Road to Finals

We started our campaign way back on 3/28 against GSCC whom we beat easily by 30 runs, just the kind-of kick-start we were looking for coming into the tournament. Next up, we beat Daredevils by 44 runs another easy win. Soon after, Xterminators (won by 2 runs) and Blitz (won by 7 wickets) got the better of us. In our first 5 games, we had a win-loss ratio of 3:2, which wasn't going to be good enough to make it to the platinum championship. In the next 3 games, we saw a different Champs, won all of our next 3 games comfortably, Legends beaten by 8 wickets, Syndicate CC beaten by 40 runs and Yuva X1 (one of the top teams in Group F) by 5 wickets. We dropped a game against Aryans, but came back strongly to get past Chargers (beaten by 20 runs) and Skiers (no.1 team in Group F) to be in top 3 of the table at the end of Round I.

In Round II, we were placed in a group with Synergy CC, Maharajas and Dazzlers. To qualify for the platinum championship, we had to win at least 2 games. Our first game was against Synergy CC, we posted a massive total of 105, Abhinandan 25(15) and defended it easily to force a massive 47-run victory. Next up, we played Maharajas, won the toss batted first, posted a score of 87, courtesy Abhinandan 32(20) and bowled them out for just 44, another massive win this time by 43 runs. At the end of 2 games, we knew we have made it to the platinum championship, but still wanted to win our last game to keep the intensity high going into the play-offs. Against Dazzlers, we batted first and scored 72, Mohit Lad top scoring with 35(44), but that wasn't enough and Dazzlers won the game in the 20th over, indeed a close game!

Having lost in the quarter finals of last year's season, our team was desperate to go out there and put together a great show in this years playoffs. We were going to play Dazzlers again in our first game of the platinum play-offs. Having lost to Dazzlers in our last Round II match, we sure wanted to get the right result this time around. Also, just before the game, our captain, Gokul, injured his shoulder during a practice session and was going to be out for 3-4 weeks, so that made us that much more determined to win this one for him.

This was an away game for us, Dazzlers won the toss and decided to bat first. They had a pretty decent start, they were 37-1 at the end of 10 overs. We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done in the next half of their batting or else we would be set a massive total to chase. They were 52-1 after 12.5 overs. Next ball was a big moment in the game, as Kunal picked up their captain Sandeep and that was the beginning of a dramatic collapse for Dazzlers. Over the next 7 overs, Dazzlers, lost 8 more wickets for just 11 runs and were all out for 63. Karan was our stand-out bowler who picked up 4 wickets for just 13 runs (of which 10 were conceded in his first over). We chased down 64 pretty comfortably in 16.1 overs for the loss of just 2 wickets, Anand top-soring with 24(39) and Mohit playing a quick fire 15(16). All in all a truly professional performance. As expected, Karan was declared MoM.

Next up was Spartans in quarter-finals, Spartans were favorites to win the championship, so we were definitely the under-dogs going into the game. We won the toss and decided to bat first. We were bowled out for 59 in 19.4 overs, and knew we were a good 10-15 runs short. Things didn't exactly go as planned, just when we were trying to accelerate the scoring, Abhinandan, our stand-in captain, broke his wrist when batting and had to retire hurt. So there we were with a modest total of 59, but that is all we had and knew we had to pull-in a special performance in bowling and fielding if we were to get the better of Spartans. What followed next was an amazing effort in the field, we bowled Spartans out for 43 in 18.2 overs, with none of their batsman even getting into double figures. It was a great bowling effort with all our bowlers picking up at least a wicket. Sreeram, was adjudged MoM for his aggressive fast bowling (2-7) and splendid catching (2 catches).

Next up on our road were Hattrickers, an extremely consistent team and key part of their success is that they do not rely on any special performance but a collective team effort. We also had a personal score to settle with them, as they beat us in the finals of inaugural version of this tournament back in 2006. Hattrickers won the toss and decided to bat first. At the end of 10 overs they were 33-2 and were in a decent position to push the momentum and post a good score. The game was being played at Washington park in Sunnyvale and the pitch itself was not an easy one to bat, odd ball was keeping low, and a lot of good-length balls were just picking up from no-where. So we knew, that chasing anything in access of 70 is going to be a stretch.

