LFL Final Match: AV Group vs Flamin Starz

Brief Scores

Flamin Starz:                                        8 / 167 in 20 overs

                                                            PK 63 (33)

                                                            Anjeev 27 (16)

                                                            Sahaan 3/27 (4)

                                                            Dilshad 3/34 (4)

                                                            Sanjeev 2/18 (4)

                                                                                                                                   

AV Group:                                            2 / 171 in 17 overs

                                                            Kunj 74* (32)

                                                            Ashish 40* (33)

                                                            PK 1/30 (4)

                                                                                               

Man of the Match:                                 Kunj Sharma (AV Group)

Best Performer:                                    PK (Flamin Starz)

Complete Scorecard:                           http://bit.ly/1vauzG4  

PK Bats Flamin Out of a Hole Before Kunj Delivers Shut Out

If there was one side that was most likely to challenge AV Group’s clinical form in this tournament, it was the batting powerhouse of Flamin Starz. With Anjeev at the top, followed by Vivek and Kaushik in the middle order, and finally the brutal hitting force of Himanshu and Jaideep, Team Flamin had the might to wobble AV Group’s efficient and balanced bowling attack.

Flamin Starz Batting Might Implodes, Team Collapses to 66 / 6

Anjeev gave Flamin Starz a promising start, but the top order collapsed

That all the names listed above would fail to deliver impact and Flamin Starz would still land a threatening blow with their aggressive batting was the story of the day and testament to the depth in the side. In fact, it was the team’s best bowler, leg-spinner PK, who rocked the AV Group party with the bat. PK walked out to bat at 64 / 5 in the 11^th over that quickly turned to 66 / 6 in the 12^th, when Kaushik was caught at long on off a meek Sanjeev full-toss. Flamin Starz had lost 4 for 6 in 3 overs, and at this point the disheartened expressions in the dugout reflected the state of the scoreboard and clearly suggested that the anti-climactic final was heading to a swift closure.

PK and Himanshu Trigger Revival

PK started watchfully, before exploding

PK, however, was not about to throw in the towel, and Himanshu, walking out at no 8, decided that it was too late for caution. On their last thread, Flamin Starz finally got back some momentum. Himanshu launched the action in the 13^th over, picking off-spinner Sahaan for a straight six, before sweeping Sanjeev for another maximum in the next over. Both batsmen helped themselves to sixes in the 15^th over, again off Sahaan, before the bowler finally struck back with his third wicket, rattling Himanshu’s stumps with a ball that squeezed between bat and pad.

PK Blasts AV Group in Last Quarter

PK slammed 8 sixes and 4 fours on course to 63

101/ 7 was still trouble, but PK was in a feisty mood now, and he single-handedly rattled the AV Group unit in the last quarter of the innings with a shower of boundaries that rocketed the scoreboard and turned the match. With a simple technique that involves clearing his front leg and belting the ball with a free swing of the arms, the middle of his bat was wider on the day than anything the AV bowlers sent down at the death. Atik was launched for a straight six in the 16^th, before Kunj’s pace was bulleted to the mid wicket and square leg fences for a couple of boundaries and a six in the 17^th. Kunj fared no better in his last over, the 19^th of the innings, in which he was punished for a straight six and a brace of boundaries. In all, PK slammed 7 four and 4 sixes in a 21-ball spell, lifting his team to a more than competitive 167 / 8 in 20 overs, himself finishing with 63 from 33 balls.

Dilshad and Mohsin Give AV Chase Promising Start

Sahaan John triggered a collapse, picking up 3/27

A rejuvenated Flamin Starz team took the field with energy and purpose. Captain Gurdeep, having heard of Dilshad’s destructive hitting of seamers in the semi final, opened the attack with left-arm spinner Rajnish. Dilshad and Mohsin, however, are sharp and experienced batsmen and faced with a limited target, they could afford to wait for loose balls. They got a few in the opening 4-over spell from Rajnish and Anjeev, and they helped themselves to boundaries both sides of the wicket. PK came on in the 5^th over, and ended a tight over with a short ball that Dilshad pulled for six to take the score to 45.

