Brief Scores
Rajasthan Realtors: 115 all out in 19.3 overs
Sahaan 3/20 (4)
Kamaldeep 2/13 (4)
Dilshad 2/20 (4)
AV Group: 5/119 in 14 overs
Ajay 27 (33)
Kamaldeep 25 (12)
Abhishek 0/10 (3)
Prateek 2/23 (2)
Man of the Match: Kamaldeep (AV Group)
Best Performer for Raj
Realtors: Abhishek
Complete Scorecard: http://bit.ly/1uxBpmK
AV Group Bowlers Dominate
Everyone
anticipated an intense battle. Team Rajasthan Realtors consists of the same
pool of players that won the previous tournament as CSCA. AV Group, on their
part, played solid cricket in their first 2 games, but a defeat in their
previous outing meant that this was a must-win game for them.
Solid Start for Rajasthan
Realtors
 |
| Kunj bowls with good pace |
Team
AV Group prefers the chase, so it was no surprise when they won the toss and
put Rajasthan Realtors in. RR flew off the blocks, however, with Ashu smashing
the first 3 balls of the innings for boundaries. His knock was a short-lived
cameo, though, as he mis-judged a straight length ball from seamer Dilshad in
the 2nd over and heard his stumps rattle. Left-handed batsman Sawan
joined captain Prateek and a period of sensible batting followed. They cut
risks and punished bad balls, keeping the heat on. In 7 overs, Rajasthan
Realtors were a promising 60/1 and they looked set for a big launch.
Turning Point
 |
| Wicket-keeper Mohsin stands up to medium pacers |
However,
Wicket-keeper Mohsin turned the tide the very next ball, affecting a brilliant
stumping off medium pacer Kamaldeep to dismiss Prateek for 19. Two balls later,
Sawan threw his wicket with a suicidal attempt to clear long off. His mis-timed
shot only reached as far as Md Atik at long off, who pocketed the catch safely.
The double blow became a triple one, as Devinder, one of the big performers
from the previous tournament, also gifted his wicket with an attempted six off
Aditya in the next over. At 63/4, Rajasthan Realtors now looked to be in
trouble, and Kamaldeep and Aditya kept the pressure on with their accurate
medium pace bowling.
AV Group Bowlers Subdue
Opposition
The
runs dried up as Sandeep and Mridul proceeded to consolidate. They were clearly
playing for a late over acceleration, and when Sandeep finally decided to cut
loose, his first attempt was mis-timed and dropped to Md Atik, who completed
another catch at deep midwicket. In 14 overs, Rajasthan Realtors were now 95/5
and they desperately needed someone to take charge. However, Sahaan John’s
crafty off-spin paired with nagging medium pace bowling from the other end
proved to be a bigger challenge than the batsmen could digest on the day, and
RR folded up in the last over for 115.
An Easy Chase
 |
| Kamaldeep launched 3 sixes in an over |
A
total as small as that is nearly impossible to defend on a relatively small
ground where the ball’s coming on to the bat. Ajay and Vishal, batting
pressure-free, put together a solid and comfortable start before Vishal was
dismissed by a bizarre run out in the 8th over. He punched a shot
through covers and walked towards the non-striker end casually, watching the
ball speed away for a boundary. Ajay at the non-striker end seemed to be
napping, and he didn’t watch the ball stop in the grass. By the time the two
batsmen noticed that the fielder in the deep had sent the ball back to the
wicketkeeper, they were stranded on the other end. Vishal was livid as he
walked off.
The
joy for Rajasthan Realtors was short-lived, as Kamaldeep came in and
immediately blasted 23 off left-arm spinner Ajay Chauhan’s next over, including
3 big sixes. Chauhan was the Man of the Series in the previous tournament, but
today was not his day. Kamaldeep and Ajay were eventually dismissed in
successive overs by Chirag and Prateek respectively, but by then the game was
sealed. Kunj and Mohsin unfurled 4 big sixes and AV Group cantered home in the
14th over, winning comfortably by 5 wickets.
Strong Team Performance
 |
| Abhishek (left) hands Kamaldeep the MoM award |
AV
Group is not a team is over-dependent on one or two individuals, and once again
they had put together a solid team performance. Kamaldeep was adjudged the Man
of the Match for his razor sharp spell of medium-pace (4-0-13-2), followed up
by a 12-ball 25. For Rajasthan Realtors, the best performer was fast bowler
Abhishek. Abhishek is the only bowler in the tournament who is genuinely quick,
and although he did not pick up any wickets, his rapid spell of 3-1-10-0 gave
the two openers some nervous moments.
With
a healthy net run-rate, AV Group is almost through to the quarter-finals.
Rajasthan Realtors need big wins in their next two games to give themselves a
chance. They have all to play for…
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