The much awaited final of the Winter tournament organized by RBCC was played in the morning at Cypress Canyon Ground (Big) on 28th March 2009.
Blasters won the toss and promptly elected to bowl with the intention of utilizing the early morning conditions.
Panthers chose to open with Santosh and Suresh as the opening pair. The first few overs by Ibrar and Vikram were pretty tight with very few runs being conceeded. Suresh was needlessly run-out early on as he did not wait for the ball to cross the fielder at short cover. Ashish stopped the ball moving to his side and flung the ball to the keeper with accuracy. Shekhar provided the early acceleration with a boundary on the leg side. Santosh returned hurt to the pavilion and Vijay S joined Shekhar. Together they picked up runs at a steady pace to bring some respectability to the score and stability of batting. Shekhar (18 in 27b, 2*4) was bowled by Shailesh but Vijay S continued to bat with confiddence. Santosh resumed his inning but hit one gently and uppishly to point. Samir was brilliantly caught by Rajesh down on the leg side on the first ball he faced to add pressure to the batting.
Hari struck a boundary and also hit one high over point but was bowled by Nitin just when he seemed to get into groove. Ramesh B replaced Hari and along with Vijay tried to increase the momentum of the inning. Vijay S played a steady, face saving knock of 37 valuable runs (37b, 2*4) but was caught in the quest of quick runs towards the end. Ramesh, Rupesh and Yogesh lost their wickets in the search of quick runs. Rosie struck an accurate Vikram for two boundaries towards square leg to take the Panthers to a score of 106/10 in 19.5 overs.
Previous experience had indicated that this would be a score that was very much achievable in the less than the alloted quota of overs for the side batting second. Panthers did not plan on scoring run a ball, giving importance to saving wickets at the top, which did not materialize in runs thereby added pressure on the batsmen and relieved any anxiety for the fielding side.
Ibrar launched an assault in the second over after a relatively quiet first over bowled by Vijay S. Harish was dismissed but the replacement Rajesh struck two hige sixes towards long-on to surprise the Panthers opening pair of Vijay S and Ramesh B. Short balls were dispatched in the vacant field behind square on the leg side and anything pitched up was hit straight in the V behind the bowler. Rajesh survived a confident appeal for run-out, courtesy of a dismal call made by Nirav P. 42 runs were scored in 4 overs thereby leaving the Blasters with an easy task of scoring 65 runs in 16 overs.
Captain Rupesh then enforced a couple of bowling changes to pick up the wickets of Ibrar (27, 20b, 6*4) and Rajesh (24, 12b, 1*4, 2*6) but the brisk start at the top had left the dressing room at ease about the chase. Shailesh walked in and continued the aggressive approach hitting Samir for a boundary. Ishwak continued in the same vein, lofting one over cover and mid-wicket for a boundary. Ishwak (19, 3b, 2*4) and Shailesh (17, 14b, 2*4) fell when just a few runs were required for victory.
Blasters, literally blasted their way to victory in a meagre 14 overs making it a one sided game in the second half. Ibrar with 2 wickets with the ball and a trend setting 27 runs with the bat was declared Man of the Finals. Shailesh remained a puzzle throughout the series with figures of 4-0-12-3 in the final. Blasters did very well to win this extended tournament that spanned almost three months with eight teams participating.
The much fancied Panthers could not keep the same momentum as in the early part of the tournament to bring disappointment to many a player of this side.
PS:- A few have asked for the blog and I had to finally give in to keep the posts complete. Details might be a bit hazy as more than a month has gone by.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rhkOSA1zP4g28bA3WpSJSOw&hl=en
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Eagles v/s Panthers 5 Match Series Game 4 05032009
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
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
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Eagles v/s Panthers Game 4 of 5 on 04242009
Game 4 of the series had to be abandoned after about 16 overs had been bowled by the Panthers. It was one of those ocassions where we were kicked out of the Cypress Canyon Ground half way in the inning but this time no further play was possible.
