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
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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
Sunday, February 22, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 - Eagles v/s Panthers Round 5 on 02/21/2009
Panthers started the game without captain Rupesh and a few other key players. Eagles were bolstered by the return on Siva but were missing Sam.
Abhishek won the toss and elected to field considering the slowness of the outfield and the moisture on the pitch.
Siva dismissed Samir in the second over of the game and in the very next over Hari was bowled by Vinay. Eagles were in a sound position right at the start. Shekhar and Vijay S thereafter spent time to come to grips with the pitch and the good bowling of the Eagles. Vinay, Siva, Abhishek and Srinivas made scoring difficult. One even witnessed Rajesh latch on to a hard hit at square leg giving enough evidence of the fightback by the Eagles. Srinivas has a uncanny knack to get batsmen bowled without the keeper or batsmen knowing about it and that's just what happened to Shekhar. The ball squezeed on to the stumps between the legs resulting in a minor discussion of what exactly happened. Mudit picked up Vijay S in his very first over just when Vijay S began to take the attack to the opposition.
At the 10 over mark the Panthers had a meagre 29 runs on board with 4 key wickets being lost.
Ramesh and Suresh started some acceleration after the break. Mudit deceived Ramesh with his lack of pace and had him caught by Naman at long on. Suresh and Rahul B then focussed on picking up singles and twos to take Panthers closer to a much wanted target of 80 in 20 overs. Panthers crawled to 76/5 in 20 overs and might sure have been concerned at the half way stage. Suresh (19 in 31b) and Rahul B (12 in 21 b) did well to remain unbeaten at the end.
Mudit with figures of 4-0-17-2 played his coveted role of 5th bowler to a nicety. Siva with figures of 4-0-9-1 was the pick of the bowlers. Abhishek, Vinay and Srinivas did bowl well too.
Vijay S struck with a wicket on the fourth ball of the chase bringing joy to the Panthers. Parag joined Abhishek at the wicket. Abhishek went on the attack in the 3rd over being bowled by Vijay S that eased some nerves for the Eagles. Ramesh was introduced into the attack and picked up Abhishek (14 in 14b, 1*4) on the very first ball. Suresh held the easy catch at mid-off within the 30 yard circle. Panthers were convinced that one wicket at that stage would then result in a win for them in the game. Mudit joined Parag at the crease and together they stitched up a partnership. Parag hit a couple of fours to take a few more runs off the target. Mudit was run out in the 10th over but by then the Eagles were well placed at 43/2 with just 34 to get in 10 overs and 8 wickets in hand.
Eagles played with caution after the break. Siva struck Hari for a boundary to fine leg on a full toss. He also played some good looking strokes to cover and mid-wicket. Siva (13 in 22b, 1*4) was run out by Ramesh in the 16th over but just 10 runs were required for a win.
Parag (33 in 51b, 3*4) hit Spandan for a boundary to long on bringing the second win for the Eagles in this tournament.
The bowlers set the game up for the Eagles and thereafter it was just a matter of the Eagles occupying the crease.
Panthers should have key players returning soon and hence no opposition can take them lightly. Eagles now need to win the next two games to have any hope of even arithmetically making it to the semi-finals.
MoM : Parag Ahire (We know he bats well in internal games. RSG was missing but isn't our bowling the best one around? Other teams ask whether Panthers tanked this game, who knows ?)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoDBO0cPSRTFA&hl=en
Abhishek won the toss and elected to field considering the slowness of the outfield and the moisture on the pitch.
Siva dismissed Samir in the second over of the game and in the very next over Hari was bowled by Vinay. Eagles were in a sound position right at the start. Shekhar and Vijay S thereafter spent time to come to grips with the pitch and the good bowling of the Eagles. Vinay, Siva, Abhishek and Srinivas made scoring difficult. One even witnessed Rajesh latch on to a hard hit at square leg giving enough evidence of the fightback by the Eagles. Srinivas has a uncanny knack to get batsmen bowled without the keeper or batsmen knowing about it and that's just what happened to Shekhar. The ball squezeed on to the stumps between the legs resulting in a minor discussion of what exactly happened. Mudit picked up Vijay S in his very first over just when Vijay S began to take the attack to the opposition.
