A chase for the KRCC

Shell Vs KRCC 17^th May, 2016

With the light fading and rain clouds looming, full match looked a distant possibility, but KRCC would be glad that such conditions only paved way for one of their finest chases in recent times.

Perennial title holders Shell won the toss, and had no hesitation in choosing to bat. Considering the conditions, the match was reduced to 16 overs a side.

Fahad was caught by Somu off Prabhu for 15, while Abrar as usual marched towards an inevitable 30 (31* in the end). Wajahat and Fazal followed suit with fine 30’s all in quick time consistently keeping the run rate above 8 per over. With the dangerous Hamza out for 9 brilliantly caught by Ayyappan, KRCC pulled things back with some slow bowling, Premji leading the way with 1-13 off 3 overs – absolute gold dust considering this was all in all a batsmen’s match.

In the end Shell gladly settled for 145/4 in 16 overs, leaving KRCC with an improbable asking rate of 9.125.

The formula was simple and the methodology straight forward. Put your best batsmen at the top, each pursuing a personal broken down target of 30 in their own unadulterated style & speed. And boy how did they respond?

Somu led the way in his own inimitable style with a quick 30* (a six, 2 boundaries and a number of doubles and even a triple) – Score 72/0  in 7 overs.

Kannan came next and it very much appeared as if he had been skyping AB de Villiers all afternoon. Two sixes featured in Kannan’s first 5 scoring shots, and Sajeev who was on 21 by then then gladly shifted down gears to turn the strike on to Kannan. The next two overs saw Rocket Kannan do it all by himself beating Usain Bolt to a 30* in just 15 balls (3 massive sixes and 2 boundaries). – Score 87 in 8 overs.

Sajeev who had been shepherding the cause all this while got himself a 33* (4 boundaries), with the score sitting pretty at 101 in 9 overs, Kannan’s blitzkrieg having ensured that the long line of batsmen to follow would only have to manage 45 in 42 balls.

With Abrar slipping one through the gates of Rashid (5), it appeared as if the big hitters were gone, but the surprise package was yet to be unwrapped. Siva Ganesh the new comer had shown glimpses of his overall technique with his faultless fielding and wily off-spin. He pulled out a few more leaves from his repository, controlling the chase with a fine head, excellent sense of gaps, powerful hits out of the park and well-judged running between the stumps. All with the ever dependable Premji providing staunch support at the other end.

39 in 36 balls became 26 in 24 balls, 19 in 18 balls, 9 in 12 balls and 2 in 6 balls, with KRCC finally mastering the mammoth chase with 5 balls to spare with just the loss off 1 wicket, Siva completing his 30* (1 six and 2 boundaries) with the winning run and Premji finishing with 10*.

With all eleven stars twinkling bright in their respective roles, here is my take on the brightest of them.

Team of the Match: Ajay, Ayyappan, Bijin, Kannan, Mohan, Prabhu, Premji, Rashid, Sajeev, Siva, & Somu.

Batsman of the Match – Kannan

Bowler of the Match –    Premji

Catch of the Match –       Ayyappan

Sidekicks of the Match – Somu & Sajeev

© Report contributed by Sajeev Asok