Bravo! Brilliant! Breathtaking! Well, what else to say about this match where the two "B's" (EDS-B Vs. FRM-B) took on each other. The match lived up to all its pre-match hype & expectations and both the teams fought till the end, making it a memorable match to watch. The match, which started a little late due to some downpour early morning, started with FRM B winning the toss and electing to field, a strategy they adopted unsuccessfully against ICT in their first round match.
Gnanasekar and Hariprasad, the opening duo of EDS-B started the innings, but they were in for a surprise very soon when FRM-B introduced their Vajrayudh - the secret weapon - Navaneeth who didn't play in their first match due to a leg injury. He was a pro and bowled some beautiful leg cutters and slow deliveries, which caught the EDS batsmen by surprise. Pretty soon, two of their top tier batsmen (Hariprasad for 10 runs and Senthil for a duck) were in the pavilion. FRM-B truly started to show their real colors with a very good line up of bowling and they gave only 7 extras in their innings, the lowest in this tournament so far. They were like wounded cheetahs and leapt and caught the ball as if it were their preys. At the end of 10 overs, the score read like 32/2.
The wounded EDS came back with their full prowess after the drinks break and Gnanasekar and Vignesh joined together and started blasting all over the field as if they were bursting diwali crackers. If Vignesh was kind of orthodox and a gusty hitter, despatching the ball to all corners of the ground, Gnana was more of a run accumulator and happy to give strike to his little partner, Vignesh. Vignesh and Gnana rattled off a 50 run partnership as they amassed 69 runs in the last 10 overs. Gnana decided to improvise once Vignesh got out – he was moving all around the wicket, trying some reverse sweep and stuff - but what mattered was the runs he scored at the end. At the end of the innings, EDS had scored a modest 101/6.
If the first innings had a surprise in Navaneeth, the second innings had another name - Dominic, the best opener in this tournament thus far, helped himself to a chanceless knock of 42 n.o., courtesy some sensible grafting of 1’s & 2’s and occasional stirrup of boundaries. Raja got out quite early and the sensational Pradeep, who blasted his way to a superb knock against ICT the other day, walked in, got out the first ball he faced, and you could sense a palpable tension in the FRM-B Team area. Navaneeth & Dominic steadied their ship and it was a delight to watch both these players carve out their shots on both sides of the wicket, Navaneeth’s straight drive being the pick and the best shot of the tournament so far. Vignesh, who was introduced after drinks break, struck with a bloody blow when Navaneeth lobbed up, and soon Hari was also on his way back. "Punjab ka putthar" Devesh walked in next, swung & missed a few initially, and once he got connected, it was boundaries all the way, Dominic too joined the party with a couple of delectable off side shots. They both wrapped up the match with 3 overs remaining, while Dominic was unbeaten on 43, the highest total so far in this tournament.
The crowd and the Team went ecstatic and there was jubilation all around. All is not lost for EDS-B as they are virtually through to the semis because of their exemplary performance in their first round match with the Call Center guys – maybe they wanted to avenge their defeat at their hands in the last tournament and they did that to perfection – bowling call center out for a meager 29 runs! In all probability, they might meet the mighty ICTians in the semis, if all the numbers work out the way it should – what a cracker of a contest it is going to be!
Despite this classy performance, FRM-B's fate will not be decided until the last ball of the Knockout Round II is bowled. Now, they need to literally push their senior guyz to thump HR-BPO Team by a huge margin so that they can qualify for the semis, and if they do so, they might well run into FRM-A, and what a sparkling contest that is going to be!! All in all, an interesting fortnight ahead for avid cricket lovers - we hope to see the crowd swell in the weeks to come!
For a complete scorecard of this match, click here
Gnanasekar and Hariprasad, the opening duo of EDS-B started the innings, but they were in for a surprise very soon when FRM-B introduced their Vajrayudh - the secret weapon - Navaneeth who didn't play in their first match due to a leg injury. He was a pro and bowled some beautiful leg cutters and slow deliveries, which caught the EDS batsmen by surprise. Pretty soon, two of their top tier batsmen (Hariprasad for 10 runs and Senthil for a duck) were in the pavilion. FRM-B truly started to show their real colors with a very good line up of bowling and they gave only 7 extras in their innings, the lowest in this tournament so far. They were like wounded cheetahs and leapt and caught the ball as if it were their preys. At the end of 10 overs, the score read like 32/2.
The wounded EDS came back with their full prowess after the drinks break and Gnanasekar and Vignesh joined together and started blasting all over the field as if they were bursting diwali crackers. If Vignesh was kind of orthodox and a gusty hitter, despatching the ball to all corners of the ground, Gnana was more of a run accumulator and happy to give strike to his little partner, Vignesh. Vignesh and Gnana rattled off a 50 run partnership as they amassed 69 runs in the last 10 overs. Gnana decided to improvise once Vignesh got out – he was moving all around the wicket, trying some reverse sweep and stuff - but what mattered was the runs he scored at the end. At the end of the innings, EDS had scored a modest 101/6.
If the first innings had a surprise in Navaneeth, the second innings had another name - Dominic, the best opener in this tournament thus far, helped himself to a chanceless knock of 42 n.o., courtesy some sensible grafting of 1’s & 2’s and occasional stirrup of boundaries. Raja got out quite early and the sensational Pradeep, who blasted his way to a superb knock against ICT the other day, walked in, got out the first ball he faced, and you could sense a palpable tension in the FRM-B Team area. Navaneeth & Dominic steadied their ship and it was a delight to watch both these players carve out their shots on both sides of the wicket, Navaneeth’s straight drive being the pick and the best shot of the tournament so far. Vignesh, who was introduced after drinks break, struck with a bloody blow when Navaneeth lobbed up, and soon Hari was also on his way back. "Punjab ka putthar" Devesh walked in next, swung & missed a few initially, and once he got connected, it was boundaries all the way, Dominic too joined the party with a couple of delectable off side shots. They both wrapped up the match with 3 overs remaining, while Dominic was unbeaten on 43, the highest total so far in this tournament.
The crowd and the Team went ecstatic and there was jubilation all around. All is not lost for EDS-B as they are virtually through to the semis because of their exemplary performance in their first round match with the Call Center guys – maybe they wanted to avenge their defeat at their hands in the last tournament and they did that to perfection – bowling call center out for a meager 29 runs! In all probability, they might meet the mighty ICTians in the semis, if all the numbers work out the way it should – what a cracker of a contest it is going to be!
Despite this classy performance, FRM-B's fate will not be decided until the last ball of the Knockout Round II is bowled. Now, they need to literally push their senior guyz to thump HR-BPO Team by a huge margin so that they can qualify for the semis, and if they do so, they might well run into FRM-A, and what a sparkling contest that is going to be!! All in all, an interesting fortnight ahead for avid cricket lovers - we hope to see the crowd swell in the weeks to come!
For a complete scorecard of this match, click here
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