Double Strike for Flamin Starz

Just as the game was slipping out of their fingers, Flamin Starz bounced back with a double strike, removing both openers in 3 balls. First Himanshu removed Mohsin in the 6^th over, caught by Jaideep at extra cover for 20.Then PK got the big wicket of Dilshad off the first ball of the 7^th with one that skidded straight on, beating an attempted sweep and trapping the batsman plumb. This turned out to be PK and Flamin Starz’ final success in a highly productive tournament littered with highlights.

Kunj and Ashish Dominate, Seal Title for AV Group

Kunj blasted AV Group to an emphatic win

AV Group’s burly all-rounder Kunj Sharma finally justified the big reputation he carried into the tournament, demonstrating some of the cleanest and most authoritative ball striking we saw all season. If the occasion of the final match at all exerted any pressure upon the players, Kunj seemed totally impervious to it along the course of his 32-ball 74. He cleared fielders and boundaries with ease both sides of the wicket, slamming 8 sixes. The first ball he faced was scorched past extra cover for four and the very next one was flicked for six as Himanshu strayed on to the pads.

Ashish made a key contribution in the 113-run partnership

Kunj picked up two leg side sixes off Jaideep in the 8^th over, before topping PK over mid-wicket in the 9^th. In spite of Kunj’s aggressive start, the match was still in the balance at the halfway point with AV Group 87 / 2. However, Team Flamin Starz never got the breakthrough they needed, and AV Group were in reality only two big overs away from an easy win. The 12^th and the 14^th, bowled by Dinesh and Himanshu respectively, were the ones they needed. Dinesh leaked 19 runs, as Ashish and Kunj both helped themselves to sixes, before Kunj tucked himself into Himanshu’s gentle pace, slamming 4-6-4-6 in a four-delivery spell that shut the game out for his team.

Acrobatic Kamaldeep saves a certain six!

Ashish supported him ably, giving him much of the strike during the unbeaten 114-run partnership, and himself finished with 40 not out.

Fittingly, Kunj finished the match and the tournament with a big six off Hoshiyar, and spontaneously his team dugout erupted in celebration. After starting with a 4-run defeat against Star XI, AV Group had justified their billing as favorites for the title. Kunj was the Man of the Match without any doubt, while PK was the equally obvious choice for best performer from his side. With 17 wickets in the tournament, capped by a stunning fifty in this match, PK also walked away with the Man of the Series trophy.

LFL Semi-final 2: TCS vs AV Group

Brief Scores

TCS:                                                     6 / 177 in 20 overs

                                                            Maneesh 74 (53)

                                                            Vikram 42 (31)

                                                            Atik 3/23 (4)

                                                                                                                                   

AV Group:                                            4 / 180 in 16.5 overs

                                                            Dilshad 99 (38)

                                                            Abhishek 2/34 (4)

                                                                                               

Man of the Match:                                 Dilshad Ali (AV Group)

Best Performer:                                    Maneesh (TCS)

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

Dilshad’s Destructive Hitting Subdue’s a Fighting TCS Side

Immediately after Flamin Starz chased down 172 against Vedic Naturals – a tournament record – TCS raised the bar. They set AV Group, the favorites for the crown, a target of 178, thanks mainly to an aggressive, power-packed half century from their opener Maneesh. AV Group had fallen short by 4 runs during a chase of 179 in the first game of the tournament. There were going to be no second chances this time. To get ahead, they had to go one better this time against one of the best balanced attacks of the tournament led by left-arm spinner Parveen, the second highest wicket taker.

AV Group’s strength is their hard-hitting top order. After that first game against Star XI, it had also proved to be impenetrable. It was no secret that they would come hard at their opposition immediately. That Dilshad, however, would single-handedly produce the tournament’s most impactful batting demolition was no one’s guess. The face of his bat might have been 2 feet wide on the day, and he brought it down straight and full, dismissing deliveries mostly in the arc between midwicket and extra cover with the force of bombs deploying from a cannon.

