tournament on a high, beating the Blasters and thereby winning 4 out of 7 games. The losses against RBCC, Mavericks and Shadows however resulted in them not making it to the final round of four. Abhishek as captain did well to use the available pool of players with the intent to impart opportunities as well as try and achieve results.
Well done Eagles, its not as bad as it was in the early stages of the tournament. It is now upto the Panthers to win the cup to make the team proud possessors of the winners trophy for a third time in succession.
Let's be there to cheer on the Panthers in the most important games of this tournament starting next weekend.
MoM: Suresh Tudor (37, 34b, 1*4, 2*6). Have I not told you that I fancy the bowling of Ibrar, Nitin and Shailesh. Send me as the opener against the Blasters.
Siva :- I never get a chance to yield my bat. This is what I am capable of.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcprPTWPutHh6Vg&hl=en
Sunday, March 1, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 Panthers Vs Blazing Round 6 - 03/01/2009
Bouyed by the return of their captain Rupesh and other key players such as Rosie, Yogesh and Santosh. Last game against Eagles was a failed attempt so definitely Panthers wanted to get back in a winning mode. Panthers had lost one game in their last 5 outings whereas Blazings were yet to open their points account.
Panthers won the toss and invited Blazings to hold the willow. The match was to be played at Spring Canyon Ground; but sprinkler issues overnight had created wet patches and the ground was closed for maintenance. The smaller ground right opposite was occupied by a little league baseball team and not for the first time we were scouting for a new ground.
Luckily the Hour Glass field was unoccupied and the game started albeit a bit late. Vijay S started the first over for Panthers against Sourabh and Venkat from Blazings. The first ball was a wide, but the next 6 deliveries were spot on and only one run was conceded. There was nothing in the pitch really. the late start coupled with zero cloud cover meant zero assistance to bowlers. Line and length as the cliche goes was the key. Rosie back from an injury to his hand last week started off with two boundaries in his over one each to Sourabh and Venkat. The third over from Vijay S gave the initial breakthrough when Venkat tried to hoike one over long-on but to only see his leg stump castled by a late in swinging delivery. The score was 13/1 off 3 overs, a moderate start for both the teams.
Rosie in his second over struck twice to get rid of Surinder caught by Samir at point and Abhishek who presented a dolly to Suresh at long on. Suddenly 3 wickets in space of 6 balls and Panthers were on top. Rupesh started the 6th over and just conceded two run while Hari in the next over got rid of Sai who doled out a regulation long on catch to Suresh. Rupesh continued the 8 th over and again conceded just a two runs. Hari in his second over managed to tempt Sourabh into playing an uppish drive which was held onto by Vijay S comfortably. Half of Blazings was dismissed right on the 9 th overs.
Its never over til its over and Blazings proved this with a rollicking stand between Kiran and Aditya. Hari's 3rd over went for around 11 runs and Samir Khatri bowled a few looseners and suddenly Blazings were 76 off 14 overs. Rupesh, a man of few words but more action pressed himself on and bowled a maiden. Yogesh also played his part and two overs whizzed off without too many runs.
Samir was in a devastating mood after being plundered for a few in his first over. He got Abhishek, Kiran and Sai all clean bowled with two of them castling the middle stump. Himanshoo and Ravi continued but found it difficult to score runs at will. Himanshoo was scalped by Samir for his 4th wicket of the match.
Eventually Blazing scored a respectable 97 with 9 wickets off the twenty overs. Samir did well to pick 4 wickets (4-0-23-4) and so did Hari and Rosie with two wickets each. Rupesh again had a fantastic outing conceding a miserly 6 runs off his 4 overs (4-1-6-0).
At the end off the first innings there were quite a few baseball teams that were practicing perilously close to the fielders. Balzings were skeptical and so another 30 mins were wasted in moving the pitch. It was unfair on Panthers but so is life. Anyhow!
Panthers started with Vijay S and Santosh. The first over from Anand conceded 7 runs with santosh hitting a glorious pull shot from the first ball he faced. At the end of three overs Panthers were placed comfortably with 15 runs on the board. Sourabh's second over saw Vijay S dancing down the pitch but only managing a skier and was caught and bowled. In walked Suresh.
Santosh was middling the ball quite well and had earlier survived a confident appeal for a caught behind off Sourabh. Santosh capitalised thereafter and managed to hit some glorious boundaries. Eventually he was caught by Sourabh at short fine leg off Sreenivas. Hari and Suresh picked off singles and a odd boundary to keep teh score ticking nicely. Suresh managed a glorious six which sailed over the mid wicket boundary handsomely. Hari picked up the scoring rate as well with some good strokes. Suresh though was bowled off a skidding delivery by Surinder and in walked Samir. The score read 61 runs off 10 overs.