The day belonged to Satheesh T who has been the find of the new year. Coming in to bat at the fall of the wicket of Parag in the second over Satheesh T started cautiously to steady the inning with Srikanth. After about a dozen odd balls of defense Satheesh began scoring runs at will. The highlight of the inning was the 14th over he faced against Mudit. The second ball was hit for a boundary. The 5th ball was a good length ball that was dispatched on the rise over long on for a huge six. The 5th ball of the 16th over bowled by Amit was hit straight over the bowlers head for another huge six. It is a pity that the match was abandoned when Satheesh was stranded at a score of 48 (37b, 1*4, 2*6, 3*3, 7*2). The Panthers for a change were looking shocked and Eagles had scored 101 in 15.5 overs. The Eagles might very well have been robbed of a series levelling win. No wonder, hardly any of the Panthers was enthusiastic of the chase at a modified venue ......
I have always enjoyed watching sixes (not just hitting them) at our level of the game (except the ones hit when bowling myself) but these were as confident hits as any others I have witnessed recently. The recent effort of Siva and Rajesh were equally good.
Anyway, join me in applauding Satheesh for a fantastic knock. Too bad the effort did not register a win for the Eagles. Until next time adios ..
The day belonged to Satheesh T who has been the find of the new year. Coming in to bat at the fall of the wicket of Parag in the second over Satheesh T started cautiously to steady the inning with Srikanth. After about a dozen odd balls of defense Satheesh began scoring runs at will. The highlight of the inning was the 14th over he faced against Mudit. The second ball was hit for a boundary. The 5th ball was a good length ball that was dispatched on the rise over long on for a huge six. The 5th ball of the 16th over bowled by Amit was hit straight over the bowlers head for another huge six. It is a pity that the match was abandoned when Satheesh was stranded at a score of 48 (37b, 1*4, 2*6, 3*3, 7*2). The Panthers for a change were looking shocked and Eagles had scored 101 in 15.5 overs. The Eagles might very well have been robbed of a series levelling win. No wonder, hardly any of the Panthers was enthusiastic of the chase at a modified venue ......
I have always enjoyed watching sixes (not just hitting them) at our level of the game (except the ones hit when bowling myself) but these were as confident hits as any others I have witnessed recently. The recent effort of Siva and Rajesh were equally good.
Anyway, join me in applauding Satheesh for a fantastic knock. Too bad the effort did not register a win for the Eagles. Until next time adios ..
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Eagles v/s Panthers Game 3 of 5 04182009
Game 3 of the series was played at Cypress Canyon Ground (Big) on a day that was to be one with rising temperatures.
Sam won the toss for the third time in a row and elected to bat first. Parag and Hari opened the batting for the Eagles.
Inning One Highlights :-
Eagles 111/9 in 20 overs
Parag 41(37b, 1*6 and 4*4)
Rupesh 16 (10b, 1*6)
Rosie : 3-0-14-4
Vijay S : 3-1-10-1
Parag scored 14 runs in the 10th over bowled by Srinivas with a mighty six and a four due to a mis-field. Eagles were 62/2 in 10 overs but could not accelerate at the same pace in the second half of their inning with the bat. Vijay S bowled a maiden in the 11th over. Rosie then picked up the wicket of Parag in the 12th over with Mudit holding on to a catch at deep fine leg. Earlier Hari and Satheesh were snapped behind the wicket to give Amit C and Vijay S a wicket each. Shekhar lobbed a simple catch to short extra cover. Rosie continued to pick up wickets in the next two overs to return with a 4 wicket haul. Rupesh hit a six towards mid-wicket in the 18th over being bowled by Samir that yielded 13 runs.
Inning Two Highlights :-
Panthers 114/6 in 18.4 overs
Mudit 28 (316, 4*4)
Samir 18* (14b, 2*4)
Sam : 3-0-15-2
Suresh and Amit opened the inning and both of them were run-out. Amit went for a tight third run and had to return back to the pavilion with a direct hit from behind the stumps. Suresh and Nitin have a history of getting one or the other run-out when batting together. Suresh did not call well and was run -out with Nitin B being stuck to the crease. Mudit walked into the crease with Amit C bowling. Loose balls at the start resulted in Mudit scoring 11 runs in an over increasing his ease at batting. Mudit went on to hit Sam behind the wicket for a boundary towards a wide third man. Mudit scored 28 (4*4) and was bowled to give Shekhar a much desired first wicket of the series.
Panthers had gone into the break with 54/3 and did not seem too worried about the chase. Runs continued to flow at a steady pace for the Panthers. Vijay S and Samir collected singles and twos at will towards the end. The wickets of Vijay S and Srinivas did not deter the chase. Samir hit two boundaries in the 19th over being bowled by Rupesh with the field being brought up with only 6 runs to defend. Panthers went to win the third game by 4 wickets with 8 balls to spare.