Destructive Batting at its Best

The first four balls of the innings were blown to the boundary without the fielders taking as much as a step. There were two straight drives, a pull and a flick, and although medium-pacer Sumit recovered enough to find the edge off the last ball, that too sped to the fence. The score read 21 after the first over. Captain Jagdeep kept him on for the 3^rd over, but there was no respite from the heavy onslaught. Dilshad crashed a six over mid-wicket, before knocking three successive boundaries – two drives punctuated by a pull.  He completed his fifty in the next over with two boundaries off Jagdeep. He had reached the landmark in 16 balls, a tournament record, and after 4 overs, AV Group had raced away to 58.

Dilshad (r) smashed 99 in 38 balls

Maneesh took an excellent running catch at long off to dismiss Ajay in the 5^th, off the first ball of seamer Abhishek’s spell. However, if TCS hoped for any respite, Kunj stamped it out rapidly with a six over mid-wicket off the 3^rd ball he faced. The end of the Powerplay did not slow down the attack either. Dilshad was in full swing, and he cashed in on Abhishek’s gentle medium pace, crashing three boundaries and a six of successive deliveries. Left arm spinner Parveen, the TCS trump card, was welcomed by Dilshad with sixes off his first two balls. Parveen struck back with Kunj’s wicket off the last ball, but by now the game was as good as sealed. 40 had come off the last 2 overs, and AV had raced away to 134 / 2 in 10 overs.

Out for 99

The 11^th over, however, ended Dilshad’s innings in dramatic fashion. Batting on 99 not out in 37 balls, he was all set to snatch the tournament’s fastest hundred award out of Devraj’s grip. His entire team was ready to applaud his hundred, till they were stunned into a collective gasp of disbelief as a gentle delivery from Abhishek somehow slipped between Dilshad’s bat and pads and crashed into the stumps. It was a classic case of nerves, and the batsman was left to rue the missed landmark.

Dilshad may have missed out on a hundred, but he had put the match firmly in his team’s grasp, and they were not about to make any mistakes. Mohsin struck 3 consecutive sixes off Parveen’s left arm spin in the 16^th over, and in the next Manish smacked a six and a boundary to complete the win.

Maneesh Knocks an Aggressive Fifty, Sets Up Big Total

Earlier in the day, TCS came out with real resolve and fighting intent. It was a new day, and they were determined to avoid the kind of bizarre top order collapse with which they had begun their quarter-final against HDFC Bank. Opener Maneesh, this time facing off against a predominantly seam attack – the kind he prefers – came out all guns blazing, knocking back two straight sixes off Dilshad in the first over. Atik, a gentle medium pacer who takes the pace off the ball, began the second over with Abhishek’s wicket first ball. Yusuf sprung forward from short fine-leg and plucked an excellent catch even as the ball was dying on him. Asheesh began with a leg-side six second ball, keeping momentum firmly in TCS’ favor.

Maneesh hit an excellent 74 to end up among the top run scorers

Maneesh, at his best today, measured his aggression carefully, keeping out good balls and picking on the easy offerings. He is particularly fond of width, which gives him the freedom to swing his arms. He welcomed Kamaldeep into the attack in the 5^th with a boundary and a six off two cut shots, before a helicopter shot for four over mid on. Atik, the best bowler on the day, kept the pressure on from the other end, bowling to his field and keeping the batsmen in check with a tight off-stump line and deceptive variations in pace. Maneesh got lucky with outside and inside boundaries off Atik’s 3^rd over, and that lifted the score to 62 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Seamer Atik Keeps TCS Total in Check

Just as things were getting worrying for AV Group, Atik brought his team back into the game with a double blow in the 8^th – his last over. First Asheesh was caught at long off, before Himanshu misjudged a slower delivery, swung too early, and was clean bowled. The wily seamer ended with a maiden and impressive figures of 3/23 from his 4. Nitin was picked up by Dilshad just before the halfway mark, and TCS went into the change of ends at a familiar 83 / 4. Once again, they would need a late-order counter-attack, but with opener Maneesh still there, they were very much in the game.