At the 10 over mark the Panthers had a meagre 29 runs on board with 4 key wickets being lost.
Ramesh and Suresh started some acceleration after the break. Mudit deceived Ramesh with his lack of pace and had him caught by Naman at long on. Suresh and Rahul B then focussed on picking up singles and twos to take Panthers closer to a much wanted target of 80 in 20 overs. Panthers crawled to 76/5 in 20 overs and might sure have been concerned at the half way stage. Suresh (19 in 31b) and Rahul B (12 in 21 b) did well to remain unbeaten at the end.
Mudit with figures of 4-0-17-2 played his coveted role of 5th bowler to a nicety. Siva with figures of 4-0-9-1 was the pick of the bowlers. Abhishek, Vinay and Srinivas did bowl well too.
Vijay S struck with a wicket on the fourth ball of the chase bringing joy to the Panthers. Parag joined Abhishek at the wicket. Abhishek went on the attack in the 3rd over being bowled by Vijay S that eased some nerves for the Eagles. Ramesh was introduced into the attack and picked up Abhishek (14 in 14b, 1*4) on the very first ball. Suresh held the easy catch at mid-off within the 30 yard circle. Panthers were convinced that one wicket at that stage would then result in a win for them in the game. Mudit joined Parag at the crease and together they stitched up a partnership. Parag hit a couple of fours to take a few more runs off the target. Mudit was run out in the 10th over but by then the Eagles were well placed at 43/2 with just 34 to get in 10 overs and 8 wickets in hand.
Eagles played with caution after the break. Siva struck Hari for a boundary to fine leg on a full toss. He also played some good looking strokes to cover and mid-wicket. Siva (13 in 22b, 1*4) was run out by Ramesh in the 16th over but just 10 runs were required for a win.
Parag (33 in 51b, 3*4) hit Spandan for a boundary to long on bringing the second win for the Eagles in this tournament.
The bowlers set the game up for the Eagles and thereafter it was just a matter of the Eagles occupying the crease.
Panthers should have key players returning soon and hence no opposition can take them lightly. Eagles now need to win the next two games to have any hope of even arithmetically making it to the semi-finals.
MoM : Parag Ahire (We know he bats well in internal games. RSG was missing but isn't our bowling the best one around? Other teams ask whether Panthers tanked this game, who knows ?)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoDBO0cPSRTFA&hl=en
Internal Game - Eagles v/s Panthers on 02/14/2009
Batting first Eagles struggled to come to grips with a wet/sticky pitch and a soaked outfield.
Eagles crumbled to 48/8 in just 12.1 overs in the 16 over game.
Panthers decided to give Samir and Rupesh some batting practice at the top of the order. Panthers chased the target in less than 10 overs losing Rosie and Rupesh in the process.
Being the toppers of the pool in the Winter tournament they thus start as favorites in the game against Eagles to be played next.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoxKLjErLB-Bg&hl=en
Eagles crumbled to 48/8 in just 12.1 overs in the 16 over game.
Panthers decided to give Samir and Rupesh some batting practice at the top of the order. Panthers chased the target in less than 10 overs losing Rosie and Rupesh in the process.
Being the toppers of the pool in the Winter tournament they thus start as favorites in the game against Eagles to be played next.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpoxKLjErLB-Bg&hl=en
Monday, February 2, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 - Eagles v/s RBCC Round 4 01312009
Abhishek won the toss and elected to field first against RBCC in round 4 of the tournament. Narayanan and Khozi walked in to open for RBCC. Khozi started well by dispatching loose balls out into the vacant region, square of the wicket on the leg side. Narayanan played the sheet anchor role to aid Khozi. A fine edge off the blade to the keeper with the bowling of Vinay was turned down to give Khozi a well desired respite. Narayanan however fell in a simlar manner and there was no debate a second time around as the batsman walked. Srinivas gave the Eagles the break through but Khozi had made the Eagles to pay for loose bowling. One might get loose balls but one has to put them away for maximum by placing the ball in vacant regions. Khozi lashed a six and a few fours and by the break RBCC was well placed.
Ajay was introduced into the attack that resulted in the unfortunate run-out at the non-striker's end to dismiss Khozi. Srinivas pounced on the ball and quickly ran to the stumps to get rid of Khozi who by then had laid the tone for the proceedings by means of an attacking inning of 43 (39b, 1*6, 4*4).
