Game 5 of the series was played in the afternoon at Cypress Canyon Ground (Big). Sam won the toss and elected to bat.
Vijay S made the right move by introducing Ajay into the attack. Ajay began well by deceiving Hari on just the third ball but was slow to run around towards the leg side and did not even get hand to a easy high catch. Another lobbed catch behind the stumps was dropped with the keeper and slip fielder not calling for the catch. Nevertheless both the openers were shaken and unsure of how to proceed. Amit kept Shekhar quiet in the second over. Shekhar drove Ajay for a two and then pulled him behind square for an easy boundary in the 3rd over. Amit continued the 4th and kept Shekhar tied to the crease beating him frequently outside the off stump. Hari launched Ajay towards long on, only to realize he was trying to loft against the wind. The only hope was Suresh taking it easy, playing safety first. Suresh walked a few paces (late as usual), saw the ball come to him at a good height and held the catch above the shoulder. Rupesh walked in and launched a magnificent pull towards mid-wicket for a boundary in the first over bowled by Samir. Samir struck the very next ball with Rupesh edging behind the stumps.
Srikanth came in to give company to Shekhar. Rosie bowled an excellent second over keeping Shekhar quiet for the first four balls. Shekhar tried to hit Rosie behind square leg by walking outside off stump. To his surprise the ball kept relatively low and Shekhar managed to hit the ball onto the stump. Naman was uneasy against the bowling of Mudit and fell once again to a full ball that was hitting the stumps.
Parag and Srikanth saw the Eagles to the break with the score reading 47/4. Eagles lost the plot at the top of the order and scored just 27 runs in the first 6 overs. The weak looking bowling of Ajay proved more than a handful for the top order of the Eagles.
Amit conceeded 13 runs in the 11th over with Parag hitting a couple of good cover drives and Srikanth hitting one for three towards point. Rosie was introduced into the attack in the 15th over and picked up two wickets in the first three balls. Parag moved outside off and hit one high towards mid-wicket. Aravind ran few yards and held the catch over his right shoulder to bring joy to the Panthers. Satheesh lofted one straight to mid-on that he felt would sail for a six. On this day though the steady wind held the ball back and Suresh made no mistake. Panthers were delighted and seemed to be making up for the four catches that were dropped early on.
The 16th over bowled by Vijay S yielded 10 runs with Sriknath hitting a full toss in the gap between deep square leg and mid-wicket. Vijay S however picked up Srikanth to a low catch behind the stumps. Sriknath played a good looking knock of 23 (26b, 1*4) proving his utility value as an ever-reliable batsman with his positive but unconventioanl approach to batting. Sam hit a good looking boundary to mid-wicket in the 20th over but lost his stumps within the next few balls to give Vijay S a second wicket in as many overs. Vijay V and Sam ran their singles well and converted a few singles to a two.
In the end the Eagles reached a score of 106/8 in 20 overs proving their strength at batting on each ocassion they chose to bat.
The question, though was whether they had the balance in their bowling to defend the score on the easy batting wicket. The wind had died down and the Eagles were playing with just five bowlers of any mettle.
Nitin B and Suresh walked in with the intent of making full use of the 6 over restrictions. The third ball from Rupesh had width and lacked enough pace. Nitin launched one over cover for an easy boundary. Sam kept the batsmen relatively at bay in the second over but the Panthers were placed at 13/0 in 2 overs. A few loose balls in the third over by Rupesh took the Panthers to 22/0 in 3 overs. Satheesh bowled a loose 6th over conceeding a boundary but came back to pick up Suresh at extra cover. Panthers were well placed at 43/1 in 6 overs, a good 16 runs ahead of where the Eagles were at the same time. A couple of catches were not picked up behind the stumps. A ball flew past Parag, another one fell short of Shekhar, another one brushed Shekhar's hands but was too high for him to hold. Eagles were frustrated and the Panthers, particularly Nitin thanked lady luck.
Panthers moved steadily to 65/2 in 10 overs. Eagles bowled their main bowlers out in the quest of elusive wickets. Samir edged one to the keeper. Gopal had edged one to slip (prior to the break) where Shekhar held a low catch with ease. These were to be the only occassions of joy for a hapless bowling attack. The fielding was much to blame for dropped catches but a few just did not carry to the fielders. Aravind and Nitin B continued to launch the weak Eagles bowling to open gaps in the field on either side of the wicket and romped to victory with about 19 balls to spare.
Nitin B, easily hit a loose ball from Vijay V behind the stumps on the leg side to bring up his maiden 50. Nitin scored 50 in 51 balls, studded with 4 hard hits to the fence and remained unbeaten.
After a win in the first game where their bowling had sting, the fielding and bowling of the Eagles just fizzled out. The 5th and 6th bowlers lacked substance and the frontline bowlers did not have enough potency to cover up for the weaker bowlers. Captain Sam and deputy Rupesh, tried their best to inspire and inspire the limited bowling talent but could not get the results no matter what strategy they tried to follow.
Panthers saw themselves as the weaker team on paper, were shaken in the first game but then utilized their ample resources well, to a reach a 3-1 unassailable lead. It just goes on to show, you never know your strength unless you put it to test. Eagles were let down by a lack of quality and variety of bowling. Eagles will have to bowl and field twice as well to snatch a consolation win in the final game.
Rosie was the pick of the bowlers for the Panthers with figures of 3-1-9-3. Amit did not have the wickets to show but deceived batsmen on most of the balls he bowled. Srinivas put aside his recent lack of form with the ball to conceed just 12 runs in 3 overs. Saran on the Eagles side was the pick of the bowlers and Sam bowled well as usual.
Nitin B, for once proved his ability with the bat. It was a fifty he will remember for long. More so, it was one that sealed a series win for the Panthers. He can now use this blog to gain permission at home for regular cricket games.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rrHrXe5GQct-LWNsTdDqe5w&hl=en
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