Samir started cautiously against Surinder who was hitting the right areas. Trying to alter the length of the delivery by dancing down the track, Samir lost his middle and off stump to a delivery which kept a bit low and suddenly Blazings were in with a chance. Yogesh and Hari consolidated to quell some tension in the Panthers tent (what tent!). Yogesh was caught when only 20 runs were required. Shekhar joined Hari and played some fabulous pull strokes and in the end the target was reached in the 17 th over of the match. Rahul Bedi substituted for Shekhar and hit the winning runs in a majestic fashion with a deft touch towards mid-wicket. Hari did well scoring 11 off 23 balls and so did Shekhar with a brisk 13 off 10 deliveries. Santosh though played a key role scoring a wonderful 29 off just 24 balls. Joyful innings that.
Not to mention the cool and calm demeanor exhibited by Rupesh when Blazings were going great after the 11th over. They say a captain is as good as the team but sometimes a team needs a good captain. It was evident this time.
It was an expected result for Panthers who play their namesake (Real Panthers) next Sunday. Lets see if appending an extra adjective to the word Panthers is just a gimmick or there is more to it than just a word.
Panthers won the toss and invited Blazings to hold the willow. The match was to be played at Spring Canyon Ground; but sprinkler issues overnight had created wet patches and the ground was closed for maintenance. The smaller ground right opposite was occupied by a little league baseball team and not for the first time we were scouting for a new ground.
Luckily the Hour Glass field was unoccupied and the game started albeit a bit late. Vijay S started the first over for Panthers against Sourabh and Venkat from Blazings. The first ball was a wide, but the next 6 deliveries were spot on and only one run was conceded. There was nothing in the pitch really. the late start coupled with zero cloud cover meant zero assistance to bowlers. Line and length as the cliche goes was the key. Rosie back from an injury to his hand last week started off with two boundaries in his over one each to Sourabh and Venkat. The third over from Vijay S gave the initial breakthrough when Venkat tried to hoike one over long-on but to only see his leg stump castled by a late in swinging delivery. The score was 13/1 off 3 overs, a moderate start for both the teams.
Rosie in his second over struck twice to get rid of Surinder caught by Samir at point and Abhishek who presented a dolly to Suresh at long on. Suddenly 3 wickets in space of 6 balls and Panthers were on top. Rupesh started the 6th over and just conceded two run while Hari in the next over got rid of Sai who doled out a regulation long on catch to Suresh. Rupesh continued the 8 th over and again conceded just a two runs. Hari in his second over managed to tempt Sourabh into playing an uppish drive which was held onto by Vijay S comfortably. Half of Blazings was dismissed right on the 9 th overs.
Its never over til its over and Blazings proved this with a rollicking stand between Kiran and Aditya. Hari's 3rd over went for around 11 runs and Samir Khatri bowled a few looseners and suddenly Blazings were 76 off 14 overs. Rupesh, a man of few words but more action pressed himself on and bowled a maiden. Yogesh also played his part and two overs whizzed off without too many runs.
Samir was in a devastating mood after being plundered for a few in his first over. He got Abhishek, Kiran and Sai all clean bowled with two of them castling the middle stump. Himanshoo and Ravi continued but found it difficult to score runs at will. Himanshoo was scalped by Samir for his 4th wicket of the match.
Eventually Blazing scored a respectable 97 with 9 wickets off the twenty overs. Samir did well to pick 4 wickets (4-0-23-4) and so did Hari and Rosie with two wickets each. Rupesh again had a fantastic outing conceding a miserly 6 runs off his 4 overs (4-1-6-0).
At the end off the first innings there were quite a few baseball teams that were practicing perilously close to the fielders. Balzings were skeptical and so another 30 mins were wasted in moving the pitch. It was unfair on Panthers but so is life. Anyhow!
Panthers started with Vijay S and Santosh. The first over from Anand conceded 7 runs with santosh hitting a glorious pull shot from the first ball he faced. At the end of three overs Panthers were placed comfortably with 15 runs on the board. Sourabh's second over saw Vijay S dancing down the pitch but only managing a skier and was caught and bowled. In walked Suresh.