Hattrickers as expected started strongly after the break and managed to get 17 of the next 3 overs, and were comfortably placed at 50-2. Next up, a brilliant moment in the field got us back on track, Ganeri who was fielding at short mid-wicket, picked up the ball single-handed and hit the stumps direct to force a runout and break a crucial partnership. From that point onwards, there was no looking back for us, we bowled them out for 71 in 19.4 overs, with last 8 Hattrickers wicket falling for just 21. (Nimish being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-14)

Set to chase 72, we knew it wasn't going to be easy and that the game is going to down to the wire. At the end of 8 overs we were 18-1 and things weren't looking too great for us. At that point, Puneet and Kunal stepped up things, and at end of 10 overs we were 31-1, with 41 more to get in the last ten overs. After the break, Puneet continued to bat agressively before he was dismissed for a match-winning 24(26) and we were 55-3 at the end of 14 overs, with 17 to get in the last 6 overs. 2 more wickets went down with score still at 55. In came Sreeram, who blasted a couple of 6's of 2 balls and we were now within touching distance. We chased down 72 without any further damage in 16.5 overs and rocked into the final's of the 2009 regular season. Puneet was rightly declared MoM.

We are going to face Squared Leg in the finals and it should be an exciting contest. So far in the run-up to the finals, we have played some very disciplined cricket and have won pretty convincingly in all of our last 3 games, that too against some very talented teams. In all of our last 3 games, we have been tagged as under-dogs (rightly so), but we seemed to have taken a liking for the under-dog tag and it keeps us extra determined to force the result in our favor.

Go Champs!

Composed by: Nimish!

2009/09/20: Hattrickers

Hattrickers won the toss and decided to bat first, I guess they had done their homework and knew we aren't comfortable chasing in crucial games. Anand was going to open the bowling for us, a very tight first over, and the score 1-0 at the end of first over. Sreeram came into bowl from the other end, bowled a gentle loosener which the batsmen pulls and pulls well to get a boundary, what a start! How often do you see a boundary hit just in the second over? But Sreeram pulled things back and it was 5-0 at the end of 2 overs. At the end of five overs Hattrickers were 17-0. I came into attack and got one of their openers to nick the bowl to Nagesh, we got our first break-through and an important one at that, as things were just starting to slip a bit for us.

Hattrickers continued to pick 1s and 2s and were helped by the un-even bounce which resulted in a few no-balls. At the end of 8 they were 28-1, things looking comfortable for them. Kunal came into attack and got Naveen to hit one up in the air, Sreeram took the catch safely, Hattrickers now 28-2. Kunal and Mohit both kept it tight and at the end of 10 overs, Hattrickers were 33-2. I think honors were shared in the first half of their batting, but the next phase was very crucial as they could easily run away and get a big total with 8 wickets in hand. But we have been in this situation before and knew exactly what needed to be done.

Kunal and Mohit continued to bowl and the next three overs didn't exactly go as planned. 17 runs were taken in the next 3 overs, with Sumeet (their best bat) hitting a six of Mohit over mid-wicket and Vijayaraj hitting Kunal for a six over long-off. Frankly things were getting out of hands, but as usual, in came a magic moment. Batsman nudged it on the leg-side, slightly to the right of Ganeri who picked the ball single-handled and hit the stumps straight to effect an amazing run-out. Hattrickers now, 50-3 but still had plenty of wickets to post a massive total easily in access of 80.

I was brought back in attack, bowled a tight over but without wickets. Karan came in from the other end, he wasn't having a great day so far, but everyone knew he can come back at any point, and so he did. He took the big wicket of Sumeet and hattrickers now 4 down, things starting to go our way. I continued to bowl from the other end, bowling my final over. The new batsman was a left-hander, so the field had to be re-adjusted, I bowled a ball angled across the batsman, who nicked it for a simple catch to Nagesh, Hattrickers 5 down. Next ball was hit powerfully down the ground and a misfield resulted into a boundary. Having seen the batsman go down the track, Nagesh decided to stand-up and I decided to bowl a slower delivery, it worked out great as the batsman missed it and Nagesh dislodged the bails, Hattrickers now feeling the heat at 62-6 at the end of 16 overs. I finished my spell with figures of 3-14.

