SDCS Winter 2009 - Eagles v/s Blazing XI Round 3 01242009

Blazing XI won the toss and asked the Eagles to bat first on the uneven pitch at Miramar College Ground (Big).

Abhishek and Rajesh opened the batting for the Eagles. Harshil started the bowling but gave away 9 runs to ease any nerves for the openers. Surinder at the other end started well by giving away a single wide in his first over. Harshil was then put away for a boundary each by Abhishek and Rajesh, in the very next over that yielded another 16 runs. Abhishek replaced Harshil but the openers continued to score well. Surinder bowling the 6th over bowled Abhishek but by then the score was a healthy 46/1 in 6 overs. Sam joined Rajesh but was not at ease against Saurabh. Saurabh beat him twice in succession on two incoming deliveries and finally cleaned Sam up on the last ball of that over. Hari joined Rajesh and together they took the team to the break and a healthy score of 77/2. Rajesh was playing well at the other end with periods of defense and agressive shots in the air mainly towards the spread out field on the leg side. Loose balls from Abhishek, Munawar were dispatched for fours with ease.

Hari went on the aggressive after the break. The 14th over being bowled by Munawar yielded 10 runs with Hari blasting a four and a six. In the next over from Saurabh, Hari launched one to long leg, did not connect well, only to find Aditya holding the catch with ease. The score read a healthy 108/3 in 15 overs. Parag hit one towards square leg for a six on the last ball of the 17th over that yielded 12 runs. Parag and Rajesh then scored singles and two with an occasional boundary to take the score to 156/3 in 20 overs. Rajesh requiring 2 to score a 50, did so to the delight of all, with a well placed shot to the covers on the final ball of the 20th over. Credit goes to Rajesh on scoring an unbeaten 50 when given a chance to open. The 51* was studded with 6 fours and came in a reasonably quick rate of 60 balls. Blazing did not do their cause much by giving away 49 extras.

With a huge score to defend the Eagles took the field with vigor, being confident of defending the 157 with ease. Opening batsman Abhishek from Blazing XI started with aggression by scoring 8 of the bat in the first over from Sam. Saurabh followed that up with a few runs against Abhishek from the Eagles. Abhishek from Blazing XI then targeted Sam in the next over and took the score to 26/0 in 3 overs. Abhishek from the Eagles then picked up Abhishek from Blazing XI, caught by Hari at long on. Kiran and Saurabh then continued the aggressive approach that was required to chase down the huge target. A good piece of fielding by Naman in the deep yielded the second wicket as a run out. Hari then bowled Aditya and followed that up with a sharp caught and bowled in the same over within a couple of balls. A young Ajay Kaul, fielding at short mid-wicket sprinted towards square leg to get Surinder run out by throwing a quick throw to the keeper's end. Against expectations Ajay also sprinted around to hold a running catch to give Sam some joy in the form of the wicket of Mrugesh. Ajay also picked up two wickets in an over in the form of catches held behind the wicket. Bowling his only over of the game Mudit picked up a wicket giving away just 3 runs. The final wicket was picked up on the first ball of the 15th over being bowled by Suresh. Blazing XI were cheaply dismissed for 80 runs.

Eagles thus secured a huge 76 run win, their first in three encounters. A repeat of such good performances in the next few games might help them secure a slot in the semi-finals. It was a good display in the field by the Eagles who have to now win at least 3 of the next four games to progress to the next round.

The unbeaten knock of 51 by Rajesh laid the foundation of the huge score and deservedly earns votes for MoM for this game.

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