Tuesday, 30 September 2014

LiveSport Open T20 Challenge, Matchday 4: 28th September 2014

Matchday 4 brought us a crisp and bright Sunday morning, and a  hard and true batting wicket. When Delhi Donuts and Shekh Sarai XI arrived for their opening match of the tournament, their excitement was obvious. Delhi Donuts won the toss and opted to bat.

Match 8: Delhi Donuts vs Shekh Sarai XI


A rocky start to the innings seems to have become a pattern at our tournament, and by the time the 6th over was bowled, Delhi Donuts were floundering at 25/5.
Team Delhi Donuts
 Were we about to have the lowest score of our tournament, or another late order revival, as we have become accustomed to seeing? Sure enough, it was a late order revival. Saurav (42 from 30 balls) and Toshik (22 from 10) gave the innings a middle over boost, and with support from the tail-enders Delhi Donuts managed to reach a semi-respectable 130 from their 20 overs. Gaurav from Shekh Sarai XI was the star destroyer of the innings, finishing with 3/12 from his 4 overs, and a run out.

Low totals are really hard to defend, however, and Shekh Sarai XI never seemed to be in any trouble. Their captain Digvijay, opening the batting, scored a stroke-filled 53 from 37 balls to shut the match out in a mere 15 overs. There was absolutely no doubt here about the Man of Match award. It belonged to Gaurav for his sharp leg spin. 
Gaurav, the Man of Match

Delhi Donuts:                 130 all out in 19.4 overs
                              Saurav 42 (30)
                              Toshik 22 (10)
                        Gaurav 3/12 (4)        

Shekh Sarai XI:               131/3 in 15 overs
                              Digvijay 53 (37)
                              Rohan 2/26 (4)

SPARTAN Man of the Match:     Gaurav


LiveSport Open T20 Challenge, Matchday 3: 27th September 2014

Matchday 3 has been the busiest day of our tournament so far. We had 3 matches, and each of these added a fair dose of thrill and excitement to our tournament. The action began as Globex International and Vedic Naturals, the top 2 teams of Group A, took on each other for top honors in the group. This promised to be an eventful encounter, and it lived up to its billing from the first ball.

Match 5: Globex International vs Vedic Naturals


Globex won the toss and putting Vedic Naturals in to bat on a somewhat damp wicket, they had them tottering at 9 for 5 from 6 overs! Just as it seemed that Team Vedic had no further hope, Gagandeep and Kuldeep turned the match around.
Mudassir, the Man of Match
Scoring 43 (26) and 52 (34) respectively, they powered their team total up to a healthy 156 from 20 overs. However, opener Mudassir from team Globex International stole the thunder with 63 from 48 balls, ensuring that his team chased down the total in 18.1 overs. Fast bowler Kuldeep took 16/3 from his 4 overs, to follow up his half century.

The Man of the Match was a hard pick, but it was Mudassir who took away the prize for his match-winner. Kuldeep, however, remains in contention for the Man of the Series and Best Allrounder awards.

Vedic Naturals:               156/8 in 20 overs
                              Gagandeep 43 (26)
                              Kuldeep 52 (34)
                              Zubair 2/16 (4)
                              Parihar 2/17 (4)
                              Mudassir 1/21 (3)

Globex International:         158/6 in 18.1 overs
                              Mudassir 63 (48)
                              Kuldeep 3/16 (4)
                              Ashwini 1/15 (4)

SPARTAN Man of the Match:     Mudassir

Match 6: DIT vs Foreway


The second match of the day was also a crucial one, and it was played between the remaining two teams from Group A - DIT and Foreway. DIT had lost its first two matches, and Foreway had lost its opening game, so it was a must-win game for both the teams.
Sudhanshu getting his award

DIT won the toss and decided to bat. However, unlike their earlier matches, they failed to impress and got bundled out for 112. DIT, though, did put up a spirited fight with the ball, getting wickets at regular intervals and giving Foreway many nervous moments. Finally, the total just wasn’t enough, and Foreway got home with enough overs to spare. The Man of the Match was Sudhanshu from Team Foreway, for an impressive 8/3 from 3 overs, and a brilliant run out of his own bowling.

DIT:                          112 all out
                              Sudhanshu 3/8 (3)

Foreway:                      116/7
                              Ankit 29 not out
                              Manu 4/33 (4)

SPARTAN Man of the Match:     Sudhanshu

Match 7: Hindustan Tiles vs SRT XI


The final match of the day was the first one from Pool C, between SRT XI and Hindustan Tiles. Hindustan Tiles won the toss here and elected to bat first. At one point they seemed to be in serious trouble, at 67/5. Medium pacer Harshit (23/4 from 4 overs) and off-spinner Rajat (14/2 from 4 overs) bowled with a lot of skill and energy, and it seemed like Hindustan Tiles had no respite. Unfortunately for SRT XI, their other bowlers let them down, and Ajay (45 from 31 balls) and Rahish (44) capitalized on some undisciplined bowling. They finally ended up with an impressive 174/9 from their 20 overs.
Ajay, the Man of Match

SRT XI cracked under pressure sensationally, and scorching opening spells by Sachin (10/3 from 3 overs) and Ajay (18/3 from 4 overs) had them shut out at 36/7. The match may have been lost, but Rajat and Vikas were in no mood for a tame surrender. They launched a record unbeaten 8th wicket partnership of 106 runs to revive the SRT total to a respectable 142/7 from 20 overs. The two standout allround performances came from Rajat (14/2 and 50 not out) and Ajay (45 and 18/3) from SRT XI and Hindustan Tiles respectively. The Man of the match was Ajay for his match-winning contribution.

