Bangla Gladiators 117 for 7 20 overs (Mahbatt 26, Andrew 18, Ravi 2 for 15, Jayanth 2 for 25, Jeevan 1 for 9 in 4 overs)
Super Kings 79 all out in 16.4 overs (Shiv 19, Badri 17, Shahnawaz Ali 4 for 14, Zubair 3 for 29 )
Bangla Gladiators batting:
Super Kings won the toss and elected to field just like what they did in the first round when they beat Bangla Gladiators. Captain Mahbbat opened the batting and showed the way with a pugnacious 26 runs with four boundaries. It was really a stand out performance from a captain leading from the front as he realized that he needs to stay around to make a good score. Not taking away the merit of the other batsman, their key batsman are indeed himself, Shivin and Andrew and it was so nice to see someone who understands his role and takes on the responsibility. He was watchful when necessary and stepped out whenever he wanted to hit a boundary. Unfortunately the inexperience of some of the Super Kings bolwers showed up as they duly bowled full tosses whenever Mahbbat stepped out. It was indeed a very clever and yet simple batting technique from Mahbbat.
Mrinmoy came one down although he was not convincing at all as he was time and gain was inner edging to fine leg, stayed around to make 10 vital runs to take the score to 38 runs in the 7th over. That is exactly what you want from a top order batsman to stay around not to loose too many wickets and yet score runs at a decent pace. By not losing more than two wickets by the seventh over, Bangla Gladiators showed their determination and will to succeed today.
Although Shivin failed, it was really a clever ploy to have Andrew come lower down the order whcih emphatically signaled that he can go all out. Not that he does not do the same thing when he opens the batting. But in the earlier games, Bangla were found wanting to close out in the end overs and it certainly helped to have Andrew come lower order. Andrew hit an enormous sixer over cover which was indeed a mighty hit with brutal power, leaving the Super Kings captain applauding the audacity and cleanliness with which that full toss was hit. He scored 18 runs inclusive of that sixer and two boundaries and that knock was really vital for Bangla Gladiators to post a decent score of 119 in their 20 overs.
Super Kings bowling was very steady and have really improved through the season. Although their inexperience still shows up whenever the batsman show their positive intent, they are really getting better with their rhythm and line. Unfortunately they bowled about six full tosses all of which went for boundary. It is not enough bowling five good balls and then gift away one bad ball. Cricket is a cruel game and there are enough good batsman in the leage who will take full toll of that one bad ball. Cricket is all about percentages and the team that wins the game are the one who make every run, every ball count and it is important lesson for the young teams to imbibe upon. If a good ball is hit, well and good, credit to the batsman. But to gift runs through a full toss is... Despite that occasional bad balls, Super Kings bowled well to restrict Bangla Gladiators to 119 for 7 in 20 overs.
For Super Kings, Ravi and Jayanth got two wickets while Jeevan had another outstanding spell of four overs, giving away only 9 runs. Again, it shows the home work done by Bangla Gladiators to understand the threat and just play him out, without losing too many wickets.
Super Kings fielding was also, in general, good. Shiv's wicket keeping was outstanding with two catches and one smart stumping to get rid of Mahbbat.
All in all, it was a very methodically planned batting performance by Bangla Gladiators as they keep on improving through the season.
From Super Kings perspective, this was about 10 to 15 runs more than what they wanted. However, having successfully chased 114 in the first round against the same team and with the belter of a batting track, Super Kings were expected to win although the match will be closer.
Super Kings Batting:
Needing exact six RPO, all it needed was for the top order batsman to stay until the 10th over, kocking around scoring 50 by the tenth over without losing not more than two wickets.
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| Shiv, consistent opener |
In the meanwhile, the other top order batsman Sagar and Pras came and went. Both of them were consumed by Mahbbat who opened the bowling. It was again another smart decision to have him open the bowling since he has been bowling whole heatedly in all the games and that there is no point in coming in as fourth bowler. A 20 overs game is mainly dictated by the first 6 to 8 overs and one ought to play out the best players during this phase. Great bowling by Mahbbat and he is one of the best bowlers in the league with his consistent off stump line and also the bounce that he extracts from the wicket with his shoulder.
Disaster stuck the very next ball as Neeraj, the best Super Kings batsman by a distance, was out bowled first ball of an inside edge at the fall of Shiv's wicket. It was a great shocker indeed since even in practice sessions, he hates to loose his wicket He has been doing the bulk of scoring after he came back into the team and one can't expect him to deliver every time and frankly speaking, it was good fullish length ball to face first up. Zubair who got the wicket of Shiv and Neeraj bowled well to take three wickets.
With Neeraj's fall, the score became 53 for 4 at the end of 10 overs. Although Super Kings had lost four wickets, it was still anybody's game. 67 to win in 10 overs with six wickets remaining should ideally favor the batting team.
But what a a turn around. Shahnawaz Ali bowled an outstanding spell which included four wickets, two bowled and two LBWs in a matter of a few balls. It was an excellent spell of bowling and simply knocked Super Kings out of contention in just two overs. In 11 consecutive balls, he had four wickets and gave away only two runs. If this is not a great spell, then what else can be. Coupled with Mahbbat's all-round showing, this is what clinched the game for Bangla Gladiators and from the author's perceptive, they both are the men of the match.
