Brief Scores
TCS: 8/181 in 20 overs
Manish 83 (41)
Vikram 27 (24)
Asheesh T 24 (13)
Parveen 2/15 (4)
Hoshiyar 2/9 (3)
Flamin Starz: 179 all out in 20 overs
Naveen 54 (41)
Anjeev 49 (32)
Praveen 6/33 (4)
Man of the Match: Praveen (TCS)
Best Performer for Flamin
Starz: Naveen
Complete Scorecard: http://bit.ly/1v20Y12
Match Report
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| The action underway |
As
if the thrill and excitement of the previous game was not enough, the one that
followed was an even closer encounter! TCS and Flamin Starz were both playing
their first game of the tournament, and as it turned out, they are both pretty
strong teams with ambitions of going way ahead in the tournament.
Manish Delivers a One-man
Batting Masterclass
TCS
won the toss, and encouraged by the number of runs in the first game of the
day, they elected to bat first. They got off on the wrong foot, however, as
Himanshu was run out in the very first over off a direct hit by Parveen. TCS
were immediately on the back-foot, and the first 2 overs produced only 10. Up
until then, no one knew the power Manish possessed, but it took him only 6
balls to establish his credentials, and Gurdeep turned out to be his
unsuspecting victim. Manish smashed him for 3 sixes and a boundary to take 24
runs of the 3rd over of the match and seize control.
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| Manish, after his destructive innings |
The
entire innings quickly turned out to be a one-man show, as Ritesh, Himanshu and
Sumit all failed to rotate strike or deliver any hits from one end, while
Manish continued to clear the boundary almost at will. In the 11th
over, the batting side was 80 for 5, and Manish alone was batting on 64. Was he
going to get the tournament and our season’s first hundred? It seemed like it,
when he smashed leg-spinner Vivek’s first 2 deliveries for sixes, racing off to
83. However, he was caught in the deep very next ball to the absolute relief of
Flamin Starz’ bowlers. He had scored his 83 off 41 balls, smashing 8 sixes in
the process.
Lower Order Boost and the
Tournament’s Highest Total
Asheesh
(24), Vikram (27) and Jagdeep (17) hed the innings together till the end,
making sure that Manish’s early effort did not go waste. TCS ended up with 181,
the tournament’s highest score till then, and in all likelihood a winning
total. The best bowlers were spinner Parveen (2/15) and gentle medium pacer
Hoshiyar (2/9), who had combined to concede a mere 24 from their 7 overs.
Parveen varies his speed constantly, and mixes up his off-spin with leg-breaks.
He is the sort of crafty bowler who is hard to put away for runs. Vivek’s
fielding, however, was the talking point of the latter half of the innings. He
took three catches in the deep, including an excellent one over his head at
deep-wicket.
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| Anjeev and Naveen constructed a 99-run partnership |
As
openers Anjeev and Naveen walked out for the record chase, they knew that there
would be little time to settle down. Both these batsmen are timers of the ball
rather than power hitters, and Anjeev especially is known around the Delhi
cricket circles for his strokemaking. They both gave everyone a great display
of their range of shots and ability to find gaps as they went neck and neck on
the run chart. They showed just how to break down a big total into small
targets and landmarks, and they kept ticking off 8 to 10 runs every over.
Almost effortlessly, the score mounted to 89 for no loss from 10 overs with
both batsmen now in their 40s.
Spin Carnage!
Left-arm
spinner Praveen was the 6th bowler to come on to bowl in the 11th
over, and by now TCS were clearly desperate. Praveen loops the ball up real
slow, dangling the batsmen a carrot. Anjeev obliged on the 3rd ball
of the over, picking one out of his slot for a six over the bowler’s head. Loud
cheers followed from the dugout as the Flamin Starz players coaxed their
batsmen to destroy the slow left-armer. Praveen was not to be deterred,
however. He kept tossing it up, and finally Anjeev fell to the bait. He
mistimed a hit, and it fell into Sumit’s waiting hands in the deep. Anjeev was
gone for 49, but the other batsmen failed to heed the warning. One after
another, they could not resist the urge to smash Praveen out of the park, only
to end up outfoxed. His four overs yielded Flamin Starz 4 sixes, and TCS 6
wickets.
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| Praveen, the Man of the Match |
When
the 7th wicket fell for the score of 149 on the last ball of the 17th
over, Praveen’s figures read 4-0-33-6. It was far and away the best bowling
performance of out tournament. He had turned the game on its head
single-handedly, and his achievement was no fluke. He tosses the ball up and
allows it to dip and turn. Batsmen rush out of their crease, and by the time
they realize the ball is not where they expected it, it’s too late!
Down to the Wire… Again!
Flamin
Starz kept the score ticking from the other end, and Kaushik had scored a rapid
20 off 7 balls to keep them in the game. Finally, with 28 needed from 12 balls,
the team dugout had given up home and they started packing their bags. There
was still a twist left in this tale, though, as Rishab carted Manish off two
sixes, and 19 from the over.
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| Naveen, the Best Performer for Flamin Starz |
Once
again it came down to the last over. Jagdeep came on to bowl with 9 needed and
2 wickets in hand, and Rishab was on strike. The seemer held his nerve, not
giving the batsmen any room, and only a double and 3 singles came off his first
4 balls. 4 needed from 2, and Hoshiyar top edged a swipe. Jagdeep pocketed a
simple catch. Crucially, though, the batsmen had crossed over, and with Rishab
on strike, a boundary was needed off the last ball. Jagdeep arrowed one
straight into the stumps, Rishab mis-hit the ball, and it was all over. TCS had
held their nerve and won by the narrowest edge of 2 runs.
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