LFL Match 22: Stoners vs Shekh Sarai XI

Brief Scores

Shekh Sarai XI:                                     8 / 142 in 20 overs

                                                            Vijayant 47 (41)

                                                            Jaladh Dua 21* (19)

                                                            Amardeep 4/22 (4)

                                                            Rakesh 2/16 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

Stoners:                                               114 all out in 15.3 overs

                                                            Sanit 29 (31)

                                                            Gaurav 4/21 (4)

                                                            Ajay 2/15 (4)

                                                            Karamveer 2/19 (2.3)

                                                           

Man of the Match:                                 Vijayant Dhaka (Shekh Sarai XI)

Best Performer Stoners:                       Amardeep Singh

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

Shekh Sarai XI Sign Off With a Knockout

A 4-team pool often sets up dramatic circumstances in the final stages of league play. At times, a team may lose and still qualify, and in other cases, a mere win may not be enough. This was one such match. Stoners had to win, and win convincingly, to go through to the quarters. After deciding to field first, their target was 16 overs for the chase. Any more, and they were out. SRT XI’s fate hung in the balance, and their captain and vice-captain, Gautam and Addy, came all the way from another part of town to look on anxiously.

The Stoners bowlers gave their team just the platform they needed; leg-spinner Amardeep, playing for the first time in this tournament, led the charge and turned the game on his wrist. The batsmen, however, failed to deliver. Shekh Sarai has been a strong bowling unit right through, and on this day there was an edge to their verve and determination.

Watchful Start by Shekh Sarai Openers

Rakesh (l) with Amardeep - the two best bowlers for Stoners

Two games had yielded two batting collapses for Shekh Sarai XI, and the watchful way in which their two openers started made it clear that they were playing to avoid another repeat. The left-right seam pair of Rakesh and Shreyans consistently hit the right spots from opposite angles, and Digvijay and Vijayant played a string of dot balls. At the end of the Powerplay, the scorecard read 23 / 0. With that kind of start, the attack had to come soon, and it finally did in the 8^th over, the first of spin. First Vijayant, then Digvijay, carted left-arm spinner Rachit over long on. The 19-run over was followed by another big one, as Vijayant took seamer Sid over point and then fine of square leg for consecutive boundaries, before capping the over with a big six over mid-wicket.

Leg-spinner Amardeep Takes Centre-stage

Vijayant (r) gets the MoM award from leg-spinner Gaurav

Two overs had changed the complexion of the game, and when Amardeep started his spell with 5 wides, it seemed like Stoners were going to be blitzed out of the contest. The crafty leg-spinner, however, took control rapidly with wickets off consecutive deliveries. He clean-bowled Digvijay round his legs off his second ball, and deceived Amit with a quicker delivery, completing a simple return catch. He struck another dual blow in the 13^th over, starting with the prized wicket of Vijayant. The opener was bowled for an excellently compiled 47, attempting a heave over mid-wicket, then the best of the remaining batsmen, Ajay also had his stumps rattled, trying to push one through the off-side. Not one to turn the ball much, Amar relies on control along with variations in pace and angle to outfox his opposition.

At 92 / 4 in 14 overs, Shekh Sarai desperately needed someone to take charge in the middle and shoot their run rate upwards. Anil (17) looked threatening briefly, slapping Hitanshu for two straight sixes in the 15^th over, but Rakesh cut his innings short in the 17^th then followed up with the wicket of Samarth the next ball. But for Jaladh (21 not out), who played cautiously towards the end, Shekh Sarai might have been bundled out rapidly. 143 was still not an imposing target by any means, but it was most certainly a fighting total, especially since Stoners had to chase it in 16 overs.

Stoners Batsmen Fail to Fire

Amardeep, the Star Performer 

Stoners needed someone to take charge in the middle and guide their chase. However, from the point Rohit was bowled off the first ball of the innings, no one put their hands up. Varun and Shreyans were both snapped up in quick time, as seamers Ajay and Anil, among the most reliable seam bowling pairs in the tournament, started the innings with excellent control and rhythm. Ayush threatened briefly, slapping Anil for a straight six and boundary, but he became leg-spinner Gaurav’s first victim in the 7^th over, clean bowled trying to hit big. That rung the death knell for team Stoners. Were it not for Sanit’s steady 29, they might not have reached the 114 they finally managed.

Gaurav was the pick of the bowlers for Shekh Sarai, picking up 4 for 21 from his four overs. On days when he is able to hit that just short of driving length with his fast leg breaks, his wicket to wicket line is almost impossible to get away. His performance was backed up by an excellent spell of seam bowling by Ajay (2-15 from 4 overs). The man of the match award, however, went to Shekh Sarai opener Vijayant for his match top score of 47. For Stoners, the best performer was leg-spinner Amardeep for his spell of 4-22. Addy’s boisterous laugh was the last we heard, as we wrapped up the day. Of course, SRT XI were through to the quarter-finals.