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.