Maneesh got to his fifty with a six off Sanjeev in the 11^th over, and together with middle-over expert Vikram, he put together a solid 61-run partnership. The two kept the score ticking constantly with singles, and they made spinners Sanjeev and Sahaan John pay for bad balls. The opener was finally picked up by Sanjeev in the 17^th over, caught at deep square leg with the score on 139. He had got 74 off 53 balls, powered by 7 fours and 6 sixes. Vikram engineered a late onslaught, picking Sahaan and Dilshad for sixes, before he was removed for 42 by Kunj in the last over. At 177, TCS had an excellent platform to push on, but they were simply denied by Dilshad’s brilliance.

Dilshad, after a bad start to the day with 4 expensive overs, walked away with the Man of the Match award, and Maneesh ended up as the Best Performer for TCS, capping an excellent tournament for his side.

 

LFL Semi-final 1: Vedic Naturals vs Flamin Starz

Brief Scores

Vedic Naturals:                                     6 / 171 in 20 overs

                                                            Cristy 49 (29)

                                                            Kuldeep 33* (36)

                                                            Nitin 26 (9)

                                                            PK 1/14 (4)

                                                            Anjeev 2/32 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

Flamin Starz:                                        4 / 175 in 17.1 overs

                                                            Anjeev 53 (36)

                                                            Dinesh 35 (30)                                                 

                                                            Jaideep 32* (9)

                                                            NP Singh 2/24 (4)

                                                                                               

Man of the Match:                                 Anjeev (Flamin Starz)

Best Performer:                                    Cristy Joshi (Vedic Naturals)

Complete Scorecard:                            http://bit.ly/14oLPui

Flamin Starz Come Out Top in Intense Heavyweight Tussle

Watching the intensity in this battle of batting heavyweights, you could tell just how important this was for both sides. If there was any question about whether the Vedic batsmen would bring their ‘A’ game, Cristy and Nitin delivered an emphatic answer in the first few minutes of the match, producing one of the most destructive starts of the tournament. To their credit, Flamin Starz did not get blown away. The seamers stuck to their guns, PK and Rajnish cut the runs down to a trickle, and finally, after 3 hours of constantly fluctuating momentum, Team Flamin’s own hard-hitting batsmen stamped their worth once again on way to a record run chase.

Cristy and Nitin Destroy Flamin Seamers

Flamin might have been delighted when Binoo was out first ball of the match, caught by Jaideep at mid on off the bowling of captain Gurdeep. The fielding side, however, were not given so much as one ball to establish their advantage. Nitin, carrying in his form from the previous game, flicked Gurdeep for four first ball, and three balls later Vedic Naturals captain Cristy crashed a drive over extra cover. Over the next twenty minutes, the straight-hitting batting machine that is Cristy and the whip-like swing of Nitin’s arms (for a brief time) belted the white ball everywhere with almost embarrassing ease.

Cristy played a destructive knock of 49 from 29 balls

Hoshiyar’s steady, gentle medium pace was torn apart by Nitin in the 2^nd. Two sixes, first straight then a flick, were punctuated by two whipping cuts past point. Anjeev, used to flummoxing batsmen at this level with his subtle swing and seam both ways, was dismissed for a boundary and two sixes, once again straight and a flick, this time by Cristy. Medium pacer Jaideep, the 4^th bowler in 4 overs, finally struck, with Nitin caught first ball of his spell. The mistimed shot sailed straight up very high, and PK judged the catch to perfection at mid off. Cristy careened a boundary off his legs in the eventful over, and in between two wayward wide balls that beat the keepers’ gloves to the fence, he was dropped as mid off and extra cover collided trying to grasp a teasing skier that fell between them. The skipper made them pay, and after 6 overs, Vedic Naturals reached a terrifying 90 / 2.

Twin Spin Force of Rajnish and PK Engineer Comeback

Anjeev, however, had settled into his canny groove, and his teasing medium pace finally accounted for Cristy in the 7^th with a ball that moved just enough off the seam to beat the straight bat and take out off stump. Cristy’s belligerent 49 had come off only 29 balls, and as Flamin saw his back, they were greeted by Devraj, the highest run-getter of the tournament. As expected, Gurdeep threw the ball to his trump card, leg-spinner PK, for the next over.