Sreeram came back into attack and first ball produced a wicket, bowled out, 62-7. Karan finished up from the other end, with score at 66-7 at the end of 18 overs. Sreeram produced another good over, with a wicket in it, Anand taking a safe catch at deep square-leg, 69-8. Mohit bowled the last over and produced 2 wickets in 4 balls to bowl out Hattrickers for 71. The last wicket was an awesome single-handed caught and bowled by Mohit. So the target was 72 and was not going to be easy with the pitch offering some inconsistent bounce.

Anand and Kunal were going to open the batting for us. Both of them started steadily as always and started getting runs in 1s, at the end of 3 overs we were 7-0. In the 4th over, Anand nudged a ball and Kunal called him for a run, with Anand slightly on the backfoot, it was always going to be tight. The throw was good and the bowler took the bails off before appealing frenetically. Umpire took his time and raised his finger, we had lost a big big wicket, almost like India losing Sachin in a big chase, but that was it, Anand was gone, but the chase was still on. In went Mohit to join Kunal who was now nicely middling most of the balls but was finding it hard to hit the gaps. Soon after Mohit was out of a full-toss, a simple catch to mid-wicket, indeed a soft dismissal, we were no 14-2 at the end of 6 overs. Puneet, the in-form batsman went in, with pressure starting to build.

At the end of 8 overs we were 18-2 and the dug-out was starting to panic a little. 54 required in 12 overs and it wasn't too bad yet, but we had to get things moving now. A new bowler was introduced and boy was that a relief, he was taken for 8 runs, 3 coming off a no-ball and Kunal-Puneet doing nicely to take 1s and 2s of the remaining balls. So at the end of 9 we were 26-2. Next over produced 4 singles and we were reasonably happy to be at 30-2 at the end of 1o overs. By no means, this game was over and most of us knew it was going to be a tight finish.

During the break, Puneet and Kunal were asked to force the momentum in the next 2-3 overs and that is exactly what Puneet did. It was the second ball after the break, Naveen bowled a short delivery which sat up nicely for Puneet to pull and did he pull well, it was out of the park for a 6!!! Everyone in the dug-out went crazy and from that point onwards there was no looking back for Champs.

At the end of 11 we were 39-2, with Puneet playing his best innings till date. Next 2 overs got us 6 runs, with Kunal struggling a bit to get the scoreboard moving. At the end of 13 overs we were 45-2. In the 14th over, Puneet again decided to go after the bowling and connected well to get a boundary over mid-wicket, another great over for us, score now 54-2 at the end of 14. With just 18 to get of 6 overs and 8 wickets in hand, the game was pretty much sealed. But of course, we play like India, so we had to provide another twist. Next over was the most bizarre over with 3 wickets falling at the score of 55 and a drop catch of Sreeram (to his advantage it was hit very powerfully), Puneet holing out at deep-cover for a wonderful 24(26), Kunal lofting it straight to long-off for a well grafted 18(43) and then Ganeri caught out at gully off his first ball.

Given that we bat deep, still the game was pretty much in our control, 16 needed now in the last 5 overs. Sreeram was facing Naveen and hit him for a huge six over square-leg, for a moment Sreeram's heart was in his mouth when the fielder was getting in position to take the catch, but the ball was always going to clear him. 10 to get now, Naveen bowls a full-toss and Sreeram hoiked him for another six, this time over mid-wicket. Amol hit the winning runs and we were home comfortably in 16.5 overs.

Sreeram deserves a special mention for not just the 2 6's he hit but how he made a closely fought game look so one-sided and simple.

Puneet was rightly awarded MoM for the game and boy did he play well, to me his innings changed the course of our chase. Also not to forget our bowlers who did great to restrict Hattrickers to 71 after they were 50-2 at the 13 overs mark. (8 wickets falling for 21 runs in the last 7 overs).

Lets rock in the finals!!

Composed by: Nimish!

2009/09/12: Spartans

Champs won the toss and decided to bat first, no surprises there. Kunal and Anand gave us a steady start, we were 3-0 at the end of three overs. From that point onwards Kunal and Anand pressed on the run-rate and we got 8 in the next 2, we were now 11-0 at the end of 5 overs.

Runs continued to come in 1s and 2s and we were 23-1 at the end of 8 overs, Kunal the only batsman out for 11. Mohit went in, Andy was looking good flicking and pulling the ball but so far only for 1s. Mohit was out bowled, never quite got going today, in went Puneet. Puneet from the first ball looked in golden touch, he scored 5 of the first four balls that he faced, middling pretty much everything. At the end of 10 overs we were 31-2, with wickets in hand platform was just right to launch the attack and get a score of 80+.

