LFL 6: Vedic Naturals vs Hindustan Tiles

Brief Scores

Vedic Naturals:         7/137 in 20 overs

                        Devraj 49 (49)

                        Kapil 44 (28)

                        Sachin 2/19 (4)

                        Sudesh ‘Billa’ 2/27 (4)

                       

Hindustan Tiles:        97 all out in 18.4 overs

                        Kapil 3/13 (3)

                        Rashid 3/16 (4)

                        Kuldeep 2/16 (3)

                       

Man of the Match:                   Kapil (Vedic Naturals)

Best Performer for Hindustan Tiles: Sachin

Complete Scorecard:                 http://bit.ly/1wVJ7Yg          

Match Report

We knew that the excitement of the close encounters we had on Saturday would be hard to match, but nevertheless we had a great line-up for Sunday and we were looking forward to some very good cricket. For Hindustan Tiles, this was the third and last group game, and with a win and a defeat, they had everything to play for. Vedic Naturals had reached the semi-finals of our previous tournament, and they were ready to bring forth their batting force once again.

Team Vedic Naturals Starts with a Crawl

Kapil (left) and Devraj lifted the total to 137

Hindustan Tiles won the toss and elected to field – a predictable decision for the morning session. They bowl with discipline and accuracy, and they hoped to restrict Vedic Naturals and chase without pressure. In fact, they got the luckiest break they could have asked for, as Vedic’s captain, batting talisman and wicketkeeper, Cristy was clean bowled off a full toss from Sachin the second ball of the day!

A tough start became even worse for the batting side, as Nishant lofted a simple catch to Rahul at mid-off off the first ball of the second over, with the score at 3. That brought Devraj to the crease, one of the best and most solid batsmen from the previous tournament. He has a compact technique, punches the ball hard off both front and back foot, and with a wide range of shots at his disposal, he employs a method that is all about constructing an innings in a calm and risk-free manner. This morning, however, Devraj along with NP Singh seemed to be taking it too calm. After 7 overs, Vedic Naturals were 28 for 2, with seemers Ajay and Sachin having done an excellent job of bottling the batsmen up.

Bad Becomes Worse

The innings that seemed to be heading nowhere was delivered another blow when NP Singh edged one through to wicketkeeper Mayank off the first ball of the 8^th over.

Wicketkeeper Mayank is our tournament's youngest player

Medium-pacer Kuldeep, who hits the ball hard and has a penchant for clearing the rope, walked out at number 5, with his team desperately needing a boost. He got a few boundaries, before being trapped LBW playing forward by left-arm spinner Sudesh. Sudesh was once again causing batsmen trouble with his accuracy and lack of spin, and he had Shwet stumped off his next over. After 13, Vedic were in serious trouble at 62/5, and Team HT clearly had their collars up.

Late-over Recovery Powered by Kapil

Devraj, however, was now well set and all he needed was some support. Kapil offered just that, and more. Another batsman who is always looking to free his arms, he got a brace of boundaries and a six off Vinay in the 16^th over. With the

Team Hindustan Tiles

score now at 90, Vedic hoped for a final boost to get a fighting total. They got just that, as Kapil took a liking to medium-pacers Sachin, Vinay and Ajay, smashing 4 boundaries and a six to get a quick-fire 44, before he was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings. Devraj held the innings together from the other end, and unfortunately for him, he was out for 49, caught off Sachin’s bowling on the last ball of the 19^th. Finally, thanks to the late-over fight, Team Vedic got up to a defendable 137.

Tame Surrender

Hindustan Tiles had failed a small chase against Globrix Consultants, and they needed a good start. That never came, as Gaurav, Jatin and then Nitin were all out in the Powerplay overs playing loose shots. HT looked in serious trouble at 29/3, and things became worse when they lost Rahul, clean bowled playing across the line, with the score on 36. Alex, their ice-cool performer from the previous match, was now out in the middle, and everything was now upon him and Ajay. Alex got a promising start, slapping a few boundaries and a six, but Rashid cut his innings short, castling him in the 12^th over.

Kapil (right) and Sachin were the best performers

Hindustan Tiles never recovered from there, and no one put up much of a fight as their entire innings folded up for 97. Kuldeep (2/16 from 4), Kapil (3/13 from 3) and Rashid (3/16 from 4) had combined to subdue their opposition with accurate and patient medium-pace bowling.

Kapil was clearly the Man of the Match, with his quick-fire 44 (28 balls) and 3 wickets, including the crucial one of Ajay. After this performance, it is highly unlikely that Hindustan Tiles will qualify for the next round. However, if their batsmen are willing to take more responsibility to back their excellent bowling, they may still do well in the rest of the season.