The relative weakness of the RBCC batting was then evident as batsmen after batsmen perished although in the search of quick runs. The Eagles fought back well to pick up wickets and restricted the score to 91 or 92 for 9 in 19 overs. The last over however was plundered for 16-17 runs to take RBCC to a healthy score of 108/9 in 20 overs. The fielding of the Eagles was not upto one's expectation with a couple of catches being grassed and at least one bad mis-field yielding a four where there should have been one. 10 fours and a six suggests the graciuos offering of loose balls and the fast nature of the outfield. Srinivas was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-10-2. Sam and Vinay did well too.
Abhishek and Rajesh opened the batting but were kept quiet by means of tight bowling and fielding against the bowling of Bala and Mohinsh. 14/0 in 6 overs then changed to 34/2 in 10 overs with Abhishek and Hari being dismissed. Rajesh played the ball on merit, hitting an ocassional boundary and placing the ball around and sprinting for quick runs. Eagles were behind the run rate and were now required to score at 7.5 an over in the final 10 overs.
The first over after the break did yield them 7 runs but Rajesh was dismissed soon. Rajesh made 19 (36b, 2*4) that was a good stabilizing inning. Mudit walked in with a purpose and stroked the ball well. One firm straight drive resulted in a boundary as both the long-off and long-on fielders could not get to the ball in time. Mudit and Parag provided some impetus to the inning. Abhishek (runner for Parag) and Mudit sprinted around for quick singles and twos putting pressure on the RBCC fielding, which for the first time seemed concerned about defending the good target. Mudit (22 in 20b, 2*4) was then run-out in unusual circumstances. Parag (18 in 23b, 1*4) hit one to Gavaskar at cover who held a good overhead catch. The asking rate was around 8 an over but with new batsmen coming in it was no easy task. Quite a few batsmen perished when required to score fast right from ball one.
Eventually the Eagles scored just 87/9 in 20 overs thereby losing by a substantial margin of 21 runs. With three losses in four games they now have more than a question to ask themselves.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p69faXyzPo4-ULt1hs_iDdg&hl=enl
Ajay was introduced into the attack that resulted in the unfortunate run-out at the non-striker's end to dismiss Khozi. Srinivas pounced on the ball and quickly ran to the stumps to get rid of Khozi who by then had laid the tone for the proceedings by means of an attacking inning of 43 (39b, 1*6, 4*4).
The relative weakness of the RBCC batting was then evident as batsmen after batsmen perished although in the search of quick runs. The Eagles fought back well to pick up wickets and restricted the score to 91 or 92 for 9 in 19 overs. The last over however was plundered for 16-17 runs to take RBCC to a healthy score of 108/9 in 20 overs. The fielding of the Eagles was not upto one's expectation with a couple of catches being grassed and at least one bad mis-field yielding a four where there should have been one. 10 fours and a six suggests the graciuos offering of loose balls and the fast nature of the outfield. Srinivas was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-10-2. Sam and Vinay did well too.
Abhishek and Rajesh opened the batting but were kept quiet by means of tight bowling and fielding against the bowling of Bala and Mohinsh. 14/0 in 6 overs then changed to 34/2 in 10 overs with Abhishek and Hari being dismissed. Rajesh played the ball on merit, hitting an ocassional boundary and placing the ball around and sprinting for quick runs. Eagles were behind the run rate and were now required to score at 7.5 an over in the final 10 overs.
The first over after the break did yield them 7 runs but Rajesh was dismissed soon. Rajesh made 19 (36b, 2*4) that was a good stabilizing inning. Mudit walked in with a purpose and stroked the ball well. One firm straight drive resulted in a boundary as both the long-off and long-on fielders could not get to the ball in time. Mudit and Parag provided some impetus to the inning. Abhishek (runner for Parag) and Mudit sprinted around for quick singles and twos putting pressure on the RBCC fielding, which for the first time seemed concerned about defending the good target. Mudit (22 in 20b, 2*4) was then run-out in unusual circumstances. Parag (18 in 23b, 1*4) hit one to Gavaskar at cover who held a good overhead catch. The asking rate was around 8 an over but with new batsmen coming in it was no easy task. Quite a few batsmen perished when required to score fast right from ball one.