Santosh was middling the ball quite well and had earlier survived a confident appeal for a caught behind off Sourabh. Santosh capitalised thereafter and managed to hit some glorious boundaries. Eventually he was caught by Sourabh at short fine leg off Sreenivas. Hari and Suresh picked off singles and a odd boundary to keep teh score ticking nicely. Suresh managed a glorious six which sailed over the mid wicket boundary handsomely. Hari picked up the scoring rate as well with some good strokes. Suresh though was bowled off a skidding delivery by Surinder and in walked Samir. The score read 61 runs off 10 overs.
Samir started cautiously against Surinder who was hitting the right areas. Trying to alter the length of the delivery by dancing down the track, Samir lost his middle and off stump to a delivery which kept a bit low and suddenly Blazings were in with a chance. Yogesh and Hari consolidated to quell some tension in the Panthers tent (what tent!). Yogesh was caught when only 20 runs were required. Shekhar joined Hari and played some fabulous pull strokes and in the end the target was reached in the 17 th over of the match. Rahul Bedi substituted for Shekhar and hit the winning runs in a majestic fashion with a deft touch towards mid-wicket. Hari did well scoring 11 off 23 balls and so did Shekhar with a brisk 13 off 10 deliveries. Santosh though played a key role scoring a wonderful 29 off just 24 balls. Joyful innings that.
Not to mention the cool and calm demeanor exhibited by Rupesh when Blazings were going great after the 11th over. They say a captain is as good as the team but sometimes a team needs a good captain. It was evident this time.
It was an expected result for Panthers who play their namesake (Real Panthers) next Sunday. Lets see if appending an extra adjective to the word Panthers is just a gimmick or there is more to it than just a word.
MoM :- Samir Khatri 4-0-23-4 (These days I'd rather swing the Golf Club. Rupesh gave me the ball, I started with a bad first over but then just like that I plucked 4 wickets. These batsmen are too easy to scalp)
SDCS Winter 2009 - Eagles v/s Real Panthers Round 6 on 02282009
Eagles went into Round 6 against Real Panthers knowing they can not lose any more games. Abhishek won the toss and elected to field at the picturesque ground at Cypress Canyon Park.
Siva started with a maiden but Abhishek at the other end could not get the desired control in his first over. Siva continued to question the batsmen in his second over that went for just 3 runs. Srinivas repeated his mysterious ball that either slides between the legs onto the stumps or gets a batsman bowled as he attempts to leave the ball perceived to be going down leg side. The ball struck Sanjay at his rear end and diverted onto middle stump. Anil joined Navin (the other opener) who by then was improvising and looking for runs.
Hari bowling the 8th over of the inning bowled Anil with a flighted incoming delivery. Bhupendra was run-out within two balls with Narasaiah coming in from his position at short fine leg. Eagles had lacked this kind of commitment in earlier games and things looked good on this day. Bhanu joined Navin who was doing good at the other end. Navin launched Mudit for a six over long leg in the 9th over. Hari conceded only two runs in the next over and Real Panthers went into the break with a score of 35/3. Navin looked well set but Bhanu at the other end was just trying to get his eye in at the half way mark.
Navin struck Hari for a boundary to mid-wicket and then smartly pulled the next ball to fine leg for a three. In the same over Navin tried the same shot only to see Narasaiah to sprint in from short fine leg and hold onto the catch. The well made 36 (34b, 3*4, 1*6) by Navin had laid the platform for batsmen coming in later on to further consolidate. Vilas was playing with a back pain and never settled in on the day. He was caught behind to give Abhishek his first wicket. Ajay then held a sharp low catch to dismiss Bhanu who looked to get the score board ticking. Bhanu was the senior partner at the crease with two wickets having fallen in quick succession. Captain Giresh then took it upon himself to score briskly with the intent of bringing some respectability to the score.
Giresh (17, 18b) was needlessly run-out as he was pushed for a non-existent second run. Madhu did well to send the ball to the keeper on the bounce and the Real Panthers tail was thus exposed. A score of 63 at the end of 15 overs then changed to 86/9 in 20 overs. Siva picked up two wickets in the final over conceding just two runs. Abhishek standing at short mid-wicket flung himself to his right to latch to an uppish defensive prod by Manoj. The last batsman coming to the crease, played a few dot balls, was frustrated and then was bowled by Siva.
A restrictive spell of 4-1-9-2 by Siva served the cause for the Eagles. Srinivas did very well too, picking up two wickets for just 11 runs. Hari picked up the important wickets of Anil and Navin for 18 runs. Abhishek and Mudit provided good support to further tighten the grip on the Real Panthers batting.
