Brief
Scores
Stoners: 7 / 189 in
20 overs
Mustafa 36 (14)
Varun 33
(32)
Shreyans
29 (31)
Neil
27* (8)
Gaurav
3/29 (4)
SRT XI: 121 all
out in 18.4 overs
Anuj 48 (29)
Mustafa
6/30 (4)
Sid
2/12 (3)
Man of
the Match: Mustafa
(Stoners)
Best
Performer SRT XI: Anuj
Team
Stoners Set the Stage, Captain Fantastic Delivers Stunning Solo Act
T20 is high octane cricket. Advantage can be wrested (and
squandered) in the space of a few balls. Stoners captain Mustafa demonstrated
just how to seize a game in dramatic fashion – not once, but twice. First bat,
then ball. When he walked in slowly to the middle in the 16th over,
the score was poised at 105 / 5 and SRT may have claimed the upper hand. When
he walked out, stumped off leg-spinner Rahul 15 balls later, he had changed the
game and left his opposition shell-shocked.
Destruction
in 6 Balls
 |
| Mustafa set to launch |
The Stoners’ captain opened out with a couple of boundaries in
the 16th and 17th overs, but the 18th –
Rahul’s last – . turned out to be the defining blow of the innings. The first
ball was launched into the adjoining field between square leg and mid-wicket;
the next one was sent into the neighbor’s property straight over the bowler’s
head; the 3rd yielded 4 byes;
the fourth crashed onto the roof of the café behind the mid-wicket fence; and
the fifth cleared it altogether. 5 balls had yielded 28, and the fielding side
was left stunned. The panicking bowler sent the next one – a quicker delivery –
way down the leg-side for 5 wides. The stumping off the last ball was merciful
respite for Rahul, but little consolation for his team. Mustafa had made a mockery
of a tight game with 36 from 14 balls.
Neil Launches
Final Burst
There was to be no let up, however. Ayush began off-spinner
Gaurav’s next over with a four, and when he was out bowled the next ball, Neil
came in and carted a six over fine leg first ball. It was an exquisite shot,
with the batsman down on one knee.
Neil followed it up with a further 2 sixes
and 2 boundaries to end with an adventurous 27 not out in 8 balls. Stoners
ended with an imposing 189. 79 had come off the last 4 overs.
 |
| Shreyans defends a Devender delivery |
Shreyans
and Varun Set the Platform
Earlier in the morning, Shreyans and Varun had set the platform
for the big hitters. Batting first up on the moist early morning wicket was
tough, and opener Shreyans saw through the first 10 overs, playing the ball to
merit and scoring an impressive 29. Left arm seamer Devender got the ball to
move, and he beat the bat on numerous occasions. His opening spell of 4 overs
yielded 18 dot balls, but crucially he did not pick up a wicket. Off-spinner
Gaurav was getting exaggerated turn and bounce from the other end and he picked
up the wickets of Akshar and Sandy in the 2nd and 4th
over respectively, before Varun, coming in at number 4, joined Shreyans for a
run-a-ball 33. Varun was finally dismissed by Rahul in the 16th, only
for Mustafa to take center-stage.
Anuj
Knocks a Counter-Punch
 |
| Anuj cuts Rakesh for four |
The chase began in the best possible fashion for SRT, as opener
Anuj decided to cut loose from the word go. Mustafa, bowling his mix of off and
leg break, went for 17 in his first over and then leg-spinner Neil, replacing
him from the same end, leaked 18 including two exquisite cover drives and a powerful
sweep for six. Left arm quick Rakesh bowled a tight spell, but it was turning
out to be a lone effort as SRT raced to 77 from 8 overs, powered by a
quick-fire 48 from Anuj. Mustafa had 2-0-25-0 coming in to the 9th
and he knew Anuj was looking to target him. What followed was mayhem.
Carnage
 |
| 4 - 0 - 30 - 6: Best figures of the season! |
Anuj was the first to go off the 3rd ball, with a
mis-timed attempt to clear long on. Ayush, moving to his right, judged the catch to perfection on the
boundary and the batsman missed out on a thoroughly deserved half-century. The
very next ball, Shivam was out caught at the mid-wicket fence off another
attempted six. Mustafa, on a hat-trick, completed the coveted landmark with a
fine diving catch off his own bowling to dismiss Amit. It was the first
hat-trick of the season, and the jubilant team rushed to the middle to
celebrate with their captain. The captain, however, was not done.
 |
| Anuj with Mustafa - the two best performers |
Off the first ball of his next over, Rahul was caught by Neil at
long-off. 3 balls later, Mustafa produced an off-spinner’s dream. He flighted
the ball up to left-handed Sachin, pitching it on a perfect length and fizzing
it past the batsman’s forward prod to knock back the top of off-stump. It was a
picture-perfect knock-out. Destruction became carnage off the last ball of the
over, as Addy, the Man of the Match from the previous game, top-edged to Ankush
at point. From the point of Anuj’s dismissal, Mustafa’s figures read 1.4 – 0 –
4 – 6. The batting side had no fight left from then on, and they slumped to 121
all out.
Mustafa, with what might go on to be the performance of the
tournament, was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match. For SRT XI, Anuj
was the Best Performer for his sizzling 48 off 29 balls. With this victory,
Stoners move to the top of the table in the dramatically poised Group C. The
group is headed for a thrilling climax next Sunday, as Stoners take on HDFC
Bank, and SRT XI face up against Shekh Sarai.
Woowww. .... what a description
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