DCL Cup Quarter-final: SRP XI vs Indoasian

Brief Scores

Indoasian:                           6 / 205 in 20 overs

                                                            Lakshay 67 (37)

                                                            Deepak Sharma 62 (39)

                                                            Karan 42* (21)

                                                            Rajnish 2/30 (4)

                                                            Akki 1/18 (3)

                                                                                                                                               

SRP XI:                             4 / 210 in 17.4 overs

                                                            Abhinav 104* (56)

                                                            V Bangar 39* (14)

                                                            Anuj Meena 2/27 (3)

                                                                                                                                   

Man of the Match:                        Abhinav (SRP XI)

Best Performer Indoasian:                    Lakshay

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

Abhinav’s Match-winning Hundred Gets SRP Season’s Highest Run Chase

With two teams that play to win, and more significantly, expect to win every game they play, we anticipated an intense match. What we got ultimately was the most enthralling battle of the tournament and perhaps even the season, as the two equals locked horns. For the entire afternoon, the teams exchanged heavy blows, and between them there were five batting contributions that had match-winning stature. Three of those came from Indoasian. Significantly, however, SRP XI’s Abhinav produced the innings of the tournament, season, and perhaps even his life as he stole the game from under Indoasian’s nose with a stunning hundred against pressure.

Jaideep and Abhinav Seize Momentum for SRP

Abhinav played the innings of the season

With 206 to get, SRP were confronted with the season’s highest chase. Indoasian, sensing SRP’s big hitting prowess and batting depth, knew it was match on, and Deepak used his sharp cricketing sense  to begin with spin from both ends, giving the batsmen no pace. After a tight first over of off-spin himself, left-arm spinner Shivang responded with a wicket of his second ball, Dinesh clean bowled for a duck.

Abhinav, walking out at number 3, displayed his composure and confidence in his own and his team’s ability to chase a big total by dead batting his first nine balls. Strangely, in the context of slam bang cricket, those dot balls served a warning to the fielding side. As did the typically brisk start Jaideep got from the other end. Following his consecutive boundaries in the first over, he crashed a six over long on off Deepak in the 3^rd over, before being gifted four overthrows next ball that firmly established SRP’s momentum.

Abhinav, after settling himself in, joined the party in the 4^th, swatting Shivang for a mid-wicket boundary followed by a cut to the fence. The compilation had begun and Indoasian would never see the end of the leftie’s bat. He slammed off spinner Anuj Meena for a six against the spin over long on in the next over before once again helping himself to consecutive boundaries of Shivang, the second of these a swinging drive over extra cover – his favorite shot.

Spin and Fight Keep Indoasian in the Game

Lakshay was the Best Performer for Indoasian

Off-spinner Lakshay gave Indoasian a big break in the 8^th over, dismissing Jaideep off his first ball, caught by Anuj at long off for 25. That was pretty much the last cheer for the off-spinner, as he bled 21 runs in the rest of the over. Manjeet needed just one sighter before slamming a six over long off and a boundary past extra cover. The over ended with Abhinav heaping another maximum. He reached his fifty in the next with a four and a six off Vishal’s medium pace. Slowly but surely, the game was tilting SRP’s way.

The thing, though, with a 200-plus target is that the pressure never relents. So, even though SRP were chipping away 10-12 every over, when Anuj dismissed Manjeet with his combative off-spin in the 13^th caught at deep cover, the batting side still needed 79 in 47 balls. Abhinav, however, was in a relentless mood now and he smashed a slog six over long on in the same over. The drama reached a crescendo off the last ball, as Abhinav defended a ball off his back foot, the ball rolled back to nudge the stumps but the bails never dislodged. In a short instant, the erupting celebration was replaced by disbelief. In retrospect, that might have been the turning point.

Deepak Sharma Sets up Big Total with Aggressive Fifty

The dramatic climax was set up by a high-octane batting effort by Indoasian earlier in the day. They were as clinical as they were aggressive, sparing nothing lose right from ball one. Deepak gave them a rapid start, slamming the medium pace of Jambu for 18 in the first over, including a six and two fours over mid-wicket. Akki kept it tight from the other end, managing to knock out Vishal’s stumps off an attempted flick. SRP’s best bowler, left-arm spinner Rajnish, gave his side another lift, trapping Ajay LBW in the 5^th.

Akki was the day's most economical bowler

Tight bowling brought SRP back into the game, but Lakshay and Deepak had enough presence of mind and cricketing experience to knock the ball around and wait for the opportunities that would inevitably come. Deepak’s gaze finally fell on left-arm spinner Abhinav in the 8^th, and he bludgeoned a short ball for six before bulleting a straight drive past the bowler. Deepak punished off-spinner Balle for another 6-4 combo in the next to reach his fifty.

After another six off Abhinav, he was finally caught by Manjeet at the deep mid-wicket boundary in the 12^th off Jaideep’s medium pace. The score read 97 at this stage, and Deepak had helped himself to 62 of these to continue his perch at the top of the run-scoring leader-board.

Lakshay and Karan Take Indoasian Past 200

The next big partnership was the one for the 6^th wicket between Lakshay and Karan. They put on 65 in 32 balls, scattering sixes and picking boundaries off Robinson, Jaideep and even Rajnish. Lakshay’s 37-ball 67 was as dynamic and energetic an innings as we had seen. The batsman picked gaps everywhere, ran singles hard, and located boundaries around the park. During the last 30 balls of his innings before being dismissed by Rajnish in the penultimate over, he did not play a single dot ball. Karan carried on till the end, smashing 14 off the last three balls to end with 42 not out and lift Indoasian past 200.

Abhinav and Bangar Seal the Win for SRP

With 7 overs to go in the SRP run chase, Abhinav, buoyed by his good fortune, pulled two fearless sixes over square leg off a weak over by left-arm spinner Abhishek. The irrepressible Anuj Meena, however, brought Indoasian back into the game with the wicket of Sudhir. It was to be the last joy for Indoasian, though, as the big hitting Vishad Bangar walked out and employed his dismissive power for maximum impact in partnership with Abhinav. The duo shut the game out in two overs of mayhem. Bangar smoked two signature straight sixes off Shivang, before Abhinav played an exquisite late cut to move on to 92. Bangar unleashed another two sixes in the next off Vishal, before Abhinav moved on to 98 with a lift over long on.

Aptly, Abhinav completed his hundred and the winning runs in the 18^th with another straight six. The jubilant SRP squad converged in the middle, wild with celebration. Abhinav walked away with a memorable Man of the Match award for his sapping hundred in the cauldron of an intense knock-out battle, and Lakshay picked up the Best Performer award for Indoasian.