Match Report: 4th T20 game against CLCC, 26th March 2016 @Lakhani

Post date: Apr 06, 2016 1:57:50 PM

Hello Guys,

Below is the match report for game no.4

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FUCC was traveling to Gastonia to play an all-important game against Charlotte Lions Cricket Club (CLCC).  Lions were the runners up of 2015 T35 season and very dangerous when playing in their own den. The game was very important for FUCC as a win would their keep hopes alive to qualify for play offs.  The conditions were overcast and after losing three consecutive tosses, FUCC’s captain won the toss and elected to bat first. FUCC’s dynamic opening duo of Raj and Amit Tayade took center stage whereas Ankit Patel took charge of the new ball from uphill end. It was very important that the openers give FUCC an aggressive start, Amit Tayade immediately made an impact by hitting Ankit Patel for a huge six over deep mid-wicket.  Gautam Batra shared the new ball from downhill and Raj made his intentions very clear. The very 1st ball was lofted over extra cover but the ball just stopped shy of boundary and resulted in only 2 runs. Raj hit the 1st ball of the 3rd over for a monstrous six over deep mid-wicket whereas Amit hit the 3rd ball of the same over for a four towards deep mid-wicket.  He dispatched the 5th & 6th deliveries for boundaries towards cow corner and long on respectively. The opening pair once again gave FUCC a flying start and the score 36 for no loss at the end of the 3rd over. Both Raj & Amit attacked the bad deliveries and ran well between the wickets. The scoreboard was ticking at around 12 runs per over. Rajiv was introduced in the 5thover to apply breaks on the scoring but Raj attacked him and collected 15 runs in the over. FUCC was rallying at 61 for no loss at the end of the 5th over. Sabarish was introduced in the 6th over and Amit started giving more strike to Raj, the man having a purple patch. Patrick’s off spinner were introduced in the 9th over but Raj & Amit continued to milk the bowling. Raj reached his fifty in the same over when he glided a quicker one from Patrick for 2 runs. He reached his fifty from just 32 balls hitting 4 boundaries and 2 huge sixes. This man has been a run machine this year, scoring his 3rd fifty in 4 games, no wonder he is FUCC’s star batsman and a premium leader who inspires this young team to achieve more.  FUCC were in top gear reaching 93 runs in just 9 overs. Zee bhai was introduced in the 10th over who is known across CCL for his slow enticing off/leg spin deliveries and immediately made an impact. Amit was caught at point by Jai Patel for a well-made 33 runs off 27 balls hitting 4 boundaries and 1 massive six. The whole team knows that Amit’s Peter Parker type looks and his PHD skills might make him come across as nerdy but his on field gladiator type fighting skills shows all of us that if you are determined and work hard then you can achieve your goal. Gaurav Parikh, FUCC’s flamboyant stroke maker walked in at no. 3. It became a little difficult to score freely with spinners operating from both ends and men manning the boundary for the big hits.  Raj perished in the 11th over when he was stumped by Krunal Patel off Zee bhai’s bowling. Raj scored a classic 53 runs of 36 balls. FUCC were 107 for 2, CLCC players were overjoyed to see Raj’s. FUCC’s backbone Rahul Mandewalker walked in at no. 4 and he was dismissed in the 12th over when he was caught at deep square by Sabarish off Patrick’s bowling. FUCC were 116 for 3 in 12.5 overs. Next to walk in was FUCC’s superstar “Sunil” but he and Gaurav fell in quick succession. Gaurav was out caught at point by Jai Patel off Zee bhai’s bowling whereas Sunil in an attempt to up the tempo was caught at long off by Jay Patel off Patrick’s bowling.  FUCC were in all kinds of trouble with the score at 124 for 5 in 14.4 overs.  Harissh Sundaraman walked in at no. 7, he has played some crucial innings during the 2015 season when the team was in trouble and he looked like the go to man this time as well. He along with Navanith started rotating the strike and taking singles and twos whenever possible. Their main goal was to play until the 18th over and score risk free runs. Harissh showed CLCC that he may be slender built but can clear the boundary when needed. He hit Sabarish’s 1st ball of the 18thover for a six over long off and the 1st ball of the 19th over towards backward point for a four. Navanith & Harissh shared a 39 run partnership off just 23 balls before Harissh was cleaned by Ankit Patel’s slower ball. Tajinder Singh, FUCC’s power hitter joined Navanith in the middle and the pair ran hard. Navanith was run out in the last over when trying to go for the 2nd run, Abhi Patel threw from the long on boundary towards the wicket keeper end and the batsman was found short of the crease. Vinod and Teji ensured that FUCC reached 179 runs at the end of the 1st innings.  Overall a good total but with the start they got it was a tad less.