Hindustan Tiles:              174/9 in 20 overs
Rahish 44
Ajay 45
Harshit 23/4 (4)
                              Rajat 14/2 (4)   

SRT XI:                       142/7 in 20 overs
                              Rajat 50 not out
                              Vikas 40 not out                         
Sachin 3/10 (3)
                              Ajay 3/18 (4)

SPARTAN Man of the match:     Ajay

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

LiveSport Open T20 Challenge, Matchday 2: 20th September 2014

Matchday 2 was once again a Saturday, and we had two matches – West Warriors vs CSCA, and DIT vs Globex International. This time both the games were really close, and once again, they featured a couple of standout performances!

Match 1: West Warriors vs CSCA


CSCA won the toss and elected to bowl first. The grass on the wicket probably explains why teams have so far opted to bowl first.
Ratul, the Man of the Match
However, we maintain that the wicket is a great batting track, and the 348 runs scored in this match established that. The decision backfired for CSCA as they conceded 180 runs and then narrowly lost by a margin of 12.

Ratul Sharma for team West Warriors was the Man of the Match with his match-winning all-round performance. He scored 40 from 30 balls and took 3 for 31 from his four overs. Here is the brief scorecard:

West Warriors:                180 in 20 overs
Ratul 40 (30)
Sunny Singh 44 (26)
                              Ajay 3/21 (4)    

CSCA:                         168/9 in 20 overs
                              Rahul 41(34)
                              Ratul 3/31 (4)
                              Sunny 2/27 (4)

SPARTAN Man of the match:     Ratul Sharma

Match 2: DIT vs Globex International


DIT and Globex faced up for their second match each in this tournament. Having lost their first match, DIT knew that they needed a solid performance against a strong Globex team.
Vinay being awarded
Globex International won the toss and elected to bat, and they posted an imposing 185 runs from their 20 overs. DIT, however, came out strongly, led by a dashing 78 from their opener Vinay. Then with 18 needed from the final over, the first ball was hit for a six! The end was anti-climatic, though, with only 3 runs coming from the last 5 balls. DIT fell agonizingly short by 8 runs.

Vinay, however, walked away with the SPARTAN Man of the Match award for his rapid 78 and a strong 2/25 from 4 overs. Here is the scorecard:

Globex International:         185/8 in 20 overs
                              Faiz 46 (34)
                              Zubair 37 (24)
                              Urfee 3/30 (4)
                              Vinay 2/25 (4)

DIT:                          177/8 in 20 overs
                              Vinay 78 (46)
                              Parihar 2/27 (4)
                              Zubair 1/11 (4)


SPARTAN Man of the Match:     Vinay

Monday, 22 September 2014

LiveSport Open T20 Challenge, Matchday 1: 13th September 2014

Matchday 1 at the 1st Edition of the LiveSport Open T20 Challenge is where our story begins! We launched our brand in a small yet significant way with an inauguration ceremony, and then with the temperature soaring on a hot and humid day, we cut straight to the action.

Match 1: DIT vs Vedic Naturals



T20 cricket is all about big shots and eye-catching excitement, and we expected no less on a lovely batting surface as DIT and Vedic Naturals took the field for the first match. Vedic Naturals won the toss and elected to bowl first, but what happened next stopped us dead in our track and gave us a real scare.
Devraj from Vedic Naturals getting the Man of the Match award
In the very first over of the match, Rahul (batting without a helmet) got hit on his eyebrow by a bouncer! We took him to the hospital, and we are really glad to report that he avoided any major injury. He got a few stitches and a swollen eye, but he came back to the field during the second innings.

DIT put up a brave fight, but ultimately Vedic Naturals won the match comfortably with three overs to spare. Here is the brief scorecard from the match:


DIT:                                         158 in 20 overs
Sabu 22 (19)
           
Vedic Naturals:                      159/2 in 16.2 overs
                                                Devraj 56* (26)
                                                Kohli 45* (37)
                                                Deepak Bist 2/25 (3)

Man of the match:                Devraj

Match 2: Foreway vs Globex International


The second match of the day was between Foreway and Globex International. Globex won the toss and also elected to bowl first. Once again, the decision proved to be an excellent one as they won comfortably with nearly 10 overs to spare. 
Aijaz from Globex International - the Man of the Match

Foreway:                       101/9 in 20 overs
                                       Aijaz 12/4 (4)

Globex International:   104/2 in 10.2 overs
                                        Manish 45* (21)

Man of the Match:        Aijaz