From 53 for 4, in two overs, Super Kings slumped to 71 for 9 by the 13th over. It certainly crushed the Super Kings captain's heart, who unfortunately could not bat because of a torn right shoulder cuff.
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| Badir, determined |
All it required for a couple of batsman to knock the ball around for another two to three overs and then take it to the end. Again, inexperience showed up as the batsman panicked and missed straight balls. That is the beauty of cricket where discipline and determination is truly rewarded and the author is all the more happy that a deserving team won the game.
What was alarming was that Super Kings score of 79 included 26 wides from Bangla Gladiators. Imagine how much a better team Bangla Gladiators if they can cut down the wides. They are improving with every game and certainly will become one of the team to beat very soon, thanks to their team spirit and dogged determination to succeed.
Congrats Bangla Gladiators on your first win. You thoroughly deserved the win and really played very professionally.
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| Victorious Bangla Gladiators |
Super Kings will be very disappointed. But again, they are also a new team and getting to know how pressure can bring out the best and worst of players. They are improving as a bowling unit and are lacking good batsmen, particularly in the middle order. Once they identify two more dependable and determined batsman, they will also become a team to beat.
Special mention about Arvind Singh (Knights) and Dheeraj (Gujarat Tigers) whose umpiring was outstanding.
Author being the captain of Super Kings was certainly very disappointed not only because the game was lost in a matter of two overs but more because he could not contribute at all. He formed this team with lots of hope, but unfortunately fell off injuring his shoulder just before the memorial day weekend. Although his heart is longing, his body is caving in and is literally counting the days as a player before bidding adieu to this wonderful game.
But so long as there are games like this, the author is here to enjoy this great game of cricket with his best friends in Regal league.
Go Regal!!
Regal 2016: League - WI Bangla Gladiators won by 40 runs (06/25/2016)
WI Bangla Gladiators: 119/7(20.0 overs)
Super Kings: 79/10(15.4 overs)
| WI Bangla Gladiators innings (20 overs maximum) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahbbat Ali* | st Sivaram K b Madhav V | 26 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 92.86 |
| Shahnawaz Ali | c †Sivaram K b Ravi Kiran Reddy K | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Mrinmoy Sarker | c †Sivaram K b Jeevan B | 10 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 52.63 |
| Amandeep Singh | b Jayanth P | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Md Zubair Ahmed Khan | c Jeffrey J b Krishna A | 11 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 52.38 |
| Andrew Whilby | lbw b Jayanth P | 29 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 103.57 |
| M Maruf Alam | c Jayanth P b Ravi Kiran Reddy K | 11 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 68.75 |
| Shivin Malhotra | not out | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Samaun Khan | not out | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | (b 1 lb 0 w 21 nb 2 ) | 24 | ||||
| Total | (7 wickets;20.0 overs) | 119 | ||||
Did not bat: Hasan Jamal |
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Fall Of Wickets: |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey John | 4.0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | (6w) | ||
| Ravi Kiran Reddy Karra | 3.0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 5.00 | (3w) | ||
| Jayanth Para | 3.0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 8.33 | (6w 1nb) | ||
| Jeevan Bandlamudi | 4.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2.25 | |||
| Karthik Krishnan | 2.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 | (1w) | ||
| Madhav Venkateswaran | 2.0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 11.00 | (3w 1nb) | ||
| Krishna Amaravathi | 2.0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 7.00 | (2w) | ||
| Super Kings innings (target: 120 runs from 20 overs) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sivaram Kaushik | c Samaun K b Md Zubair A | 19 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 86.36 |
| Sagar Umale | c Md Zubair A b Mahbbat A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Prasannaah Hadagali | c †Hasan J b Mahbbat A | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Badri Aavan | b Md Zubair A | 17 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 47.22 |
| Neeraj Agrawal | c Mahbbat A b Md Zubair A | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jayanth Para | lbw b Shahnawaz A | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Jeffrey John | b Shahnawaz A | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeevan Bandlamudi | not out | 8 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 47.06 |
| Madhav Venkateswaran | lbw b Shahnawaz A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ravi Kiran Reddy Karra | b Shahnawaz A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Abhijit Das | run out (Mrinmoy S) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | (b 4 lb 0 w 27 nb 0 ) | 31 | ||||
| Total | (10 wickets;15.4 overs) | 79 | ||||
Did not bat: Krishna Amaravathi, Karthik Krishnan |
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Fall Of Wickets: |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahbbat Ali* | 4.0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3.75 | (9w) | ||
| Shahnawaz Ali | 4.0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 3.50 | (1w) | ||
| Md Zubair Ahmed Khan | 4.0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 7.25 | (9w) | ||
| Shivin Malhotra | 3.0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 5.33 | (6w) | ||
| Samaun Khan | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | (1w) | ||
| Amandeep Singh | 0.3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.00 | (1w) | ||
