A stunning victory by HR-BPO, thru to the finals.
In what can be termed as one of the biggest upsets ever in the history of the KG cricket series, HR-BPO, the underdogs defeated the mighty FRM-A fair and square in the second semifinals of KG Cricket 2005. If one scrambles for the reasons behind it, much like what happened to the Australians recently when they played against Bangladesh stands true here... Is it complacency or "they are nothing" attitude that plagued the FRM team? No one is sure. Hats off to the HR-BPO team for pulling up their socks and rising to the occasion.
HR-BPO, led by Ranjith, won the toss and elected to field first considering their ability to chase big targets. The FRM team, who have some heavyweights in the team couldn't really capitalize and Johnson (Captain) soon departed for only 3 runs (tried to hoist the ball for a six, but ended up gifting his wicket). In came Chandru, who played some fine, clean crisp shots, contributing a valuable 18 runs, but soon departed trying to increase the run rate. There was no shortage of 'Extras' in the first 10 overs, as HR-BPO struggled with their bowling line and length; however, they capitalized it towards the end of the innings. The scoreboard read 44 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of 10 overs. Soon after the break, Ajith departed for 10 runs, who was caught brilliantly by Sameer. Pressure was slowly mounting on what seemed to be the best batting lineup team (on papers). Vinoth, the top scorer of the innings, added a quick 29. He hit two huge sixes and a boundary, before being yorked by Winston. The second half of the innings was dominated by some tidy bowling by HR-BPO team, focusing on good accuracy and length. Astin along with Antony contributed another 30 runs to the kitty. Succumbing under pressure, followed by some good tidy bowling by HR-BPO, FRM-A failed to capitalize the latter part of the innings (another 15-20 runs would have made the difference). At the end of the stipulated 20 overs, FRM-A made 112 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Winston was the pick of the bowlers grabbing up 3 vital wickets, to end with figures of 5 overs, 3 for 20 runs.
HR-BPO suffered an early blow with Sameer out for naught, caught & bowled brilliantly by Vinoth. Valuable knocks by both Ranjith and Winston steadied the run rate. If Ranjith was aggressive with his bat, Winston, on the other hand, was cautious enough, waiting for the odd ones to put it away. Another excruciating thing to be noted was the 'inconsistency factor' by FRM-A, which was seen in both bowling as well as fielding (especially in the first 10 overs). Ranjith eventually trying to square cut, edged a simple catch to Raghu. Kumar, the highest scorer for HR-BPO in the last encounter, departed quickly for 8 runs (clean bowled by Ajith). The run rate was on course even though wickets tumbled at regular intervals. At one stage, the scorecard read 52/5. In came Amarjith and Clayton, and what followed was one of the finest batting performance of the series. Clayton was lucky enough to stay in the crease as he was dropped on the boundary at 7 runs. FRM team's woes continued as Clayton made most of his reprieve, displaying some magnificent shots. At one stage, HR-BPO required 19 runs of 17 balls. Tension was vivid, both among the players as well as the cheerleaders of both sides. FRM-A swung back into action, with Hari R conceding only 3 runs from the 19th over. The match was precariously perched as it unfolded into the penultimate over, with HR-BPO requiring 10 runs off the final over. Clayton finished off the match with a boundary and a stunning six, clearing the long-on boundary, thus shattering the hopes of the mighty FRM-A's dream run into the finals. Clayton remained unbeaten at 36, while his partner Amarjith contributed a crafty 17 runs to the tally. They say "all is well that ends well", but that wasn't exactly the case with FRM-A. Sloppy fielding and inconsistency in bowling and batting lineup attributed to their loss.
The above scenario resembles a similar situation of the likes of David and Goliath.
[HR-BPO team - click the pic for a bigger image]
In what can be termed as one of the biggest upsets ever in the history of the KG cricket series, HR-BPO, the underdogs defeated the mighty FRM-A fair and square in the second semifinals of KG Cricket 2005. If one scrambles for the reasons behind it, much like what happened to the Australians recently when they played against Bangladesh stands true here... Is it complacency or "they are nothing" attitude that plagued the FRM team? No one is sure. Hats off to the HR-BPO team for pulling up their socks and rising to the occasion.
HR-BPO, led by Ranjith, won the toss and elected to field first considering their ability to chase big targets. The FRM team, who have some heavyweights in the team couldn't really capitalize and Johnson (Captain) soon departed for only 3 runs (tried to hoist the ball for a six, but ended up gifting his wicket). In came Chandru, who played some fine, clean crisp shots, contributing a valuable 18 runs, but soon departed trying to increase the run rate. There was no shortage of 'Extras' in the first 10 overs, as HR-BPO struggled with their bowling line and length; however, they capitalized it towards the end of the innings. The scoreboard read 44 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of 10 overs. Soon after the break, Ajith departed for 10 runs, who was caught brilliantly by Sameer. Pressure was slowly mounting on what seemed to be the best batting lineup team (on papers). Vinoth, the top scorer of the innings, added a quick 29. He hit two huge sixes and a boundary, before being yorked by Winston. The second half of the innings was dominated by some tidy bowling by HR-BPO team, focusing on good accuracy and length. Astin along with Antony contributed another 30 runs to the kitty. Succumbing under pressure, followed by some good tidy bowling by HR-BPO, FRM-A failed to capitalize the latter part of the innings (another 15-20 runs would have made the difference). At the end of the stipulated 20 overs, FRM-A made 112 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Winston was the pick of the bowlers grabbing up 3 vital wickets, to end with figures of 5 overs, 3 for 20 runs.
HR-BPO suffered an early blow with Sameer out for naught, caught & bowled brilliantly by Vinoth. Valuable knocks by both Ranjith and Winston steadied the run rate. If Ranjith was aggressive with his bat, Winston, on the other hand, was cautious enough, waiting for the odd ones to put it away. Another excruciating thing to be noted was the 'inconsistency factor' by FRM-A, which was seen in both bowling as well as fielding (especially in the first 10 overs). Ranjith eventually trying to square cut, edged a simple catch to Raghu. Kumar, the highest scorer for HR-BPO in the last encounter, departed quickly for 8 runs (clean bowled by Ajith). The run rate was on course even though wickets tumbled at regular intervals. At one stage, the scorecard read 52/5. In came Amarjith and Clayton, and what followed was one of the finest batting performance of the series. Clayton was lucky enough to stay in the crease as he was dropped on the boundary at 7 runs. FRM team's woes continued as Clayton made most of his reprieve, displaying some magnificent shots. At one stage, HR-BPO required 19 runs of 17 balls. Tension was vivid, both among the players as well as the cheerleaders of both sides. FRM-A swung back into action, with Hari R conceding only 3 runs from the 19th over. The match was precariously perched as it unfolded into the penultimate over, with HR-BPO requiring 10 runs off the final over. Clayton finished off the match with a boundary and a stunning six, clearing the long-on boundary, thus shattering the hopes of the mighty FRM-A's dream run into the finals. Clayton remained unbeaten at 36, while his partner Amarjith contributed a crafty 17 runs to the tally. They say "all is well that ends well", but that wasn't exactly the case with FRM-A. Sloppy fielding and inconsistency in bowling and batting lineup attributed to their loss.
The above scenario resembles a similar situation of the likes of David and Goliath.
[HR-BPO team - click the pic for a bigger image]
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