Panthers seem to be not making too many mistakes and might very well finish the series without any further defeats. Eagles would need to improve in their wicket taking ability as well as the ability to restrict the scoring of the opposition. On the batting front Eagles need to maintain the scoring rate without losing wickets in a heap.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpp46gJYMQdIaw&hl=en
Sam won the toss for the third time in a row and elected to bat first. Parag and Hari opened the batting for the Eagles.
Inning One Highlights :-
Eagles 111/9 in 20 overs
Parag 41(37b, 1*6 and 4*4)
Rupesh 16 (10b, 1*6)
Rosie : 3-0-14-4
Vijay S : 3-1-10-1
Parag scored 14 runs in the 10th over bowled by Srinivas with a mighty six and a four due to a mis-field. Eagles were 62/2 in 10 overs but could not accelerate at the same pace in the second half of their inning with the bat. Vijay S bowled a maiden in the 11th over. Rosie then picked up the wicket of Parag in the 12th over with Mudit holding on to a catch at deep fine leg. Earlier Hari and Satheesh were snapped behind the wicket to give Amit C and Vijay S a wicket each. Shekhar lobbed a simple catch to short extra cover. Rosie continued to pick up wickets in the next two overs to return with a 4 wicket haul. Rupesh hit a six towards mid-wicket in the 18th over being bowled by Samir that yielded 13 runs.
Inning Two Highlights :-
Panthers 114/6 in 18.4 overs
Mudit 28 (316, 4*4)
Samir 18* (14b, 2*4)
Sam : 3-0-15-2
Suresh and Amit opened the inning and both of them were run-out. Amit went for a tight third run and had to return back to the pavilion with a direct hit from behind the stumps. Suresh and Nitin have a history of getting one or the other run-out when batting together. Suresh did not call well and was run -out with Nitin B being stuck to the crease. Mudit walked into the crease with Amit C bowling. Loose balls at the start resulted in Mudit scoring 11 runs in an over increasing his ease at batting. Mudit went on to hit Sam behind the wicket for a boundary towards a wide third man. Mudit scored 28 (4*4) and was bowled to give Shekhar a much desired first wicket of the series.
Panthers had gone into the break with 54/3 and did not seem too worried about the chase. Runs continued to flow at a steady pace for the Panthers. Vijay S and Samir collected singles and twos at will towards the end. The wickets of Vijay S and Srinivas did not deter the chase. Samir hit two boundaries in the 19th over being bowled by Rupesh with the field being brought up with only 6 runs to defend. Panthers went to win the third game by 4 wickets with 8 balls to spare.
Panthers seem to be not making too many mistakes and might very well finish the series without any further defeats. Eagles would need to improve in their wicket taking ability as well as the ability to restrict the scoring of the opposition. On the batting front Eagles need to maintain the scoring rate without losing wickets in a heap.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpp46gJYMQdIaw&hl=en
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Eagles v/s Panthers Game 2 of 5 on 04122009
Sam won the toss and elected to bat on a windy day with overcast skies. It was an afternoon game at Spring Canyon Ground (Big).
Rupesh and Naman opened for the Eagles and Rosie and Mudit shared the new ball. The first couple of overs were relatively quiet. Rupesh launched one to square leg where the fielder Venkat let one go off his hands for a boundary. Rupesh launched two boundaries on the last two balls of Mudit's next over. The first was a hit straight over the bowlers's head and the next one was hit towards square leg region. The first 6 overs produced 28 runs for no wickets.
Samir and Ajay kept the two batsmen relatively quiet. By then the Panthers had let down about 4 catches in the outfield with the beneficiary being Rupesh on all ocassions. In the 8th over Rupesh edged down the leg side to give Ajay his first wicket. To his credit, Rupesh walked back by himself having scored 23 (33b, 4*4). Naman had been picking singles all along with straight drives on both sides of the wicket coupled with drives square of the wicket on the off side and hits square of the wicket on the leg side. Hari and Naman took the Eagles to the break with 49 on board and no further loss of wickets.