Eagles were fresh from a chase against Panthers and thus were confident of chasing a slightly higher score against Real Panthers on an even better batting track. Disaster struck on just the second ball as Abhishek mis-hit one high to short mid-off where Navin held the catch with ease to give Bhupendra a wicket. Parag walked in to join Hari and the two of them played out that over. The next over by Bhanu saw the two pick up singles by placing the ball. Parag put a waist high full toss from Bhanu over square leg for a boundary. 10 runs from that over settled early anxiety for the batsmen. Giresh replaced Bhanu and a low full toss from Giresh was picked up by Parag for a one bounce boundary towards deep square leg. At 24/1 in 4 overs the Eagles were well placed for the chase. Anil induced an edge from Parag that flew high over the keepers head due to the pace and bounce in the wicket. The keeper could have reached the ball had he been a foot or two taller. Bhupendra at the other end bowled another quiet over thus restricting the score to 26/1 in 6 overs.
Anil bowled an erratic 7th over. A full toss was hit by Parag over square leg for an easy boundary. Another high full toss was hit for a boundary to deep fine leg on the very next ball. In the next over bowled by Bhupendra, Parag hit a sqaure drive for a boundary, all along the ground, just to the right of point. He then dispatched the very next, good length ball towards mid-wicket for a boundary, by shifting his weight on the back foot. Eagles thus reached a respectable 50/1 in 8 overs. Anil then bowled a relatively quiet 9th over to restrict the scoring to just 6 runs. Naveen then got Hari to hit one uppishly to short mid-wicket where Bhanu held a sharp catch. The 57 run partnership between Hari and Parag had set things up for the Eagles and got them to a position from where losing was not a possibility. Mudit (10*, 6b, 2*4) walked in and struck two boundaries from two balls reminding all of a day, where he had scored a 50 on the same ground in an internal game. Anil kept Parag quiet in the next over conceeding just two runs. At 70/2 in 11 overs it was just a matter of time before the Eagles would overhaul the target of 87 runs.
Mudit placed the ball for a single in the next over bowled by Bhanu. The second ball was a full toss just below the waist that Parag slashed behind point for a boundary. Bhanu then pitched the ball up with mid-off inside the circle. Parag took a step forward and lofted the ball safely over mid-off for a boundary. Mid-Off was moved back, but the very next ball, although at a better restrictive length was hit in the same direction to the left of the fielder standing back on the boundary. The fast outfield gave the fielder no chance to stop the ball from reaching the boundary. With three boundaries in three balls Bhanu was pretty unsure of what to bowl. He bowled another full toss on the stumps that Parag lofted straight above the keeper, slightly to his left for another boundary to bring up his fifty (51*, 44 b, 10*4) and therby a 8 wicket victory for the Eagles.
Eagles chased the target in 11.4 overs bringing them a much desired 3rd victory in the tournament. It was a good all round effort for the Eagles. Excellent bowling by Siva/Srinivas/Hari was supported by good, sharp catches by Abhishek, Ajay and Narasaiah. Superb fielding efforts by Madhu and Narasaiah, yielded important run-outs to peg back the opposition.
It was an splendid consecutive win for the Eagles who seem to be overcoming their earlier erratic performances. The question though is, has the change come too late for securing a place in the semi-finals. Results of other games, seem to indicate that their hopes of making it to the semi-finals and beyond is pretty slim or non-existent.
Siva started with a maiden but Abhishek at the other end could not get the desired control in his first over. Siva continued to question the batsmen in his second over that went for just 3 runs. Srinivas repeated his mysterious ball that either slides between the legs onto the stumps or gets a batsman bowled as he attempts to leave the ball perceived to be going down leg side. The ball struck Sanjay at his rear end and diverted onto middle stump. Anil joined Navin (the other opener) who by then was improvising and looking for runs.
Hari bowling the 8th over of the inning bowled Anil with a flighted incoming delivery. Bhupendra was run-out within two balls with Narasaiah coming in from his position at short fine leg. Eagles had lacked this kind of commitment in earlier games and things looked good on this day. Bhanu joined Navin who was doing good at the other end. Navin launched Mudit for a six over long leg in the 9th over. Hari conceded only two runs in the next over and Real Panthers went into the break with a score of 35/3. Navin looked well set but Bhanu at the other end was just trying to get his eye in at the half way mark.
Navin struck Hari for a boundary to mid-wicket and then smartly pulled the next ball to fine leg for a three. In the same over Navin tried the same shot only to see Narasaiah to sprint in from short fine leg and hold onto the catch. The well made 36 (34b, 3*4, 1*6) by Navin had laid the platform for batsmen coming in later on to further consolidate. Vilas was playing with a back pain and never settled in on the day. He was caught behind to give Abhishek his first wicket. Ajay then held a sharp low catch to dismiss Bhanu who looked to get the score board ticking. Bhanu was the senior partner at the crease with two wickets having fallen in quick succession. Captain Giresh then took it upon himself to score briskly with the intent of bringing some respectability to the score.
