Playoff: KCC B Vs CAVs Summary
On paper, perhaps this was supposed to be easiest of contest and the result was a forgone conclusion. At the end of the day, the contest did turn out to be the easiest one but the result changed to the pleasant surprise of everyone. The supposed ants cornered the elephants.The champions from A division CAVs won the toss and like any other strong team would decide against a seemingly weaker team, they decided to BAT first. Their plan was more than obvious right from the ball one when Anup, their opener, drove a fast delivery from Mithil high and fly over the long on for four. But that was just that. Mithil and Praveen bowled a very tight line and length and made the CAVs beg for single runs. Praveen clean-bowled Anup in the very first ball of his spell and CAVs were 5/1. Srikar and Nikhil batted for quite sometime and it looked as if they had set themselves up. A change in field placement did the trick when Anand removed himself from the points to the short mid-off. Srikar drove hard at a full-length delivery but only managed it to land it just before Anand who take it just like a blinder. CAVS were now 26/2 in 7.5 overs. After a fiery spell of 10 overs, Harji was given a chance to ball who gave KCCB another breakthrough in his second over itself. CAVS were reduced to 44/3. The field setting and the groundwork were superb in the first 12 overs and the results were obvious. This brought Dharmesh in the middle and he started off aggressively by hitting a few fours. As a result the field was spread but it didn’t do any difference. Dharmesh and Naren batted together sensibly and took the score to 81/3 at the break in 20 overs.
Next part of CAVs inning totally belongs to Dharmesh when he attacked almost all bowlers from KCCB. Mahesh and Anand bowled well in parts as they contained some runs but were wicket less. Finally the partnership was broken in 34th over when Mithil was brought back into the attack. Srujal got a straight forward catch at long on and Naren was out for 43. KCC-B luck seems to reverse when Dharmesh found Anand at the deep long on and got him out for an unlucky 99. YES Ninety-nine. Srujal got another three wickets at the end and CAVS were finally restricted to 198 in 39.1 overs.
Bowling for KCCB:
Mithil: 8.0-2-36-2
Praveen: 5.0- 1-21-2
Srujal: 6.1-0-39-3
Harji: 5.0-25-0
Mahesh: 8.0-1-39-0
Anand: 7.0-0-34-0
The target was a big one and even bigger given the attack CAVS posses. But Anurag and Praveen provided one of the best starts of this season for KCCB. They quickly went on to 30s in just 4th over. Anurag decided to attack their openers and was quite successful. Praveen played the perfect role of supporting him by rotating strike and taking singles. Together they added 66 runs in as many balls when praveen lost his wicket to Srikar. Srujal went on to join Anurag in the middle and started off in his typical fashion. Quick 15 runs of almost as many balls including three boundaries and thanks to a dubious decision of caught behind by the umpire; he was back in the pavilion. KCC-B 96/2 in 16.3 overs. Srinivas S went at number 4 because Anand wanted to demote himself for some reason, which would prove good at the end. He came back soon and KCC-B was 97/3. Soon after this, the 2 month back memory was refreshed when the team had collapsed after such a great start chasing 198 and 166 against ACC. The mere realization left a few people shivering. Anurag almost unruffled by all these past things perhaps because of not being part of those unforgettable moments, kept playing his shots and was looking confident and all set for a big one. Anand was the number 5 batsman. Anand and Anurag played responsibly took singles whenever there was a chance and hit boundaries whenever offered something to be hit. The scoreboard kept ticking and the pressure was mounting on CAVS for the first time. Yes for the first time. They always believed that they would get the team out sooner or later. But when only 50+ runs were needed, the composure of the two well-set batsmen at the crease panicked them. Anurag crafted two beautiful cover drives in one over and Anand attacked their main bowler Dharmesh in his 4th over by crafting him for three consecutive fours. If CAVS had a plan, it was all gone by now.
CAVS frastration could be judged by the jubilation with which they celebrated Anurag’s wicket in 29th over when Anurag failed to read a Yorker length delivery and was completely bowled. KCC-B 149/4 and still exactly 50 runs away from the victory. Mahesh was promoted up the order and he joined Anand in the middle. From there on what followed would be a lesson to remember every time we go on to chase. Sensible batting, cutting loose when the bowlers made any mistake and good running between the wickets was the key, so was the realization that the closer we reach to the magical score the easier it would be attack. Anand and Mahesh attacked only when 23 runs off last 36 balls when required and KCCB was home with 22 balls remaining. The winning shots came from the captain when he carved two consecutive fours off Anup’s trial for leg spins.
It was a big win because of the big difference between the two teams on paper. It would always be a great source of inspiration to think about this game in Future for all those who played this game. Fielding was good in the first 15 overs but once Dharmesh and Naren started playing freely perhaps we were under pressure and they made most of it. We would have to keep this in mind in the next game. This game would not belong to a single person and I would rate it as a very good team effort. Fiery spell by Mithil and Praveen at the start was crucial and so was the initial start given by Praveen and Anurag at the start of KCCB innings. Anurag played with responsible hands would deserve the MOM. Anand’s innings with Mahesh till the end was equally crucial to take KCCB home comfortably.
Brief Scorecard for KCCB batting is below:
Anurag: 70 runs off 85 balls (7x4)
Anand: 53 off 62 balls (8x4)
Praveen: 18 off 21 balls (3x4)
Mahesh: 22 off 28 balls (3x4)
posted by Anand @ 2:00 AM
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