Aravind picked up the wickets of Hari and Naman in the 12th over. Hari was brilliantly caught at short mid-wicket (straightish one) by Samir stretching his left hand out and latching on to the ball. Naman lofted one towards leg and was held by Mudit above his chest. Naman played a solid inning of 30 (36b, 1*4) and definitely made an impression.
Satheesh and Parag scored a few runs until the 16 th over taking the score to 86/4. Yogesh picked up Parag on the 5th ball of his first over. Rosie held Parag on the long off fence just a few yards within the boundary. Panthers had dropped a couple of hard chances after the first four drops but thereafter held the catches that came their way.
Satheesh was run out in a mix up with Sam. Ajay picked up three wickets in the final over as batsmen lofted him in the outfield where fielders made no mistake. Eagles reached a healthy score of 118/8 in 20 overs.
Samir and Rosie were the most economical bowlers for the Panthers and Ajay came up with a four wicket haul.
Panthers began the chase with Santosh and Yogesh opening the batting. Satheesh bowled an erratic first over conceeding 11 runs with the ball landing short and posing no problems for both the openers. Hari bowling the second over was smashed for a boundary by Santosh. Karthik was hit towards square leg for a boundary by Santosh. Karthik however came back to knock the stumps of Santosh as he tried to play across to a fullish ball. Samir replaced Yogesh and there began a phase where both batsmen placed the ball well and ran quick singles at times even when the ball was headed towards the fielder. Loose balls were placed for a two or three with an ocassional boundary also coming along. Panthers had 39 on board in 6 overs with the loss of just one wicket. Sam, Rupesh and Shekhar then bowled three quiet overs yielding just 11 runs with Rupesh bowling a maiden in the 9th over. Panthers went in to the break with a score of 50/1 with Samir and Yogesh well set.
Yogesh was stumped by Rahul on a wide down leg side to give Parag a surprise wicket in the 15th over. Panthers were well in control of the chase by then with Eagles having used up most of their bowling options. The 17th over from Parag yielded 11 runs and Panthers seemed to be cruising towards victory. Satheesh bowled Mudit on the last ball of the 18th over but by then just 4 runs were required for victory. Shekhar did well to conceede just 3 runs in the 19th over to take the game to the 20th over. A wide from Giri brought a 7 wicket victory for the Panthers with an over to spare. Samir played a fantastic knock of 44 * (50b, 4*4). Yogesh played an equally stabilising role to come up with a score of 32 (44b). The patnership between Yogesh and Samir placed the Panthers on the path to victory and also forced the Eagles to utilise all their main bowlers in the search of wickets and hope of restricting the scoring. Sam, Rupesh and Shekar conceeded just 33 runs between them in the 8 overs they bowled.
The 5 match series is balanced at 1-1 with the next two games being extremely critical. Both sides seem to be equal in strength based on performances so far. The side that wins the next one might very well go on to win the series. Eagles went into the game without the essential seven bowlers and paid for it with a few regular bowlers not being up to the mark and part timers not being able to restrict the scoring.
It was an overall a good show on all fronts { cricketing and otherwise :-) } by both sides !
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcppl4hU7xUC3Nw&hl=en
Rupesh and Naman opened for the Eagles and Rosie and Mudit shared the new ball. The first couple of overs were relatively quiet. Rupesh launched one to square leg where the fielder Venkat let one go off his hands for a boundary. Rupesh launched two boundaries on the last two balls of Mudit's next over. The first was a hit straight over the bowlers's head and the next one was hit towards square leg region. The first 6 overs produced 28 runs for no wickets.
Samir and Ajay kept the two batsmen relatively quiet. By then the Panthers had let down about 4 catches in the outfield with the beneficiary being Rupesh on all ocassions. In the 8th over Rupesh edged down the leg side to give Ajay his first wicket. To his credit, Rupesh walked back by himself having scored 23 (33b, 4*4). Naman had been picking singles all along with straight drives on both sides of the wicket coupled with drives square of the wicket on the off side and hits square of the wicket on the leg side. Hari and Naman took the Eagles to the break with 49 on board and no further loss of wickets.
Aravind picked up the wickets of Hari and Naman in the 12th over. Hari was brilliantly caught at short mid-wicket (straightish one) by Samir stretching his left hand out and latching on to the ball. Naman lofted one towards leg and was held by Mudit above his chest. Naman played a solid inning of 30 (36b, 1*4) and definitely made an impression.