Eventually the Eagles scored just 87/9 in 20 overs thereby losing by a substantial margin of 21 runs. With three losses in four games they now have more than a question to ask themselves.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p69faXyzPo4-ULt1hs_iDdg&hl=enl
Sunday, February 1, 2009
SDCS Winter 2009 Panthers v/s Mavericks Round 4 - 02/01/2009
The game promised to be a humdinger with the two teams coming into the match without a loss in the tournament so far. Only the net run-rate separated Panthers at the top with Mavericks placed second in the points table.
A new pitch, a new day but the same old story of Rupesh winning the toss and rightly choosing to field first. The Panthers think tank had the wet conditions on the field in their mind and opted to give their fast bowlers the maximum advantage first up. Panthers were welcoming Samir Khatri and Santosh Joshi after a long break and on paper the Panthers were looking as formidable as any team in the tournament.
The pitch was devoid of any grass and looked lifeless from a distance albeit a bit wet. Vijay S opened for Panthers and so did Hanu and Anil Guntur for Mavericks. The first over saw a bit of swing but there wasn't any nip in the pitch. The ball was a bit odd sized and a few full tosses were given away by Vijay S and Rosie who were unable to hold the ball properly. The first over saw 3 runs given away in singles and second over brought Rosie to the bowling crease who had taken a five-for in the previous match. Rosie started well with nice length deliveries. Rosie too had trouble gripping the ball and gave two full tosses which were dispatched by Hanu over square leg and mid-wicket. Rosie though on his 5th delivery hit Hanu on an awkward spot which made him see some stars on a bright sunny San Dieg0 skyline. Vijay S continued the third over and gave way 6 runs to make the score read 20 off 3 overs. Captain Rupesh brought himself on and gave away a wide before settling on to a nice line-length. Anil G (3 runs, 8 balls) went for an ugly swipe and Rupesh disturbed the castle, not for the first time in the day.
Rosie started the fifth over and gave away just 6 runs or so but in the process hit Hanu again on the leg who had to retire back to the pavilion. Anil Nimma, the Mavericks captain replaced Hanu and started playing straight for a few balls. Rupesh bowled his second over and after 6 overs Mavericks were 32 for two down. Rupesh picked Santosh from Mavericks who edged a simple catch to Rahul Bedi. Hari started the 7th over with a great delivery which took Anil's edge but Santosh Joshi was placed at gully and the ball went for a boundary. The next delivery was a waist high full toss which was dispatched for a six. The ball seemed to have fallen a bit short but the umpire (Anil Guntur) was adamant that he saw the ball fly over the fence. Anyway. Hari just couldn't control his length and gave away another boundary off a no ball. An exasperated Hari by the end of his first over saw 23 runs being scored and as the old cliché goes the momentum was with Mavericks and Anil Nimma.
In strife the true capabilities of a leader comes in to observation. Clearly, Hari's over had probably turned the match into Mavericks favor but Rupesh believed otherwise and continued to encourage his troops. Any other captain would have been frustrated, angry, quiet and among other things negative about his team; but Rupesh believes in his team and vice-versa. Rupesh brought himself on and the first thing he did was to clean up the dangerous Anil Nimma who scored a 14 ball 26. At the end of 10 overs Mavericks were 62 for 5 with Saurabh and Pavan also cleaned up by Rupesh for nought.
Samir and Rupesh continued after the break and so did Vijay S. Sameer got Hanu's leg stump uprooted and Vijay S got Raj to cut a delivery which was gleefully accepted by Samir at backward point acrobatically. Abhi picked Sushmit who holed out to Hari at long-on. Mavericks were finally dismissed in the penultimate over when Santosh had Rajendra caught in the slip off Rosie.
Rupesh was pick of the bowler with 4-1-14-4 well supported by Vijay S and Samir as well as Rosie and Abhi.
