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 ...
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