Satheesh and Parag scored a few runs until the 16 th over taking the score to 86/4. Yogesh picked up Parag on the 5th ball of his first over. Rosie held Parag on the long off fence just a few yards within the boundary. Panthers had dropped a couple of hard chances after the first four drops but thereafter held the catches that came their way.
Satheesh was run out in a mix up with Sam. Ajay picked up three wickets in the final over as batsmen lofted him in the outfield where fielders made no mistake. Eagles reached a healthy score of 118/8 in 20 overs.
Samir and Rosie were the most economical bowlers for the Panthers and Ajay came up with a four wicket haul.
Panthers began the chase with Santosh and Yogesh opening the batting. Satheesh bowled an erratic first over conceeding 11 runs with the ball landing short and posing no problems for both the openers. Hari bowling the second over was smashed for a boundary by Santosh. Karthik was hit towards square leg for a boundary by Santosh. Karthik however came back to knock the stumps of Santosh as he tried to play across to a fullish ball. Samir replaced Yogesh and there began a phase where both batsmen placed the ball well and ran quick singles at times even when the ball was headed towards the fielder. Loose balls were placed for a two or three with an ocassional boundary also coming along. Panthers had 39 on board in 6 overs with the loss of just one wicket. Sam, Rupesh and Shekhar then bowled three quiet overs yielding just 11 runs with Rupesh bowling a maiden in the 9th over. Panthers went in to the break with a score of 50/1 with Samir and Yogesh well set.
Yogesh was stumped by Rahul on a wide down leg side to give Parag a surprise wicket in the 15th over. Panthers were well in control of the chase by then with Eagles having used up most of their bowling options. The 17th over from Parag yielded 11 runs and Panthers seemed to be cruising towards victory. Satheesh bowled Mudit on the last ball of the 18th over but by then just 4 runs were required for victory. Shekhar did well to conceede just 3 runs in the 19th over to take the game to the 20th over. A wide from Giri brought a 7 wicket victory for the Panthers with an over to spare. Samir played a fantastic knock of 44 * (50b, 4*4). Yogesh played an equally stabilising role to come up with a score of 32 (44b). The patnership between Yogesh and Samir placed the Panthers on the path to victory and also forced the Eagles to utilise all their main bowlers in the search of wickets and hope of restricting the scoring. Sam, Rupesh and Shekar conceeded just 33 runs between them in the 8 overs they bowled.
The 5 match series is balanced at 1-1 with the next two games being extremely critical. Both sides seem to be equal in strength based on performances so far. The side that wins the next one might very well go on to win the series. Eagles went into the game without the essential seven bowlers and paid for it with a few regular bowlers not being up to the mark and part timers not being able to restrict the scoring.
It was an overall a good show on all fronts { cricketing and otherwise :-) } by both sides !
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcppl4hU7xUC3Nw&hl=en
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Eagles v/s Panthers Game 1 of 5 on 04052009
Game 1 of the 5 match series between Eagles and Panthers, began at a vacant Spring Canyon ground with Sam winning the toss for the Eagles. This being an afternoon game Sam had no hesitation in opting to bat first.
Naman and Rupesh opened the proceedings with the bat for the Eagles. Srinivas and Vijay S opening the bowling for the Panthers. Rupesh was held at a deepish square leg when he went for his regular "zhaadu" shot on the last ball of the second over bowled by Vijay S. Satheesh started with aggression lofting Srinivas for a straight six over the bowler's head. Naman opened up in the next over bowled by Vijay S to hit a boundary to a vacant mid-wicket. Eagles were 31/1 in 4 overs and it was just the start they had looked forward to.
Samir was the first replacement with the ball and picked up the wickets of Naman (15, 16b, 1*4) , Satheesh (10, 12b, 1*6) and Hari in overs 5, 7 and 9 going for just 8 runs in his spell. Mudit bowling at the other end troubled batsmen Srikanth and Hari to bring down the scoring rate of the Eagles. Vijay S bowled the 10th over of the inning and Eagles went into the break with the scoreboard reading 56/4 and Parag and Srikanth at the crease.