But things don't always go as planned, first ball after the break Andy was bowled by Dilip around his legs, gone for 7(20). In went Sreeram, sent up to force the momentum. But it wasn't his day, he soon perished playing an uppish drive to long-on and giving a simple catch. Two quick wickets and the atmosphere in the camp was full of tension, now 34-4 at the end of 12. In went Abhi, who too looked in silk touch from the word go.

Just when we were beginning to get the score to move again, Abhi hurt himself and he was in a lot of pain, so he had to retire for the time being. Meanwhile Puneet continued to accumulate 1s at the other end. In went Karan as a pinch-hitter and it did the trick, Karan launched a huge six over mid-wicket to take the score past 50, now 52-4. Soon after both Karan 9(10) and Puneet 11(20) fell to Dilip in the same over. Abhi went in and scored a few before holing out in the deep for an important 10. We were all-out for 59 after 19.3 overs.

Champs bowling:
With 60 to defend, we knew we had to give it all and take all the catches on the field to make a match out of it. As usual Anand and Sreeram were going to open the bowling for us. Anand hitting the right length right away, Spartans 2-0 at the end of first over. Sreeram came in and bowled a beauty to Rajat, who nicked it to Nagesh, but Nagesh couldn't hold on to it, this could have a crucial miss had Rajay got in. But it wasn't to be, Anand got him bowled out with a peach of a delivery, a crucial breakthrough for us, they were 8-1 at the end of 4 overs. Karan and Nimish bowled the next overs ad kept it reasonably tight, Spartans now 18-1 at the end of 8 overs. With 2 overs to go for the break it was important to maintain the pressure.

Kunal was brought into the attack and you know that something is going to happen, first ball and Jaymin hits it straight up, Kunal going for the catch and holds onto it, what a big wicket that was and timing couldn't have been better. To me this was a big moment in the game. Hold on, there is more drama, Mohit into attack now. Again, first ball, a gentle loosener, low fulltoss which was hit straight to Puneet and he took a good catch low down and Spartans were 20-3 at the end of 10 overs. The pressure was now on Spartans as they were behind on run-rate and were 3 down as well.

In came Dilip, their best bat, so we knew the game wasn't over and we needed to finish the job. Kunal and Mohit continued after the break and the score after 12 overs was 26-3, with Dilip getting himself in.

Next Karan was brought into attack and immediately got a wicket, with Sree holding onto a pull from Imran. Next I came into the attack and got the batsman bowled round the legs with ball angling in and surely Spartans were now in a lot of trouble with 5 down at the end of 14 overs with score at 31.

Karan bowled a short fast ball and Dilip could not keep it down, with Sree taking another catch. Next up, I bowled a slow ball which the batsman lofted over covers and Sai took an unbelievable catch, absolute stunner, one handed diving to his right, mind-blowing. Spartans were now 35-6 at the end of 16, with wicket falling in each of the last four overs.

Sreeram came back into attack and got a wicket first ball, caught behind and Nagesh making no mistake. Puneet then forced a runout before Sreeram came in to take the last wicket, caught by Puneet at short third-man.

Wow, champs go through into the semis and Spartans the top seeds are out of the tournament.

A truly amazing team performance!!!

Composed by: Nimish!

Practice Session

Anand Batting:


Kunal Batting:


Mohit Batting:


Nagesh Batting: (in PINK!)


Abhi Batting:

2009/08/30: Dazzlers

Dazzlers won the toss and decided to bat first. To our dislike, we were now set to chase in the first game of our playoffs. In Gokul's absence, Abhi was going to lead the side. Anand and Sreeram were going to open the bowling for us. Anand, whom I expected to be a bit rusty, but to my and everyone's else's surprise he produced a perfect first over, no runs scored, each ball hitting the right areas and Gane could hardly do much. So it was great start for us, Dazzlers 0/0 after the 1st over. Sreeram didn't bowl a great first over conceding 5 runs. But soon both Anand and Sreeram tightened up the screws and at the end of 4 overs Dazzlers were 7/0. Anand's first 2 overs just conceded a wide. Nimish was introduced in the 5th over and bowled a decent first over, barring a no-ball which provided Dazzlers with a free-hit, but luckily not much damage was done by that. (actually Gane was bowled of the free-hit)