This contest of best batsman vs best bowler was the one we had been waiting for, and with the innings tantalizingly poised, one sensed that the outcome of this battle would swing the game. PK took just three balls to come out winner and wrest the initiative for his team. Devraj played a good length wicket-to-wicket ball for turn, only to see it skid straight on and thud into his pads. Plumb – a classic PK dismissal. Anjeev accounted for NP Singh next over, and although the Vedic Naturals batting card read an imposing 101/5 at the midway mark, Kuldeep and Deepak went into the next half looking to consolidate.

PK and left-arm spinner Rajnish did what they do best – block out the scoring shots and limit the batsmen to singles. When Deepak luckily found the gap with a streaky uppish cut between gully  and point in the 14^th, it was the first boundary in 7 overs. Vedic Naturals, tied down by first seamer Anjeev and then the twin spin force, had got 29 in a period of 8 overs. The pressure finally accounted for Deepak as he was caught at point off Himanshu’s first ball in the 15^th. At 119 / 6, the advantage of the early onslaught had whittled away.

Rashid and Kuldeep Consolidate, Vedic Recover

Rashid joined Kuldeep, and with the spinners now out of the attack, the two managed to lift the momentum somewhat. However, the mental pressure of 6 wickets down coupled with tight seam bowling from Himanshu kept them down to singles and the occasional boundary. They both managed to clear the fence once each in the last over bowled by Jaideep – a tactical error by Flamin captain Gurdeep – to propel the innings to 171. Although this was a highly competitive target and would require the tournament’s highest successful run chase, after the start Vedic had got, Flamin Starz were easily the happier of the two sides.

  

Dinesh and Anjeev Give Flamin Starz Solid Start

Anjeev was the MoM for his fifty and 2 wickets

Where Vedic Naturals had sought to intimidate their opposition with no-holds-barred destructive hitting, Flamin Starz openers Dinesh and Anjeev set out to seal the game with solid batting and tempered aggression. Dinesh, limited in his technique, is happy to nudge the ball around and wait for opportunities to swing off the front foot. Anjeev, on the other hand, is one of the most eye-pleasing batsman in this tournament with his decisive footwork and elegant strokemaking.

The start was as positive as they come, with Anjeev dispatching Arun for four past point, before launching a full toss for six over square leg off a flowing pull shot. Kuldeep, with his propensity to bowl short and wide, gave Dinesh ample width in the 2^nd, conceding 3 boundaries off cut shots between point and thirdman. Playing at his fluid best today, Anjeev stepped out and lifted Arun for an effortless six over cover in the 5^th over, and then welcomed seamer Rashid in the 8^th with consecutive boundaries and a stunning sweep that sailed into the parking lot.

NP Singh Sparks Fight Back, Match in Balance

Vedic Naturals finally dismissed Anjeev for 53 against the run of play at the stroke of the 10^th over, as Arun completed an excellent high catch running back from mid on. At 86 / 1, Flamin Starz had got exactly half the runs at the halfway mark, and with the batting still to come, they looked firmly in command. Exactly an over later, however, NP Singh picked up the wicket of a tiring Dinesh off another excellent catch, this time by Kuldeep at long off. This came right after the batsman had spanked the off-spinner for a big six over the sightscreen to move up to 35.

Although the two openers had done their job, the two fielding efforts in 6 balls showed that Vedic Naturals were not about to concede this without a fight. NP struck again off the first ball of his next, picking Naveen up LBW off an attempt to play across the line. Somehow the off-spinner had engineered a rapid and unlikely comeback for his side, and Rajnish and Vivek came together needing to consolidate. The former, though, was clean bowled by Nitin in the 15^th. With 57 needed off 35, Vedic Naturals were firmly back in contention, and the match now hung in the balance.