Parag (12, 13b, 1*4) went for the third run on a mis-field but was beaten by Samir and Vijay S combining to get a run-out. Shekhar replaced Parag to join Srikanth who was batting steadily. Shekhar hit one exquisite boundary towards deep point and gave good company to Srikanth. Srikanth played his usual strokes towards fine leg, mid-wicket and square of the wicket on the off side. He had begun cautiously but towards the end of the inning he managed to pierce the field with free will. Shekhar was dismised for 14 (14b, 1*4). Srikanth returned with an unbeaten knock of 30 (47b).
Eagles put on a healthy score of 120/7 in 20 overs. Vijay S provided an opportunity to as many as 8 bowlers thereby fulfilling one of the objectives of this tournament.
The new ball pair of Satheesh and Karthik opened the attack for the Eagles. Nitin B and Suresh opened the batting for the Panthers. Satheesh struck with just the 3rd ball when Nitin B edged one into the safe hands of Shekhar at first slip. Gopal and Suresh hung around for two overs but Karthik snapped Suresh in the 4th over as he tried to hit one with the bat turning in his hands. Shekhar pocketed the second catch. Samir then edged one very very low to first slip. Shekhar was buoyed by two catches already and picked up this difficult one with relative ease to give Karthik his second wicket in the over. Parag held Gopal behind the wickets to give Hari a much desired wicket.
Yogesh and Vijay S then played sensibly and prevented any further wickets. Panthers took a break at 10 overs with the score reading 52/4. Vijay S benefited from a dropped catch but otherwise played well despite the precarious situation and the weight of captaincy.
Satheesh bowling the first over after the break snapped Yogesh and Mudit with two short balls. Yogesh (18, 22b, 1*4) gave Satheesh the charge and lobbed one to point where Naman held a good catch. Mudit's dismissal reminded one of Sehwag's recent dismissal in the 3rd test against NZ. The bouncing ball hit the glove region and went to Parag, the keeper. Venkat and Vijay S did not call well resulting in the dismissal of Venkat. Sam and Rupesh had'nt bowled a ball and Panthers seemed to be down and out.
Rosie was bowled and Aravind edged Rupesh to the keeper. Vijay S tried to launch a few strokes after the 15th over. Karthik running from long-off held a superb catch to dismiss Vijay S in the 17th over. Vijay S (28, 32b, 1*4) top scored for the Panthers but did not have much support apart from Yogesh.
Panthers were bundled for 88 runs giving the Eagles an easy 32 run win and a 1-0 lead.
It was great to see complete squads for both Eagles and Panthers. Plenty of players on either side were provided an opportunity to bowl and bat by the respective captains. Well done all, let's make the remainder of the games a similar success.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcppOWc2n_9nXSA&hl=en
Naman and Rupesh opened the proceedings with the bat for the Eagles. Srinivas and Vijay S opening the bowling for the Panthers. Rupesh was held at a deepish square leg when he went for his regular "zhaadu" shot on the last ball of the second over bowled by Vijay S. Satheesh started with aggression lofting Srinivas for a straight six over the bowler's head. Naman opened up in the next over bowled by Vijay S to hit a boundary to a vacant mid-wicket. Eagles were 31/1 in 4 overs and it was just the start they had looked forward to.
Samir was the first replacement with the ball and picked up the wickets of Naman (15, 16b, 1*4) , Satheesh (10, 12b, 1*6) and Hari in overs 5, 7 and 9 going for just 8 runs in his spell. Mudit bowling at the other end troubled batsmen Srikanth and Hari to bring down the scoring rate of the Eagles. Vijay S bowled the 10th over of the inning and Eagles went into the break with the scoreboard reading 56/4 and Parag and Srikanth at the crease.
Parag (12, 13b, 1*4) went for the third run on a mis-field but was beaten by Samir and Vijay S combining to get a run-out. Shekhar replaced Parag to join Srikanth who was batting steadily. Shekhar hit one exquisite boundary towards deep point and gave good company to Srikanth. Srikanth played his usual strokes towards fine leg, mid-wicket and square of the wicket on the off side. He had begun cautiously but towards the end of the inning he managed to pierce the field with free will. Shekhar was dismised for 14 (14b, 1*4). Srikanth returned with an unbeaten knock of 30 (47b).
Eagles put on a healthy score of 120/7 in 20 overs. Vijay S provided an opportunity to as many as 8 bowlers thereby fulfilling one of the objectives of this tournament.
