IISc win Boxing Day bout

26 December 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: The KSCA Metro Shield Super League match between IISc and Sirur Park was much like a boxing bout. Both sides threw measured punches and jabs at opportune moments. It was a hard-fought battle till about 20 overs into the second innings when IISc started the hijack and took total control.

Sirur Park was comfortably placed at 80/2 in the seventeenth over, chasing a par score of 215. In the twelve overs that followed, they lost 7 wickets for the addition of a meager 13 runs. It was a veritable exhibition of swing bowling from Debajit (4/38) and Ashith (4/39) backed up by some intense fielding. Skipper Sounik lead by example pouching four catches behind the stumps. Both medium-fast bowlers moved the ball prodigiously leaving the opposing batsmen totally clueless. That the visitors did not get bundled out below 100 was thanks to a stubborn last wicket partnership of 43 runs.

Earlier, IISc were put into the unfamiliar position of setting a target after having successfully chased for four successive league matches. The start wasn't good as IISc were 26/2 by the sixth over. Birthday boy Salil (27) and Ashith (16) steadied the ship. Salil's dismissal - a dubious lbw - brought to the crease Vikram (25) and his pyrotechnics. But his promising innings was cut short by another lbw call that left him fuming at the umpire. In the mean while, Ashith held his end up diligently playing out time and warding off the danger of a collapse. 

Later Harshan (34) reproduced the kind of form he'd shown of late and Shimjith (37) show-cased his finishing abilities repeatedly playing horizontal bat shots to upset the spinners. Coming off a rich harvest of 25 wickets in five matches, Udupa (4/53) was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors.

Sirur Park might have been reasonably satisfied with the way they restricted IISc. But soon IISc showed them who the boss is. This 78-run victory extends IISc's winning streak in the tournament to five. 

This was IISc's last match in 2010. Their record this year has been staggering; played-35, won-23, lost-9, no result-3. Considering only tournament matches i.e. excluding friendly matches, the stats are: played-13, won-10, lost-3. The detailed track record can be accessed here.

Brief Scores:
IISc - 214 all out in 49.2 overs

(Salil 27, Vikram 25, Harsha 34, Shimjith 37, Udupa4/53, Harish 2/45)
Sirur Park Sports Club - 136 all out in 40.2 overs
(Anurag 34, Madhvesh 23, Prateek 29, Debajit 4/38, Ashith 4/39)

Result: IISc won by 78 runs

Man-of-the-match: Ashith Shyam

Newspaper report:
"Deccan Herald"

Upcoming Match: Sunday, 26 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Sirur Park Sports Club

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Super League Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 26 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

IISc played their last match of the league stage (first round) of the KSCA Metro Shield 2010 on 10 October 2010. Now after a protracted gap of two and half months, they will finally get to play their first match of the super league stage (second round) on Boxing Day. The opponents are Sirur Park Sports Club who are placed at No. 41 as per the 2010 ranking. It's interesting to note that only two out of the top ten seeds are still alive in the tournament. That only goes to show that the ranking can be deceiving. Meanwhile, at the highest echelon of the game, two other lip-smacking contests - India vs South Africa and England vs Australia - will get underway as team IISc play Sirur Park SC.

Young Lions hunt down IISc

19 December 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Masterful half centuries from Nihal (78) and Santosh (53) coupled with some inept fielding from IISc helped Young Lions Cricket Club prevail over IISc in a friendly match here. The visitors posted a daunting target of 273 for the home team. 

The IISc batsmen tried their best and managed to stay abreast with the required rate throughout the chase. Each one of Salil (33), Vasanth (38), Vikram (21) and Harsha (31) got starts and looked like carrying the run chase through. But frequent fall of wickets cost IISc dear. They were bowled out 30 runs short in the end with four overs still to go.

Brief Scores:

Young Lions CC - 272 all out in 50 overs

(Vasanth 38, Nihal 78, Santosh 53, Vijay 24, Vasanth 2/29, Prateek 2/37, Arindam 2/33, Shimjith 1/40)

IISc - 242 all out in 46 overs

(Salil 33, Vasanth 38, Vikram 21, Harsha 31, Giri 3/33, Gopi 3/54)

Result: Young Lions won by 30 runs
Man of the Match: Nihal

Upcoming match: Sunday, 19 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Young Lions CC

50-overs Friendly Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 19 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

"Play and break the thinking loop"

 

Arindam Ghosh reveals the sportsman behind the scientist.