Jaideep Seals the Win

In retrospect, Vedic Naturals would rather not have dismissed Rajnish when they did, because that only served to bring Jaideep to the middle, and the big hitting batsman, supported ably by Vivek, made a mockery of the pressure. Charan was the first to come under fire. He conceded 19 in the 16^th over, including two big sixes – first over midwicket by Vivek then straight by Jaideep – on either side of 4 costly byes. But that was just the prelude to the mayhem that followed in the 17^th over.

Lively medium pacer Kapil sent down just the quick pace and loose lengths Vivek and JD needed to clear the ropes. Vivek began with a straight six and a cut for four, before passing the strike to his partner, who dismissed the bowler for 3 successive sixes that sent Vedic Naturals crashing out of the tournament in sensational fashion. The first was a straight six off a full delivery. The bowler over-compensated, going too short next ball, and was pulled over square leg. Then again too full, and this time JD swung him over midwicket. 29 came off the over, and the two put together 60 off 18 balls to seal the game with 3 overs to spare. Ironically, one of the biggest hitting teams of the season had got knocked out by the kind of belting they typically dish out.

Anjeev was the Man of the Match for his all-round effort, capping a strong team performance. Vedic Naturals, though beaten on the day, had shown real fight and spirit to complete another memorable tournament. Captain Cristy was awarded as their best performer for the match.

LFL Quarter-final 4: AV Group vs Globrix Consultants

Brief Scores

Globrix Consultants:                            122 all out in 19.3 overs

                                                            Kunal 36 (32)

                                                            Paras 32 (32)

                                                            Kunj 3/13 (3.3)

                                                            Sahaan John 3/17 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

AV Group:                                            3 / 128 in 15.5 overs

                                                            Kunj 42* (32)

                                                            Dilshad 40 (22)

                                                                                               

Man of the Match:                                 Kunj Sharma (AV Group)

Best Performer:                                    Kunal (Globrix Consultants)

Complete Scorecard:                            http://bit.ly/1xcSF3z

AV Group Complete Crushing Win, Emerge as Title Favorites

On the back of 3 wins, Globrix Consultants carried a lot of confidence into this game. AV Group, with their solid bowling unit and explosive top order batting, also came in with momentum on their side. This was clearly a clash of heavyweights with both teams expecting to win. The clinical ease with which AV Group went on to subdue the Globrix batsman, however, and shut the game out was as emphatic a statement of power as AV could possibly issue the other semi-finalists that lay in wait. They were now the favorites for the crown, and they were not here to be denied.

Kunj, Sahaan and Dilshad (l to r), the top AV Group bowlers

Globrix, on their part, did not concede the fight early. In spite of losing their opener-captain and best batsman Anuj in the 1^st over, clean bowled by the lively pace of Kunj, and then their other opener Mohit caught at deep cover off the same bowler’s next over, they put up a concerted fight for much of their innings. Kunal and Paras looked solid during the early spell, and constructed the first of two serious partnerships.

Kunal, Paras and Raghav Take the Battle to AV Group

Kunal, particularly, looked good for plenty from the time he lifted Wasim for a six over extra-cover off the last ball of the second over. He followed it up with a couple of swinging straight drives for a boundary and a six off Wasim’s next, before picking Kunj through cover in the 5^th. After the end of the Powerplay, the score read a less than impressive 36 / 2, but both batsman looked solid, and Paras was beginning to find his range too.

AV Group, however, were going to make runs hard work. Off-spinner Sahaan John threw down a maiden in the 7^th, and Kunal, forced to let the shackles loose in the next over, mistimed a pull shot off Dilshad to deep square leg, where Sahaan himself dropped the catch and conceded a boundary. Kunal doubled the tally with a streaky edge next ball, before becoming Sahaan’s first victim in the next over, clean bowled for 36 playing across the line.

Paras, who had been giving his partner most of the strike, finally took charge of the initiative in the 10^th, punishing loose deliveries from leg-spinner Yusuf for a straight four and a mid-wicket six. Raghav too opened his account in the 11^th with two sixes off medium-pacer Kamaldeep, first over long off then straight. In two weak overs, the complexion of the game had changed, and 77 / 3 looked healthy at the time.