The new ball pair of Satheesh and Karthik opened the attack for the Eagles. Nitin B and Suresh opened the batting for the Panthers. Satheesh struck with just the 3rd ball when Nitin B edged one into the safe hands of Shekhar at first slip. Gopal and Suresh hung around for two overs but Karthik snapped Suresh in the 4th over as he tried to hit one with the bat turning in his hands. Shekhar pocketed the second catch. Samir then edged one very very low to first slip. Shekhar was buoyed by two catches already and picked up this difficult one with relative ease to give Karthik his second wicket in the over. Parag held Gopal behind the wickets to give Hari a much desired wicket.
Yogesh and Vijay S then played sensibly and prevented any further wickets. Panthers took a break at 10 overs with the score reading 52/4. Vijay S benefited from a dropped catch but otherwise played well despite the precarious situation and the weight of captaincy.
Satheesh bowling the first over after the break snapped Yogesh and Mudit with two short balls. Yogesh (18, 22b, 1*4) gave Satheesh the charge and lobbed one to point where Naman held a good catch. Mudit's dismissal reminded one of Sehwag's recent dismissal in the 3rd test against NZ. The bouncing ball hit the glove region and went to Parag, the keeper. Venkat and Vijay S did not call well resulting in the dismissal of Venkat. Sam and Rupesh had'nt bowled a ball and Panthers seemed to be down and out.
Rosie was bowled and Aravind edged Rupesh to the keeper. Vijay S tried to launch a few strokes after the 15th over. Karthik running from long-off held a superb catch to dismiss Vijay S in the 17th over. Vijay S (28, 32b, 1*4) top scored for the Panthers but did not have much support apart from Yogesh.
Panthers were bundled for 88 runs giving the Eagles an easy 32 run win and a 1-0 lead.
It was great to see complete squads for both Eagles and Panthers. Plenty of players on either side were provided an opportunity to bowl and bat by the respective captains. Well done all, let's make the remainder of the games a similar success.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcppOWc2n_9nXSA&hl=en
Monday, April 6, 2009
Match 18 against RBCC on 04042009
We were asked to bat first in the 20 over game played at Cypress Canyon Ground against RBCC. Satheesh thumped two boundaries in the very first over bowled by Nikhil to provide a good start. Srinivas was needlessly run-out in the same over. Satheesh followed immediately in the second over when an inside edge went on to hit the stumps to give Ram his first wicket on the day. Nikhil bowled Naman in the third over and Rahul B edged one to the keper in the sixth with just 25 on board.
Samir and Vijay S then stitched a partnership by initially fosussing on singles and twos. In the 9th over bowled by Hari, Samir hit one mighty hit to square leg for a six. The 10th over from Srinivas was rather erratic with a flurry of wides and a no-ball taking the score to a healthy 57/4 in 10 overs. Vijay S hit a well timed, good looking boundary to cover/mid-off region in the 11th over being bowled by Amit. A lack of an early call resulted in Vijay S being run-out when he was sent back by Samir, standing at the non-striker's end. Vijay S, played a patient and steady knock of 21 (24b, 1*4).
Parag joined Samir with about 7 overs to go. Samir hit a boundary on the 5th ball of the 14th over bowled by Ram but was bowled the very next ball. Samir (28, 35b, 1*4, 1*6) was lucky to be dropped three times but nevertheless laid the foundation for a good score and put on more than a useful 48 run partnership with Vijay S.
Mudit and Suresh did not last long when the need was to accelerate without losing further wickets. The 17th over thus resulted in a maiden with Ram dismissing both Mudit and Suresh in a space of 5 balls. Parag (22*, 20b, 3*4) was joined by Narasaiah (10*, 12b) and together they put on some useful runs in the final 4 overs. We finished with 117/8 in 20 overs.
Ram finished with splendid figures of 4-1-11-4 but RBCC were guilty of dropping quite a few catches. Samir got back into form and Vijay S and Parag continued their good run with the bat. Narasaiah proved his worth with the bat too.
RBCC began the chase with Hari and Nikhil being kept relatively quiet by Vijay S and Satheesh. The 6th and 7th overs bowled by Satheesh and Srinivas were a bit expensive and RBCC reached 34/1 in 7 overs. The next three overs went at around the same RPO of 5 an over. RBCC were placed at 51/2 and had a chance to chase down the score with wickets in hand. Amit and Nagendra were at the crease. Satheesh and Mudit had picked up a wicket each.