Interview by Lalit Patnaik
23 October 2010,

few days after IISc made it to the Super League stage of the KSCA Metro Shield 2010

[Download pdf file of this interview article here]

Arindam Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Physics, Indian Institute of Science is an accomplished scientist in the field of low-temperature nano-electronics. Amidst all the duties and responsibilities that entail his position, he always manages to find time for sports. The IISc cricket team has had his distinguished services for fourteen years now. Here's an attempt to get to know his story as a researcher who never gave up sports, more so cricket.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when we met up at his office for this hour-long tete-a-tete. I'd known him only as a team-mate in the IISc cricket team, but here I was sitting in the chamber of a physicist, an altogether different person may be. So we started out trying to track his professional growth.

While in his final year of BSc at Kolkata University, Arindam was inspired by a presentation made by Professor D. P. Sen Gupta from IISc. In 1992, with his eyes set on building a career in Physics, Arindam joined the newly introduced Integrated PhD program at IISc brushing aside an IIT seat. "The first thing I noticed in IISc was the maturity - a breakaway from the conventional university mentality where if you damage an apparatus you can be happy about a laboratory session being cancelled", he reminisced. He completed his PhD in low temperature solid state physics in 1999 and moved to the hallowed portals of Cambridge University for a post-doctoral stint. "It was a lovely experience at Cambridge with the beautiful country side, playing league cricket and five-a-side football", he fondly recalled. In 2005, Arindam came back to India giving in to IISc's offer for a faculty position.

Scientific journals and magazines carry the details of his research findings. I was there to tap into the other side of the story - the sportsman behind the scientist. "Since school, I have always been actively involved in all kinds of sports. And the affair continues till date, be it cricket, football or even tennis. My parents had always backed me in all my pursuits and playing sports always helped me do well in my academics", says Arindam. "Sport rejuvenates the mind. In research or, for that matter, any profession that involves a fair deal of thought, it is very easy to get stuck in a thinking loop. Sports helps break that loop so that you can start your thought process afresh, from a new perspective", he avers.

Next we zeroed into his exploits as a cricketer and his experiences with the IISc cricket team. During his B.Sc days, Arindam played 2nd and then 1st division cricket at Kolkata. He was in one of the top three clubs there. When he moved to IISc, his evenings were spent at the gymkhana ground from day one. Straddled over his stay at Cambridge, he has a total of fourteen years of experience playing for the IISc cricket team. "Sport is most enjoyable when it is very competitive and aggressive", he asserts. Of all the team-mates he has had in IISc cricket, he rates Sujay Subbaiah as the best all-rounder, KV Venkataraman as the best batsman and Shyamsundar as the best bowler. "The team during 1992-93 was very good. We made it to the semifinals of the 4th Division league that season. But the period from 1995 to 1997 was perhaps the best ever for team IISc. In the 1996-97 season, we lost only in the finals of the league. In those days, Ranji players such as Rahul Dravid, Venkatesh Prasad and Sujit Somasundar used to turn up in the closing stages of the 4th Division league. We still competed very well".

Then comes the lamentation. "Over the years though, the standard of IISc cricket has gone down. Getting good cricketers for team IISc has become more and more difficult - good in the sense people who have played some university cricket or club cricket before they join IISc. This has got to do with the way the society has changed. Unlike our times, there's a lot of pressure on youngsters of today to perform in academics and to stay afloat in the cut-throat competition". But the present team at least gets a thumbs up. "We have an excellent team this year. In fact, the last two years with team IISc have been as enjoyable as it was playing in the 1992-93 team".

Talking of his most memorable performances, Arindam vividly recalls his back to back centuries followed by a 70 in the St. Joseph invitational cricket tournament in 1995. "I remember Rahul Dravid playing that tourney. It was just before he got his test call up", informs Arindam. Then came the staggering figure - Arindam has scored as many as thirty centuries for team IISc. "I used to be far more aggressive earlier", he quips. That's quite hard to imagine considering how he spanks bowlers all around the park even to this day.

On-field anecdotes are a part of the folklore of any cricketer. Arindam shared a few of them.

In 1998-99, one Mr. Paneerselvam - with shaved head and stocky build a la Vinod Kambli - volunteered to keep wickets. He employed one of the most extra-ordinary methods to stop the ball. He used to literally kick the ball rather than holding it! That always left the rest of the players in splits.

Chanakya and Simha - who are now faculty members at IISc - used to open the fast bowling for IISc. Opposing batsmen were scared at their very sight. Once, after getting beaten several times, a visiting batsman decided to remove his helmet in the hope that he could see the ball better. The very next ball he got hit on his left ear. As everybody rushed to help him, they were shocked to find him bleeding profusely from his right ear. What could explain such a bizarre incident? As it turned out, when the batsman fell to the ground, he had hurt his right ear and hence the bleeding. He was fine though; no worries at all.