AV Bowlers Strike Back, Trigger a Rapid Collapse

Kunj receiving the Man of the Match award

The promising partnership was cut short at the wrong time, as Wasim returned to pick up Raghav for 21 in the 14^th. Even still, with the score now 94, Globrix had a healthy launch-pad to mount a serious charge in the last six. From this point, however, the batting disintegrated rapidly, as the side lost their last seven wickets for 28, and ended up bowled out for 122. Sahaan struck a double blow in the 18^th, including the wicket of Paras (31), to finish with a healthy return of 3/17 from his quota. Dilshad (2/26) also picked up two in the next, before Kunj (3/13) wrapped up the innings with a caught and bowled.

Big Hitters Dilshad and Kunj Seal the Win

122 was never going to be enough for AV Group’s intimidating batting force. Seamers Ankit and VIshal, who had so far been the best new ball pair of the tournament, looked clearly desperate to make an early dent. The desperation cost them their radar, and a series of bad balls were punished by openers Mohsin and Dilshad for boundaries. Dilshad was finally snapped up by leg-spinner Mohit for 40 in the 5^th over, as the ball dipped and ripped past his forward defensive lunge and the wicket-keeper completed a rapid stumping. The score, however, already read 55.

The big-hitting Kunj came in at no 3, and with consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Ali in the 8^th over, he took charge. He remained not out on 42, powered by four big sixes, and ably supported by Mohsin and then Sahaan, he saw his team home in the 16^th over. Kunj was deservedly the man of the match, and for Globrix Consultants, Kunal walked away with the Best Performer Award.

The victory for AV Group completed the line-up for the semi-finals, and for TCS it would take something special to deny them a place in the finals. 

LFL Quarter-final 3: TCS vs HDFC Bank

Brief Scores

TCS:                                                     9 / 133 in 20 overs

                                                            Sumit 48 (27)

                                                            Parveen 24 (37)

                                                            Raja 3/9 (4)

                                                            Sant Ram 3/24 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

HDFC Bank:                                         8 / 96 in 20 overs

                                                            Sant Ram 30 (46)

                                                            Maneesh 2/19 (4)

                                                            Avinash 2/21 (4)

                                                            Parveen 2/21 (4)

                                                                                                                       

Man of the Match:                                 Sumit Sehrawat (TCS)

Best Performer:                                    Raja Gurmeet (HDFC Bank)

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

TCS Recover from 53 / 7, Seal a Berth in Semis

TCS started as favorites against a depleted HDFC Bank side that was missing some of their key players. In LFL 2014, however, there were no easy wins for TCS. Nor, for that matter, did they concede any freebies. What they did with this match was confirm their reputation as being a team that plays out dramatic contests. Every match of theirs had a phase where they clearly lost the plot, only to turn it around with a determined fight-back, and hold their nerve at the death. Sumit, Jagdeep and Vikram have provided some of the best late-order crisis batting in the tournament. However, TCS never fell behind quite as sensationally as they did in this game, and neither did they need their late order batsmen to fire this desperately before.

TCS Blitzkrieged by Raja

In a surprise move that went on to yield spectacular success, HDFC threw the ball to off-spinner Raja for the first over. A bowler who neither gives the ball much tweak nor any pace, Raja looks innocuous from the sidelines. He is an experienced performer, though, and he uses control and deceptive changes of pace to his advantage. However, neither he nor his team might have imagined lapping up 3 wickets in the first over.

Raja picked up 3 wickets in the 1st over

Opener Maneesh, stunned by a slow and loopy delivery first ball of the match, swatted wildly at the unexpected offering, only to see his mistimed effort pocketed safely by Mukul at deep mid-wicket. Nitin skied a simple catch to mid-off two balls later, and Himanshu was bowled trying to play a pull off the last ball of the over. After the 1^st over, TCS were 1 / 3.