Anand, came back for his third over from the other end, conceding 4 singles. Dazzlers now, 14/0 at the end of 6 overs. We were still searching for our first wicket. Next 2 overs were the worst for us, I gave 9 runs in the 7th over and Karan gave 10 in his first over (Guru hitting a clean strike for 6 over mid-wicket). All of a sudden, all the hard work done so far was lost and Dazzlers were cruising along at 33/0 at the end of 8 overs. Of course we need to make some changes at this point, in came Kunal. As always right on the money, almost instantly he could have had both Gane and Guru out, but luckily the ball fell in no-man's land. Abhi turned to MohitL for the 10th over of the game and what a great move it was. I think this over was the most crucial over of the match, MohitL, ever so energetic, accurate, straight and fast, immediately provided the first breakthrough (Gane gone) and it was the beginning of the slide for Dazzlers. We went into the break with Dazzlers at 37/1 and knew that there is a lot of work to be done in the next 10 if we want to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Kunal and Mohit continued to bowl after the break. After 12.5 overs Dazzlers were 52/1, with Kunal conceding 8 of the over, Sandeep hitting an exquisite cover drive along the ground for four. Next ball was another big moment in this game, Kunal bowled Sandeep out and all of a sudden we sniffed that the gates were open to force a collapse. Karan came back into the attack and he bowled a maiden over where he also claimed the wicket of dangerous Sreekanta. Karan was back with a bang and so was Champs. I was brought back into the attack, and got a wicket because of Nagesh's brilliant field placing were he pushed Karan out at extra cover, were the ball followed him for a simple catch. At the end of 15 overs, Dazzlers were 55/4, wickets starting to tumble. Karan continued his great spell of fierce fast bowling and claimed another important wicket, that of Guru who was the only set batsman left. With Guru, gone Dazzlers were now starting to feel the heat at 55/5. Sreeram came back into the attack for the 17th over and got a wicket too (bowled out). We got another wicket in the same over, with batsman trying to take a suicide single, Andy/Puneet joining the action. Karan bowled the 20th over and claimed 2 more wickets to finish with a match tally of 4/13 of which 10 runs where taken in his first.

It was an amazing turnaround in the last 7.1 over overs, were we gave just 11 runs and took 9 wickets. The ground fielding today was amazing, no dropped catches, no missed runouts.

Champs were happy to restrict Dazzlers to 63, but knew well that with the kindof chasing record that we have, we couldn't relax just yet. Andy and Kunal went and provided a solid start. We were 8 after 5 overs, runs coming a tad slowly then we would have liked, but important thing was we had all of our wickets intact. Runs continued to come in 1s and 2s, Kunal was starting to get in his groove, he got 3 2's in an over, all on the off-side. Andy was also looking in good touch, he was middling everything when playing straight down the ground. At the end of 7 overs, we were 17/0. I would be lying if I said all was going well at that point, everyone in the camp was starting to get a little nervous. At the break, we were 27/0, with 37 to get in the last ten. We now needed to force the momentum.

Immediately after break, Kunal was out runout due to a misunderstanding, which brought MohitL in. There were talks to send Abhi in to push the scoring. But the way Mohit batted was beyond words, right from the first ball he got the singles, was hitting the ball all around the park. He also played a reverse sweep for 2 which put further doubt in the mind of the opposition team with tegards to what kinda field to set for him. Andy on the other end was starting to play his big shots, he hit a 4 down the ground, which the fielder could not stop because of the immense power with which that ball was hit. Mohit continued to pick the singles and 2's on the other end, and soon we reached 50 in the 14th over.

Next up, Andy hit a glorious six over long-on which the fielder did catch but was 10 steps outside the boundary, with that six the game was pretty much sealed. Andy got out the next ball, he scored a brilliant 24(39) which was a very crucial hand, given how nervous we get when chasing. Abhi came in and finished the job along with Mohit. Mohit made 15(16) which was amazing, because not only he scored the runs, but scored them at a fantastic rate for the team.

Truly an amazing victory for us. MoM was rightly declared to be Karan, but only by a whisker as Andy had produced a great all-round performance in the game. Last but not the least, I would like to mention that it was a special performance from Mohit which I believe was also extremely crucial to the final outcome of this came. It wasn't just about his batting and bowling, but it is about the energy that he brings to this highly-passionate team.

Composed by: Nimish!