ICT maintains its winning streak, thru to KG Cricket 2005 Finals!!!
A sunny morning and a freshly laid pitch greeted the two semifinalists – ICT & EDS-B and the stage was all set for a grand semifinal.
EDS-B won the toss and decided to set a target for ICT to chase. After a steady start from the openers, ICT broke through the defense of EDS and snapped a couple of quick wickets. After that, it was left to Hariprasad and Vignesh to steady the boat, each one doing it in contrasting styles. If Hariprasad was rock solid and played a patiently grueling knock, Vignesh (shall we say ‘Viru’) was his usual self, carting the bowlers all over the ground with his unorthodox style of batting. Unfortunately for EDS-B, after HariPrasad lost his wicket to the fiery Suresh, no one could keep company for Vignesh, who remained not out on 30 at the end of the innings. Kumaresh, who was clobbered in the first match against FRM-B, emerged from a hiatus and picked up 4 quick wickets in just 2 overs, completely destroying the lower order and thereby causing a forgettable collapse of EDS-B. ICT was required to chase a modest target of 112 to reach the FINALS of the championship.
ICT made a surprise tinkering with their batting order by sending in Rajesh & Senthil as openers. ICT batsmen maintained a steady run rate but lost 4 quick wickets in succession, including their Captain, Vinith. When the score read 58/4, the match was evenly poised and in walked Santhosh to join Kumaresh, the man in form. With elegance as gentle as the Mahesh-Pierce combination in Wimbledon Mixed Doubles, they made a mockery of EDS-B’s bowling attack picking up runs at ease. It was a pure delight to watch the way both batsmen control their innings with superbly crafted shots on either side of the wicket. Due credit should also be given to EDS-B bowlers who bowled their hearts out and fittingly enough, the match boiled down to the last 2 overs, with ICT needing to score 11 runs, with 6 six wickets in hand. Haril Kumar bowled the 19th over and Kumaresh hit the ball towards deep square leg and Dinakaran made a valiant effort to gobble him up but ended up kissing the boundary line and in a flash second dropped the ball back onto the field, which was declared as a boundary by the umpire, fortunately the decision came from the NEUTRAL umpire of the tournament, Rajesh Kannan, the Physical Trainer. Eventually, ICT went on to score the remaining runs in the next 5 balls, thanks to the blistering 56-run unbeaten partnership between Santhosh & Kumaresh. Kumaresh scored a classy 55, ably supported by Santhosh, who caressed the fielders now and then, remaining unbeaten on 14 runs.
Thus, ICT rightly took its appointed place in the Finals and shall meet the Winner of HR-BPO vs. FRM-A match…!!!
A sunny morning and a freshly laid pitch greeted the two semifinalists – ICT & EDS-B and the stage was all set for a grand semifinal.
EDS-B won the toss and decided to set a target for ICT to chase. After a steady start from the openers, ICT broke through the defense of EDS and snapped a couple of quick wickets. After that, it was left to Hariprasad and Vignesh to steady the boat, each one doing it in contrasting styles. If Hariprasad was rock solid and played a patiently grueling knock, Vignesh (shall we say ‘Viru’) was his usual self, carting the bowlers all over the ground with his unorthodox style of batting. Unfortunately for EDS-B, after HariPrasad lost his wicket to the fiery Suresh, no one could keep company for Vignesh, who remained not out on 30 at the end of the innings. Kumaresh, who was clobbered in the first match against FRM-B, emerged from a hiatus and picked up 4 quick wickets in just 2 overs, completely destroying the lower order and thereby causing a forgettable collapse of EDS-B. ICT was required to chase a modest target of 112 to reach the FINALS of the championship.
ICT made a surprise tinkering with their batting order by sending in Rajesh & Senthil as openers. ICT batsmen maintained a steady run rate but lost 4 quick wickets in succession, including their Captain, Vinith. When the score read 58/4, the match was evenly poised and in walked Santhosh to join Kumaresh, the man in form. With elegance as gentle as the Mahesh-Pierce combination in Wimbledon Mixed Doubles, they made a mockery of EDS-B’s bowling attack picking up runs at ease. It was a pure delight to watch the way both batsmen control their innings with superbly crafted shots on either side of the wicket. Due credit should also be given to EDS-B bowlers who bowled their hearts out and fittingly enough, the match boiled down to the last 2 overs, with ICT needing to score 11 runs, with 6 six wickets in hand. Haril Kumar bowled the 19th over and Kumaresh hit the ball towards deep square leg and Dinakaran made a valiant effort to gobble him up but ended up kissing the boundary line and in a flash second dropped the ball back onto the field, which was declared as a boundary by the umpire, fortunately the decision came from the NEUTRAL umpire of the tournament, Rajesh Kannan, the Physical Trainer. Eventually, ICT went on to score the remaining runs in the next 5 balls, thanks to the blistering 56-run unbeaten partnership between Santhosh & Kumaresh. Kumaresh scored a classy 55, ably supported by Santhosh, who caressed the fielders now and then, remaining unbeaten on 14 runs.
Thus, ICT rightly took its appointed place in the Finals and shall meet the Winner of HR-BPO vs. FRM-A match…!!!
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