Vijay S won the toss at the Spring Canyon Ground and elected to field against the Doyle Devils. Ravi B and Srinivas started extremely well for the Doyle Devils and the score at the end of 6 overs was 53/1. Ravi B and Pavel continued on until the 12th over when Pavel (21 in 24b, 2*4, 1*6) was caught in the slips by Rupesh with Vijay S bowling his 3rd over. Earlier Pavel struck a straight six and earned praise from the Eagles as well.
Siva was the bowler of the day for either side and ended up picking the wickets of Joy and Sampat going for just 14 runs in 4 overs. Vijay S picked up wickets of Srinivas and Pavel going for a reasonable 20 runs in 4 overs. Aravind struck with 2 wickets in his 2nd over going for 18 runs in 3 overs. Sam had an off day and Rupesh did earn a wicket but gave away quite a few wides. In fact, the Eagles conceded no less than 36 extras which is twice of what one can accept from a disciplined side at our level of play. Siva and Vijay S had pulled down the scoring rate that had soared sky high in the initial overs. Vijay S and Rupesh did an awesome job commending the bowlers and inspiring a side that was looking down.
Doyle Devils ended up with 129/8 in 20 overs. Ravi B (highest scorer on the day) was undefeated on 28 in 40 balls and had to retire due to the heat that was slowing him down. He played straight and made best use of the loose balls hitting them around in the gaps mostly along the ground.
Vijay S at the break was full of confidence in the ability of his side. Naman opened the batting with Vijay S and did not disappoint. Both the openers put on a 22 run partnership with Vijay S playing well to score more than run a ball (14 in 9 balls, 2*4). Rupesh came in and provided the impetus to the scoring along with Naman. Both Vijay S and Rupesh(11 in 15 b, 1*4) were caught behind when they seemed to have had a feel of the bowling and were in control of the task at hand.
Parag (5 in 8b, 1*4) was caught by Tushnim in the deep in the 10th over, on hitting the first aggresive stroke. The score at the end of 10 overs was 63/3 and a game seemed to be on hand.
Naman was soon dismissed after contributing a valuable 25 runs in 36 balls (1*4).
Would the Eagles make it from that position? Mudit, Siva, Gopal, Harshal, Sam, Aravind and Satish were to follow and a little over half of the runs were still pending. Each of the batsmen were unfazed by the task and hand and played with confidence when they walked in at different positions in the order.
Mudit (9 in 12b, 1*4), Siva (12 in 14b, 1*4), Harshal (10 in 12b), Gopal (4 in 7b) and Sam (16 not out in 17 b, 2*4) kept the chase in control all along. Sam for a second time in succession proved to be a finisher guiding the team to victory with the bat.
The game was marred by an ugly incident in the second inning that began just when Rupesh walked in to bat. Doyle Devils were overly charged up, resorting to extended cheeering/jeering. I as umpire had to delay the proceeding until the talk ceased. Rupesh took his time to check the field, get his guard and then did not get ready to face the ball amidst protests from the Doyle Devils. Before any of us could realize one player from the Doyle Devils and another from the Eagles were alomst at blows, more or less armed with wooden weapons.
Cool batting by the Eagles resulted in a well cherished victory. The bowling marks go to Siva, Vijay S nd Aravind. On the batting front Naman, Vijay S, Sam, Siva, Rupesh, Mudit, Harshal earn the praise. For a second time Vijay S and Rupesh did extremely well to inspire the Eagles to rise to the ocassion when faced with tough conditions.
Eagles now face fellow Panthers in the semi-finals which can be seen as just another internal game. Let the semi-final be a contest of skill, temperament and composure and not one of verbal duels and profanities. Either team winning gives an equal chance for our "combined single team" to retain the SDCS Cup.
Enjoy the rest of the days in between and "do be good" next weekend.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpo1tk8WxF4kWg&hl=en
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