Giresh (17, 18b) was needlessly run-out as he was pushed for a non-existent second run. Madhu did well to send the ball to the keeper on the bounce and the Real Panthers tail was thus exposed. A score of 63 at the end of 15 overs then changed to 86/9 in 20 overs. Siva picked up two wickets in the final over conceding just two runs. Abhishek standing at short mid-wicket flung himself to his right to latch to an uppish defensive prod by Manoj. The last batsman coming to the crease, played a few dot balls, was frustrated and then was bowled by Siva.
A restrictive spell of 4-1-9-2 by Siva served the cause for the Eagles. Srinivas did very well too, picking up two wickets for just 11 runs. Hari picked up the important wickets of Anil and Navin for 18 runs. Abhishek and Mudit provided good support to further tighten the grip on the Real Panthers batting.
Eagles were fresh from a chase against Panthers and thus were confident of chasing a slightly higher score against Real Panthers on an even better batting track. Disaster struck on just the second ball as Abhishek mis-hit one high to short mid-off where Navin held the catch with ease to give Bhupendra a wicket. Parag walked in to join Hari and the two of them played out that over. The next over by Bhanu saw the two pick up singles by placing the ball. Parag put a waist high full toss from Bhanu over square leg for a boundary. 10 runs from that over settled early anxiety for the batsmen. Giresh replaced Bhanu and a low full toss from Giresh was picked up by Parag for a one bounce boundary towards deep square leg. At 24/1 in 4 overs the Eagles were well placed for the chase. Anil induced an edge from Parag that flew high over the keepers head due to the pace and bounce in the wicket. The keeper could have reached the ball had he been a foot or two taller. Bhupendra at the other end bowled another quiet over thus restricting the score to 26/1 in 6 overs.
Anil bowled an erratic 7th over. A full toss was hit by Parag over square leg for an easy boundary. Another high full toss was hit for a boundary to deep fine leg on the very next ball. In the next over bowled by Bhupendra, Parag hit a sqaure drive for a boundary, all along the ground, just to the right of point. He then dispatched the very next, good length ball towards mid-wicket for a boundary, by shifting his weight on the back foot. Eagles thus reached a respectable 50/1 in 8 overs. Anil then bowled a relatively quiet 9th over to restrict the scoring to just 6 runs. Naveen then got Hari to hit one uppishly to short mid-wicket where Bhanu held a sharp catch. The 57 run partnership between Hari and Parag had set things up for the Eagles and got them to a position from where losing was not a possibility. Mudit (10*, 6b, 2*4) walked in and struck two boundaries from two balls reminding all of a day, where he had scored a 50 on the same ground in an internal game. Anil kept Parag quiet in the next over conceeding just two runs. At 70/2 in 11 overs it was just a matter of time before the Eagles would overhaul the target of 87 runs.
Mudit placed the ball for a single in the next over bowled by Bhanu. The second ball was a full toss just below the waist that Parag slashed behind point for a boundary. Bhanu then pitched the ball up with mid-off inside the circle. Parag took a step forward and lofted the ball safely over mid-off for a boundary. Mid-Off was moved back, but the very next ball, although at a better restrictive length was hit in the same direction to the left of the fielder standing back on the boundary. The fast outfield gave the fielder no chance to stop the ball from reaching the boundary. With three boundaries in three balls Bhanu was pretty unsure of what to bowl. He bowled another full toss on the stumps that Parag lofted straight above the keeper, slightly to his left for another boundary to bring up his fifty (51*, 44 b, 10*4) and therby a 8 wicket victory for the Eagles.
Eagles chased the target in 11.4 overs bringing them a much desired 3rd victory in the tournament. It was a good all round effort for the Eagles. Excellent bowling by Siva/Srinivas/Hari was supported by good, sharp catches by Abhishek, Ajay and Narasaiah. Superb fielding efforts by Madhu and Narasaiah, yielded important run-outs to peg back the opposition.
It was an splendid consecutive win for the Eagles who seem to be overcoming their earlier erratic performances. The question though is, has the change come too late for securing a place in the semi-finals. Results of other games, seem to indicate that their hopes of making it to the semi-finals and beyond is pretty slim or non-existent.
MoM : Parag Ahire (51*, 44b, 10*4). This one is dedicated to AK, RSG, SK and RB
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