Long back, there used to be a triangular tournament between students, faculty and staff. In one such tourney, one Mr. Das got hit on his mouth. As he was carried off the ground, one of the players came up to him to hand him over his two teeth that were lying on the pitch. That certainly was a funny and embarrassing moment.

During his stay at Cambridge, Arindam played in the East Anglian Premier Cricket League. He got the opportunity to play with or against some professional cricketers, the likes of Stuart Williams, Matthew Sinclair, Grant Flower, Steve Stubbing, Jason Marquette and Devon Malcolm among others. "It gave me the chance to see professional sports from close quarters. The frustration of not having scored for 2-3 matches is huge - much like it is for us when a research paper isn't accepted", reveals Arindam.

In a match against the Norwich CC, Arindam faced giant fast bowler Jason Marquette who used to be Adam Gilchrist's team-mate. He bowled at 85 mph and from the batsman's perspective, his arm went above the sight screen at the point of releasing the ball. Arindam scored 120 in that match and the following day all newspapers in Cambridge carried descriptive encomiums of the remarkable innings.

In another memorable encounter, Arindam hooked England fast bowler Devon Malcolm for a boundary off the first ball of a match. He went on to score 40 odd runs and Cambridge won. After the match, Arindam walked up to Devon to get his autograph. Devon said, "The first ball changed the match". That was a lesson learnt. "Sometimes it could be one moment that could win you a match. Do your thing. The opponent doesn't matter", Arindam advised.

The stories were many, but we were running out of time. The chat concluded with a couple of beefy quotes. When asked for a message to all IIScians, Arindam pleads "Do something other than your research - be it sports, cultural, reading or anything that interests you. It will help your research has well!” As far as advice for the current IISc cricket team is concerned, he recommends "Everyone in the team should just make themselves available. If we are at full strength, we'll certainly go a long way in this year's Metro Shield. And as I've already emphasized, don't worry about the opposition. Just play your game."

Dominant IISc decimate V.V.Puram

12 December 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: A red hot IISc nonchalantly dismissed a clueless V.V.Puram Cricket Club for a paltry 119 and then chased it down with close to 30 overs to spare. This has to count among one of their most comprehensive victories in recent past.

V.V.Puram were put in by Sounik and were off to a swift start dealing mostly in boundaries most of them over the slip cordon. But once Varun gave the first breakthrough, it was simply one-way traffic. Teja (3/51), Varun (4/25) and Lalit (3/7) ensured an early lunch for all the players. Despite a couple of dropped chances, IISc's catching was largely impressive and at times spectacular.

In pursuit of an easy target, Salil and Lalit recorded their second consecutive fifty run opening stand. Salil in particular was unstoppable with his wide gamut of sweetly timed strokes making 53 in 34 balls. A few quick wickets fell but IISc cantered home comfortably in the end with the winning runs rightly coming of the blade of the man of the match Varun Raturi.

Brief Scores:

V.V.Puram CC - 119 all out in 29 overs

(Anil 33, Afzal 27, Teja 3/51, Varun 4/25, Lalit 3/7)

IISc - 120/5 in 20.3 overs

(Salil 53, Sounik 20, Satish 4/27)

Result: IISc won by 5 wickets
Man of the Match: Varun Raturi

IISc go down fighting

5 December 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: In a closely fought 50-overs friendly match against BEL Colony Recreation Club, IISc lost by a slender thirteen run margin. It was a match in which IISc tried out quite a few experiments - new opening pairs in bowling as well as batting departments.

Put in to bat, BEL were off to a slow but assured start. The untested new ball pair of Sudheer  (1/44) and Varun (3/62) did a splendid job bowling long and disciplined opening spells of nine overs each. Rajiv (60) and Naveen (40) were the top scorers for BEL. Besides, some sloppy fielding from IISc helped BEL post a healthy 258/9.

Up against a stiff target, openers Salil (22) and Lalit (24) put the chase on track with a fifty-run opening partnership. But a few quick wickets left IISc in disarray at 68/4. Sounik (55) and Harsha (50) struck responsible fifties under pressure. After Sounik's departure at 149/5, Varun (38) also played a sensible knock running well between the wickets. But as the asking rate escalated, IISc kept losing wickets till finally they were left with too much to do off the last over. Medium pacer Kishan (5/83) and left-arm spinner Mukesh (5/75) were the toast of the visiting side for their strangulating spells that made the difference in the end.

Brief Scores:

BEL RC - 258/9 in 50 overs

(Santosh 22, Rajiv 60, Naveen 40, Sudheer 1/44, Varun 3/62, Lalit 2/40, Arjun 1/38)

IISc - 245/10 in 50 overs

(Salil 22, Lalit 24, Sounik 55, Harsha 50, Varun 38, Kishan 5/83, Mukesh 5/75)

Result: BEL RC won by 13 runs
Man of the Match: Kishan

Upcoming match: Sunday, 5 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs BEL Recreation Club

50-overs Friendly Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 5 December 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

IISc beat Basvangudi CA

28 November 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Without the services of several key players, IISc defeated Basvangudi Cricket Academy by three wickets albeit with help from some guest players. 