The familiar Panthers duo of Shekhar and Abhi walked in. Abhi who doesn't have a negative bone in his body started in a positive fashion as always but Santosh from Mavs was treated with respect with only 2 runs scored in the first over. Prashanth's second over though saw three boundaries from Abhi and Panthers were on their way with 18 on the board off two overs. Abhi hit some lovely straight drives; the one off Santosh in the third over was a gem which bisected the mid-on and long off boundary fielder perfectly. Abhi though fell when he was looking dangerous, edging the ball to keeper Raj off Santosh. Abhi provided a great start to Panthers scoring 17 runs off 14 balls with three cracking boundaries.
In walked Hari who had a steely determination on his face and a sole purpose to crack 23 runs in no time. Hari started watchfully but got into his grove quickly. Shekhar and Hari moved the score to 41 runs off 5 overs with Shekhar playing a glorious pull off Sushmit over square leg. Shekhar though edged one off Sushmit in the next over where Raj behind took a great diving catch. In walked Santosh who challenged Hari to a few singles and twos. Hari struck some beautiful boundaries off Pavan who went for 10 runs off his first over. At the end of 10 overs Panthers were placed comfortably at 65 runs and two wickets down.
Hari started out all aggressively and took every new bowler to the task. Hari who is a good hooker (of the ball), played some audacious strokes off Praveen, Santosh and Prashanth over the cover region as well. One etched in memory is a cover drive off Anil Nimma. Panthers managed to lose Santosh Joshi and Aravind but registered a comfortable win in the end with almost 6 overs and identical wickets to spare.
Hari (41 runs off 44 balls), Abhi (17 runs off just 10 balls) and Santosh (19 runs off 30 balls) starred with bat so did Rupesh who had a match winning spell of 4-1-14-4 wickets. At one time the Mavericks were well poised to score more than 120 runs; but thanks to Rupesh's captaincy and bowling skill that was not to be. Hari's batting also deserves a special mention. He is the sort of guy who can destroy any bowling attack on a day and win the match for you; but only if he keeps his cool and doesn't jester around on the field.
The MoM prize is a tricky one in this case and the writer is fortunate enough not to be the one who has to make a decision in this regard.
Panthers face their brothers, Eagles, in the next game on Saturday. Eagles are a talented lot but haven't played well as they would have liked would be keen to make a good impression.
MoM : Captain Rupesh Gupta with figures of 4-0-15-4 (You take the charge against me and I knock your stumps. You defend against me with your bat behind the legs, I can still sneak through and get the stumps)
Scorecard : http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p69faXyzPo49VAHAceKbBMA&hl=en
A new pitch, a new day but the same old story of Rupesh winning the toss and rightly choosing to field first. The Panthers think tank had the wet conditions on the field in their mind and opted to give their fast bowlers the maximum advantage first up. Panthers were welcoming Samir Khatri and Santosh Joshi after a long break and on paper the Panthers were looking as formidable as any team in the tournament.
The pitch was devoid of any grass and looked lifeless from a distance albeit a bit wet. Vijay S opened for Panthers and so did Hanu and Anil Guntur for Mavericks. The first over saw a bit of swing but there wasn't any nip in the pitch. The ball was a bit odd sized and a few full tosses were given away by Vijay S and Rosie who were unable to hold the ball properly. The first over saw 3 runs given away in singles and second over brought Rosie to the bowling crease who had taken a five-for in the previous match. Rosie started well with nice length deliveries. Rosie too had trouble gripping the ball and gave two full tosses which were dispatched by Hanu over square leg and mid-wicket. Rosie though on his 5th delivery hit Hanu on an awkward spot which made him see some stars on a bright sunny San Dieg0 skyline. Vijay S continued the third over and gave way 6 runs to make the score read 20 off 3 overs. Captain Rupesh brought himself on and gave away a wide before settling on to a nice line-length. Anil G (3 runs, 8 balls) went for an ugly swipe and Rupesh disturbed the castle, not for the first time in the day.
Rosie started the fifth over and gave away just 6 runs or so but in the process hit Hanu again on the leg who had to retire back to the pavilion. Anil Nimma, the Mavericks captain replaced Hanu and started playing straight for a few balls. Rupesh bowled his second over and after 6 overs Mavericks were 32 for two down. Rupesh picked Santosh from Mavericks who edged a simple catch to Rahul Bedi. Hari started the 7th over with a great delivery which took Anil's edge but Santosh Joshi was placed at gully and the ball went for a boundary. The next delivery was a waist high full toss which was dispatched for a six. The ball seemed to have fallen a bit short but the umpire (Anil Guntur) was adamant that he saw the ball fly over the fence. Anyway. Hari just couldn't control his length and gave away another boundary off a no ball. An exasperated Hari by the end of his first over saw 23 runs being scored and as the old cliché goes the momentum was with Mavericks and Anil Nimma.