Seamer Manav began the next over with 7 wides, including one that flew to the boundary, before surprising Asheesh with a yorker that clanged into the stumps. There was murmur and chaos in the dugout, and Parveen padded up hastily and walked out to the middle clearly nonplussed. Manav gifted another 8 to the total from wide balls including another wayward delivery that raced, uncontested, to the boundary. After 2 bizarre overs, HDFC had picked up 4 wickets and conceded 15 wides.

Parveen Consolidates, Sant Ram Keeps the Pressure on TCS

The wild start was followed by a quiet phase as Vikram and Parveen made survival their priority. However, just as the partnership began to look promising with a couple of smacks to the boundary, another crazy moment followed. Parveen top edged Manav to cover in the 9^th over, where Raja grabbed the ball awkwardly, before juggling and then finally spilling it. The batsmen, in the meanwhile, stood ball-watching, before hastily deciding to go for a single. The misunderstanding gave Raja time to throw to the keeper, who whipped the bails with Vikram short of the crease.

Left-arm spinner Sant Ram, one of the most experienced campaigners in our tournament, struck a double blow in the 12^th to leave TCS reeling. The first reflected his superlative presence of mind. Parveen played the ball straight back to the bowler, who blocked it in his follow-through and flicked it back between his legs to catch a shocked Rohit short of his ground at the non-striker’s end. Parveen’s promising innings of 24 came to an end four balls later as he holed out to Amritpal at long on. At 53 / 7, the TCS innings spelt disaster.

Sumit Turns the Game with Match-winning Knock

Avinash (l) hands Sumit (r) the Man of Match award

Jagdeep now walked out to join the hard-hitting Sumit, and watched from the other end as his partner turned the game around in 5 overs. Sumit unleashed his full range of strokes, beginning with a straight six off Gurjeet, the first of the innings, in the 13^th. He followed it up with another big swing off Sant Ram in the next, and fortune was with him as the fielder at deep mid-wicket spilled the mis-timed shot and watched it clear the fence. Sumit was gifted another life in the next, as Amritpal dropped a simple catch at long on.

HDFC ended up paying the ultimate price for those missed chances, as Sumit went on to contribute 48 out of 133, and put the game beyond his opposition’s reach. Inclined to hit straight through the line of the ball both sides of the wicket, he picked the spinners for a series of boundaries, before launching into Manav in the 17^th with a four over extra cover and a straight six. Jagdeep contributed twin boundaries of his own from the other end, as they got 20 from the over and the score motored to 115. Jagdeep and Sumit were both finally picked up by Sant Ram in the next over off consecutive deliveries, both caught by Gurjeet at long off. Their match-turning partnership was worth 63 off 33 balls. TCS put on a challenging total, in spite of Raja’s 9/3 (4), and Sant Ram’s 24/3 (4).    

TCS Bowlers Exert Chokehold

Sumit and Jagdeep followed up their excellent partnership with another one, this time with the new ball. The two seamers delivered 5 overs of faultless precision, conceding only 19. They kept Sant Ram and Raja on a tight leash with an off-stump line and a full, aggressive length. Leg spinner Maneesh finally broke through in the 7^th over, with Raja caught by Nitin at cover after an uncomfortable contribution of 4 from 18 balls.

Dharminder walked in, clearly aware that his partnership with Sant Ram held the key to the match. It was not to be his day, however, as left-arm spinner Parveen snapped him up and then Arun off consecutive deliveries picked out of cricketing dreamland. Both balls pitched on a good length and turned past the bat to take the top of off-stump. HDFC went into the halfway mark at 37 / 3, staring at defeat. To their credit, none of the TCS bowlers let up the pressure at any point.

Sant Ram looked promising in patches, stroking the ball well, but without support from the other end or easy boundary balls from the bowlers, he never managed to find the momentum to launch a serious challenge. He was finally the 5^th wicket to fall, when he was dismissed by seamer Avinash for 30 in the 15^th over. HDFC wrapped up their chase at an underwhelming 96. All the bowlers contributed equally, and Sumit was easily the star of the show for the winning side, with 48 and figures of 4 – 1 – 19 – 0. For HDFC, Raja was the Star Performer for his standout bowling performance.