Matchday
5 turned out to be the most thrilling day of our tournament so far. The day
started on a damp note (literally), as the wicket was soft and wet in the
morning. Misjudgment on part of the groundsman and a generous helping of overnight dew were equally to blame. As a
result, we had a delayed start. Thankfully we had two very sporting teams in
West Warriors and Stoners. They waited patiently for the wicket to dry, and
accepted our apologies. After that, it was all excitement!
Match 9: Stoners vs West Warriors
Stoners
won the toss, and as expected, opted to bowl first. As the batsmen took guard
for the first ball, we looked on anxiously. We hoped the wicket would play fair
and true. Actually, it didn’t turn out to be as bad as we feared, and the ball
started coming on to the bat nicely. In fact, the West Warriors batsmen, led by
a fine 32 (27) by opener Ratul, put up a fighting 147/7 from 20 overs.
Siddharth, with his crafty medium pace bowling, topped the bowling charts (18/3
from 3 overs).
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| Rakesh from Team Stoners |
By
the time the Stoners came out to bat, the day was crisp and the wicket was dry.
However, they couldn’t cash in on that advantage, and their innings seemed
shutout at 59/6 in the 10th over. Angad was the chief destroyer with
3/11 from his 3 overs. However, that was where the action began! Powered by a
strong 37 from pace bowler Rakesh, stoners fought back. Some wayward bowling
helped their cause, and the match went down to the last ball. One wicket in
hand, 5 runs to win, and everyone held their breath... Batsman no 11, Hemant
was on strike. He swung hard and missed. Despairingly for the West Warriors,
the keeper failed to collect the ball and it raced away for four byes! We had a
tie – the first of our tournament!
As
per our rules, the tie was to be decided by a bowl-out. Six players from each
team got one ball each to hit a set of stumps. The team with more hits would
win, and that team turned out to be Stoners, winning by a narrow 3-2 margin. It
was a heartbreak moment for the West Warriors, and Team Stoners celebrated as
if they had won the trophy!
Rakesh
from Team Stoners was the Man of the Match, with a fine all-round performance
(2/20 from 4 overs and a match-winning 37). Winning and losing aside, this was
a day none of the 22 players would ever forget!
West Warriors: 7/147 in 20 overs
Ratul 32 (27)
Dhruv 28 (28)
Siddharth 3/18 (3)
Rakesh 2/20 (4)
Stoners: 9/147 in 20 overs
Rakesh 37 (30)
Angad 3/11 (3)
Ratul 2/29 (4)
Akshay 1/22 (3)
SPARTAN Man of the Match: Rakesh
Match 10: Invincible XI vs CSCA
Invincible
XI and CSCA had a tough act to follow as the second match of the day. However,
this one also turned out to be a pulsating thriller. Who could have guessed
that when Invincible XI was bowled out for 98, and in reply, Team CSCA was 33
for no loss in 2 overs. We thought we were all in for an early finish. Devender
(3/9 in 4 overs) and Raman (3/11 in 4 overs) had combined beautifully to
destroy the Invincible XI innings. Invincible XI, however, had other ideas, and
they delivered their opposition and everyone on the ground the hard lesson of
cricket – it’s never over till it’s over.
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| Devender receiving his award |
Ashish
(2/14 from 4 overs) took out the first batsman in the 4th over, and
soon after, Ankit (2/13) and Akshay (3/17) came on to bowl from either end.
They are both clever off-spinners with variations in pace and a teasing length.
Team CSCA took them lightly, and suddenly they lost their way. A procession of
batsmen walked in and out in quick succession, and soon the team was down to 80
for 7. Unfortunately for them, Team Invincible XI dropped a crucial catch in
the very next over, and Team CSCA finally scraped home by three wickets.
Devender
was the SPARTAN Man of the Match for his stellar spell of 3/9 from 4 overs.
What a day!
Invincible XI: 98 all out
Devender 3/9 (4)
Raman 3/11 (4)
CSCA: 7/103 in 17.5 overs
Akshay 3/17 (4)
Ankit 2/13 (4)
Ashish 2/14 (4)
SPARTAN Man of the Match: Devender
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