In strife the true capabilities of a leader comes in to observation. Clearly, Hari's over had probably turned the match into Mavericks favor but Rupesh believed otherwise and continued to encourage his troops. Any other captain would have been frustrated, angry, quiet and among other things negative about his team; but Rupesh believes in his team and vice-versa. Rupesh brought himself on and the first thing he did was to clean up the dangerous Anil Nimma who scored a 14 ball 26. At the end of 10 overs Mavericks were 62 for 5 with Saurabh and Pavan also cleaned up by Rupesh for nought.
Samir and Rupesh continued after the break and so did Vijay S. Sameer got Hanu's leg stump uprooted and Vijay S got Raj to cut a delivery which was gleefully accepted by Samir at backward point acrobatically. Abhi picked Sushmit who holed out to Hari at long-on. Mavericks were finally dismissed in the penultimate over when Santosh had Rajendra caught in the slip off Rosie.
Rupesh was pick of the bowler with 4-1-14-4 well supported by Vijay S and Samir as well as Rosie and Abhi.
The familiar Panthers duo of Shekhar and Abhi walked in. Abhi who doesn't have a negative bone in his body started in a positive fashion as always but Santosh from Mavs was treated with respect with only 2 runs scored in the first over. Prashanth's second over though saw three boundaries from Abhi and Panthers were on their way with 18 on the board off two overs. Abhi hit some lovely straight drives; the one off Santosh in the third over was a gem which bisected the mid-on and long off boundary fielder perfectly. Abhi though fell when he was looking dangerous, edging the ball to keeper Raj off Santosh. Abhi provided a great start to Panthers scoring 17 runs off 14 balls with three cracking boundaries.
In walked Hari who had a steely determination on his face and a sole purpose to crack 23 runs in no time. Hari started watchfully but got into his grove quickly. Shekhar and Hari moved the score to 41 runs off 5 overs with Shekhar playing a glorious pull off Sushmit over square leg. Shekhar though edged one off Sushmit in the next over where Raj behind took a great diving catch. In walked Santosh who challenged Hari to a few singles and twos. Hari struck some beautiful boundaries off Pavan who went for 10 runs off his first over. At the end of 10 overs Panthers were placed comfortably at 65 runs and two wickets down.
Hari started out all aggressively and took every new bowler to the task. Hari who is a good hooker (of the ball), played some audacious strokes off Praveen, Santosh and Prashanth over the cover region as well. One etched in memory is a cover drive off Anil Nimma. Panthers managed to lose Santosh Joshi and Aravind but registered a comfortable win in the end with almost 6 overs and identical wickets to spare.
Hari (41 runs off 44 balls), Abhi (17 runs off just 10 balls) and Santosh (19 runs off 30 balls) starred with bat so did Rupesh who had a match winning spell of 4-1-14-4 wickets. At one time the Mavericks were well poised to score more than 120 runs; but thanks to Rupesh's captaincy and bowling skill that was not to be. Hari's batting also deserves a special mention. He is the sort of guy who can destroy any bowling attack on a day and win the match for you; but only if he keeps his cool and doesn't jester around on the field.
The MoM prize is a tricky one in this case and the writer is fortunate enough not to be the one who has to make a decision in this regard.
Panthers face their brothers, Eagles, in the next game on Saturday. Eagles are a talented lot but haven't played well as they would have liked would be keen to make a good impression.
MoM : Captain Rupesh Gupta with figures of 4-0-15-4 (You take the charge against me and I knock your stumps. You defend against me with your bat behind the legs, I can still sneak through and get the stumps)
Hari R , 41 *(44b, 4*5) :- Guys, I told you it is not a problem, let them score a few runs, we are all here to have some fun. The only reason, I gave away runs in the one over I bowled was because I wanted the opposition to put a score on board so that I could get a chance to play a long inning.
Scorecard : http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p69faXyzPo49VAHAceKbBMA&hl=en
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