Matchday 2: A Close Battle!

LFL Match 3: Hindustan Tiles vs Delhi Donuts                

Like Hindustan Tiles, Delhi Donuts had also played in the previous tournament, including a game against Hindustan Tiles in the group stage. They had lost that game badly, and this time we could see their determination to do better. Hindustan Tiles once again won the toss, and as is the norm with them, they elected to field first.

The Delhi Donuts Innings: A Solid Opening Stand

Man of the Match, Alex (left), and Karan (right) from Delhi Donuts

Karan and Rahul gave Delhi Donuts a steady and solid start, getting runs consistently off every Powerplay over. Sachin and Vinay bowled those overs, conceding 57 runs between them without creating as much as a chance. Karan looked particularly solid, stroking some attractive boundaries through the covers, over mid on and mid off, and even a couple of flicks over square leg. Sudesh came on for his left-arm tweakers, but even he failed to create the instant impact he generally does. At the halfway mark, Delhi Donuts were at 92 for no loss, and Karan had reached fifty. Finally Sudesh got a breakthrough in the 11^th over, as Sachin held on to a skier. Karan was gone for an excellent 57 (34 balls).

Ruchit was run out in the very next over, followed by the wickets of Wasim and the other opener Rahul (49). Just when it seemed like all the effort the openers put in was going to go waste, Saurav put his hands up for the batting side, smashing a six and a trio of boundaries in quick succession. Without any support from the other batsmen, he still managed to score an extremely handy 35 from 26 balls, before he was run out off the penultimate ball. He managed to get the Donuts up to 162 from their 20. It was a very good total, but surely somewhat disappointing after the effort of the two openers.

The Chase: Faultless Precision

Team HT had their work cut out, but things didn’t go to plan as left-arm seamer Gurdeep took out two wickets in his first couple of overs. Everyone sensed that Gaurav and Rahul’s partnership for the 3^rd wicket held the key to the entire innings. They are both attacking batsmen and they needed to lay a solid platform. That is just what they did, putting on 70 runs in 47 balls. In the 12^th over, however, Team Delhi Donuts got a much needed breakthrough as Gaurav was caught in the circle for 49 off the bowling of Rahul.

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With 71 needed from 49 deliveries, Alex came out to bat. Hindustan Tiles had lost their 1^st game, and a defeat here would spell disaster.

However, the composure and style with which Alex batted did not betray any nerves or pressure. He struck boundaries of flicks, slog sweeps and drives, and kept rotating strike off virtually every ball. With some support from Rahul (27), Rahish (17) and Ajay (14*), he saw his team home comfortably in the end, with 11 balls to spare. His 33 not out had come from a mere 19 balls in pressure-cooker atmosphere, and backed up by his excellent 2 for 13 from 3 death overs, he was clearly the Man of the Match, and the nerveless performer of the week!

Delhi Donuts:           8/162 in 20 overs

                        Karan 57 (34)

                        Rahul 49 (42)

                        Saurav 35 (26)

                        Alex 2/13 (3)

                        Sudesh 2/26 (4)

Hindustan Tiles:        5/164 in 18.1 overs

                        Gaurav 49 (36)

                        Alex 33* (19)

                        Rahul 27 (23)

                        Gurdeep 2/23 (4)

                       

Man of the Match:                   Alex (Hindustan Tiles)

Best Performer for Delhi Donuts:    Karan

Complete Scorecard:                 http://bit.ly/1tZZJx2