PUCC Indoor
League Spring ‘08 - Week 5 Review
It was all about pressure…a word anyone would inarguably associate with
Super Saturday and Smashing Sunday. If run-fests and tumbling wickets, mixed
fortunes, big-hitting, stunning fielding, near chokes and cool finishes made up
a truly Super Saturday, Sunday saw the best game of the tourney played so far…
Speedsters Swat CB XI
Kicking off the slew of games this weekend, CP XI began the
proceedings…and the first victim of ‘pressure’ was CD, though of a unique kind!
Racking up 76/2 in 12 overs, the pressure got to the batsmen from CB XI, who
lost 6 wickets for 11 runs in 13 balls!! A worked-up Saad with figures of
4-0-24-4 was the standout bowler. In reply, Faraaz, Hamza and Waqas made short
work of the target. Amar troubled the batsmen briefly, but could not prevent a
6 wicket loss.
Club
President XI Vs High Flying Speedsters
Bullets Beat Dheepang in a
Wicket-fest
This match deserves just 2 lines, for it finished almost as soon as it
began! Ali and Haaris ran through Dheepang to shut them out for a paltry 27,
the lowest score of the tournament. This match proved the adage, “Small totals
are tricky”…with the Bullets almost making a mess of the chase, losing 5
wickets before reaching the target.
Blazing
Bullets Vs Dhipaadi Dheepang
AP Express Runs Out of
Fuel at Final Stop
Coming back for their second match of the day, Club President’s XI
replicated their morning antics precisely, losing their way towards the end of
their innings, but lusty hitting by CD ensured a score past 100. AP Express
batted as though they were to catch the next train home, and quickly lost 7
wickets cheaply, with Jim foxing the batsmen with 3 wickets. But the last pair
of Rohit and Jitin labored on, aided by some erratic fielding lapses by CB XI.
All boiled down to the last over where Rohit smashed Mohanty for a first ball
six to reduce the margin to 12 off 5 balls! But AP could knock off just 5 more
to end an emotionally charged over.
A.P.Express
Vs Club President XI
Underdogs Eat T9 for
Dinner!!
Jagpreet displaying some sublime form along with Aditya led the carnage
of the T9 attack to post 137, the highest total in the Spring League. Jaggi’s
bat seems to have been programmed for destruction as he murdered the attack for
a tournament high of 48. T9 managed a 95 in reply, albeit facing a second
string Underdog attack.
Virtual Reality Squeeze
Past Fighting Golimaar
In what was the best match of the day, Virtual Reality and Golimaar
fought tooth and nail in a display of terrific team efforts. Bating first,
Golimaar reached a fighting 83, aided by Abhishek’s 36 and some intelligent
running by the middle-order. Appu’s dibbly-dobbly spin and Mummorthy’s
you-miss-I-hit bowling stemmed a strong start (63/1 in 11 overs). In reply,
Vijay and Jaggu blitzed to a cracker of a start before Ram caught a one-handed
blinder in the deep to send back a rampaging Jaggu. Ram’s stunner galvanized
the bowlers to keep a tight line and length, with Abhishek shuffling bowlers
smartly. Deep and Neeraj bowled 2 tight overs to bring the equation down to 7
off 6 balls. But Mummorthy’s cool won it for VR, ending a well fought battle.
AP Express End the Week at
Even-Stevens
Improving with every outing, a smart fielding AP Express bundled out T9
for 53, with the extras column top scoring at 29 (half the total!!) In reply,
they toyed with the T9 attack to overhaul the total in 9.3 overs, for one win
and one loss this weekend. A miserly effort by Ram with the ball (3.1-0-7-2)
and solid batting by Krishna and Sundeep was too much for T9. Sid, though,
fought a lone battle with a good bowling effort.
Golimaar Bring Down the
Underdogs in a Thriller
‘Underdogs’ Golimaar brought down the undefeated Overrated Underdogs in a
cracker of a game. With the top three batsmen back to the bench at 16-3, Deep
and Siddharth dug-in in a pugnacious display of batting. But a total of under
80 was never going to be enough for the fancied opponents; some blitz by Deep
and Neeraj and aggressive running pushed the total to 95. Despite losing
captain Sachin early, danger man Jaggi was chipping away, running well with his
partners. Siddharth then pegged back the rampaging Jaggi with some tight
bowling backed by superb fielding to build the pressure. 3 quick wickets saw
the balance tilt slightly in favor of Golimaar, and with 29 required in 3
overs, the game was building up for a rousing climax. It came down to 13 off 6
balls and the 4th ball produced a runout. Jaggi fought it out to reduce it to 3
off 1 ball, but Neeraj held his nerve and bowled a slower one, new man
Jagpratap spooned a catch to Mani, who fumbled once but caught the ball for a
terrific win for Golimaar! The ever effervescent Mani did a ‘Dada’ as the
Golimaars celebrated!!
Overrated
Underdogs Vs Golimaar