The next three overs produced 19 runs with Amit going on the offensive. 48 in 7 overs seemed a certain possibility and restricting the opposition was the need of the hour. Samir bowling the 16th over gave away just two runs and Srinivas bowling the 17th restricted the scoring to just three runs to make defending the score a distinct possibility. Vijay S and Srinivas then conceeded just 7 and 5 runs respectively in the 18th and 19th over respectively. Satheesh bowling the 20th over then had a cushion of 16 runs to defend for a win. By then Amit and Nagendra had been dismissed. Anuj and Gavaskar did some brisk scoring but in the end it was not good enough. The field was spread-out with fielders defending the boundary and just 10 runs were conceeded in the final over to give us a narrow 6 run victory.
Srinivas with figures of 4-0-17-1 did well in his final two overs at a crucial time towards the death. Rahul B did a splendid job behind the stumps, latching on to three catches, two of which were very sharp ones.
We managed to score at almost a run a ball after losing 4 wickets at the top of the order. Although, a few catches were dropped in the outfield, we also managed to pull it back after 13 overs had yielded 70 runs.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpqh7IjCLIb0ag&hl=en
Samir and Vijay S then stitched a partnership by initially fosussing on singles and twos. In the 9th over bowled by Hari, Samir hit one mighty hit to square leg for a six. The 10th over from Srinivas was rather erratic with a flurry of wides and a no-ball taking the score to a healthy 57/4 in 10 overs. Vijay S hit a well timed, good looking boundary to cover/mid-off region in the 11th over being bowled by Amit. A lack of an early call resulted in Vijay S being run-out when he was sent back by Samir, standing at the non-striker's end. Vijay S, played a patient and steady knock of 21 (24b, 1*4).
Parag joined Samir with about 7 overs to go. Samir hit a boundary on the 5th ball of the 14th over bowled by Ram but was bowled the very next ball. Samir (28, 35b, 1*4, 1*6) was lucky to be dropped three times but nevertheless laid the foundation for a good score and put on more than a useful 48 run partnership with Vijay S.
Mudit and Suresh did not last long when the need was to accelerate without losing further wickets. The 17th over thus resulted in a maiden with Ram dismissing both Mudit and Suresh in a space of 5 balls. Parag (22*, 20b, 3*4) was joined by Narasaiah (10*, 12b) and together they put on some useful runs in the final 4 overs. We finished with 117/8 in 20 overs.
Ram finished with splendid figures of 4-1-11-4 but RBCC were guilty of dropping quite a few catches. Samir got back into form and Vijay S and Parag continued their good run with the bat. Narasaiah proved his worth with the bat too.
RBCC began the chase with Hari and Nikhil being kept relatively quiet by Vijay S and Satheesh. The 6th and 7th overs bowled by Satheesh and Srinivas were a bit expensive and RBCC reached 34/1 in 7 overs. The next three overs went at around the same RPO of 5 an over. RBCC were placed at 51/2 and had a chance to chase down the score with wickets in hand. Amit and Nagendra were at the crease. Satheesh and Mudit had picked up a wicket each.
The next three overs produced 19 runs with Amit going on the offensive. 48 in 7 overs seemed a certain possibility and restricting the opposition was the need of the hour. Samir bowling the 16th over gave away just two runs and Srinivas bowling the 17th restricted the scoring to just three runs to make defending the score a distinct possibility. Vijay S and Srinivas then conceeded just 7 and 5 runs respectively in the 18th and 19th over respectively. Satheesh bowling the 20th over then had a cushion of 16 runs to defend for a win. By then Amit and Nagendra had been dismissed. Anuj and Gavaskar did some brisk scoring but in the end it was not good enough. The field was spread-out with fielders defending the boundary and just 10 runs were conceeded in the final over to give us a narrow 6 run victory.
Srinivas with figures of 4-0-17-1 did well in his final two overs at a crucial time towards the death. Rahul B did a splendid job behind the stumps, latching on to three catches, two of which were very sharp ones.
We managed to score at almost a run a ball after losing 4 wickets at the top of the order. Although, a few catches were dropped in the outfield, we also managed to pull it back after 13 overs had yielded 70 runs.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pEn3926bpcpqh7IjCLIb0ag&hl=en
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