FUCC knew the difference between them staying alive in the tournament were those 179 runs and were really pumped up.  Sukesh showed everyone that why he was the most destructive bowler of Div. 2, when he trapped CLCC’s captain & opening batsman for a golden duck. Krunal Patel was adjourned LBW and FUCC were off to a dream start. In walked the dangerous Abhi Patel known for his destructive batting. Vinod shared the new ball with Sukesh and was back to his usual best, bowling a great line outside the off stump. FUCC enjoyed great success in 2015 season mainly due to the great start given by Suki & Vinod and it looked like they were getting back into the 2015 rhythm. The 1st 3 overs were brilliant and CLCC were contained to less than 5 runs of over. The increasing run rate coupled with the disciplined bowling brought the downfall of Abhi Patel who was dismissed in the 4th over caught by wicket keeper Raj off Vinod’s bowling. One could see Vinod’s passion and hard work in the way he setup Abhi Patel’s dismissal.  Jai Patel joined Ankit Patel in the middle and started to take a few singles and twos’ but CLCC were falling way below the required run rate. Jai tried to break the shackles when he hit Suki’s 1st ball of the 5th over straight over long off for a six but the very next ball Suki came back strong when he cleaned bowled Jai with an absolute peach of an in swinging delivery. A tight 5th & 6th over by Suki & Vinod respectively added more pressure on CLCC batsmen. Suki almost had Ankit Patel in the 7th over, caught by brilliant forward diving effort from Amit but unfortunately the ball popped out when this elbow hit the ground thus giving Ankit Patel his 1st life. Sukesh and Vinod bowled out within the first 8 overs. Navanith & Amit were introduced into the attack in the 9th & 10th over and didn’t give many opportunities to CLCC bastmen to free their hands. The asking rate was well over 13 runs and Ankit Patel struck a big six in the 11th over. Navanith almost had Ankit in the next ball but a drop catch resulted in another life. Amit continued bowling with an impressive line and length. With rain looming over the ground and to complete at least 16 overs to make a match, Rahul’s leg spinners were introduced in the 13th over. Ankit & Sanket’s partnership started to flourish but this partnership was broken in the 14th over when Amit caught & bowled Sanket. CLCC were falling behind in this chase. In the 15th over Rahul delivered a double blow to CLCC when he had Sabarish was caught at point by Dennis and the very next ball had Rajiv was caught at covers by Navanith. At this point FUCC were tightening their grip on the game and wanted to wrap the innings quickly. With Ankit & Zeeshan in the middle, Harissh’s off spin was introduced in the 16th over in an effort to complete 16 overs quickly if the rain gods decided to interrupt the game. Ankit Patel was brilliantly run out by Harissh & Raj when he tried to steal a 3rd run after the ball hit the stumps when they completed the 2nd run. Patrick walked in at the fall of Ankit’s wicket. Once 16 overs were completed, FUCC players breathed a sigh of relief as they knew that they wouldn’t have to split points with CLCC. Dennis was introduced in the 17th over to bowl his deadly yorkers & to wrap up the innings as soon as possible. Zeeshan was run out courtesy a tag team effort of Gaurav and Dennis and the last hope of CLCC winning faded away. Patrick & Gautam started to play out the overs in order to have lesser dent on CLCC’s net run rate. Sunil was introduced in the last over and immediately got rid of Patrick courtesy a brilliant caught & bowled. The last batsman played out the last 2 balls and CLCC ended the innings at 117 for 9. FUCC earned their 2nd win and are in contention for a spot in play offs.

Overall a great win over one of the best teams in CCL and a fantastic team effort. A ton of improvements in batting, bowling & fielding. Keep up with the good work guys!!

Cheers,

Navanith