Lefty opener Nikhil (68) was the only BCA batsman who looked comfortable throughout his stay at the crease. Once Sunil got him out, Lalit (3/48) and Shimjith (3/12) ran through the BCA batting line up setting the home team an easy target of 204 in 50 overs.

In reply, IISc were reduced to 44/4 at one stage before sanity prevailed with a stabilizing partnership between Shimjith (25) and Lakshadeep (45). The job was completed by Vasanth (41*) and Manjunath (22*) with plenty of balls to spare.

Brief Scores:

BCA - 203 allout in 49 overs

(Nikhil 68, Harish 24, Sunil 1/27, Vasanth 1/26, Lalit 3/48, Shimjith 3/12)

IISc - 206/7 in 47.4 overs

(Shimjith 25, Lakshadeep 45, Vasanth 41*, Manju 22*, Harish 2/37, Manoj 2/20, Reddy 1/59)

Result: IISc won by 3 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Shimjith Madayi

Upcoming match: Sunday, 28 November 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Basvangudi Cricket Academy

50-overs Friendly Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 28 November 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Updates: Oct-Nov 2010

After the euphoria of making it to the super league stage of the KSCA Metro Shield 2010,  team IISc has been kept waiting for the super-league fixtures. By the looks of it, some teams haven't yet played all their first round matches and then there were the KSCA elections to add to the delay. The super league matches are tentatively expected to start from mid-December.

In the mean while, IISc played four friendly matches, losing one and winning two, while one match was washed out. Here are the brief scores.

24 October 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: 

IISc vs BEL RC - 40 overs friendly match 

IISc - 192 allout in 40 overs

(Shimjith 52, Vasanth 72, Sounik 39, Narasimha 5/35, Bhushan 2/47, Ajay 1/12)

BEL RC - 196/6 in 30.1 overs

(Santosh 39, Manju 25, Kishan 53, Narasimha 20, Varun 2/51, Teja 2/32, Jaidev 1/18, Lalit 1/25)

Result: BEL RC won by 4 wickets
Man of the Match: Narasimha

7 November 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: 

IISc vs BEL RC - 50 overs friendly match 

IISc - 260/5 in 50 overs

(Varun 72, Vasanth 38, Salil 30)

Result: Match abandoned due to rain

Man of the Match: Varun Raturi

14 November 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: 

IISc vs Jayanagar Union CC - 25 overs friendly match 

JUCC - 154 allout in 24 overs

(Prasad 38, Roshan 27, Harsha 4/11, Ashith 2/32, Vikram 2/39)

IISc - 158/5 in 21.1 overs

(Teja 31, Ashith 23, Vikram 37, Delip 2/21)

Result: IISc won by 5 wickets
Man of the Match: Vikram Chaturvedi

21 November 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: 

IISc vs Sahakarnagar CC - 45 overs friendly match 

IISc - 283/9 in 45 overs

(Shimjith 134, Sounik 56, Lalit 29)

Sahakarnagar CC - 125 allout in 26 overs

(Aravind 34, Sudhir 3/25, Lalit 2/28) 

Result: IISc won by 158 runs 
Man of the Match: Shimjith Madayi

Salil's defiant ton seals momentous victory

10 October 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: In a epic battle that swayed from one side to the other, IISc wrestled out Rajajinagar Colts to win by a slender two-wicket margin with barely two balls to spare. A fine unbeaten ton by Salil (108*) and his stubborn partnerships with Varun (26) and Teja (47) were the cornerstone of IISc's victory, their fourth successive win that propels them into the Super League stage of the KSCA IV Division League for the first time since 1997. Batting first, Rajajinagar Colts were jolted early by Debajit who knocked out the openers with a couple of corkers. The one that swung in to castle an utterly bemused Praveen could easily have toppled even the best of first division players.  Reeling at 11/2, the visitors orchestrated a stinging counter-attack in the form of Rahul and Sandeep. While the former played some classy cover-drives, the latter clobbered boundaries with disdain. Sounik promptly brought Vikram into the attack and immediately sparks started flying with some streaky shots and verbal exchanges. Sandeep nicked one to the keeper evoking an animated send-off from Vikram. The volatile situation that followed was diffused only after intervention from the umpires and other players. Rajajinagar Colts were tottering at 139/5 at one stage. However, with some help from the lower-order, Rahul (87) essayed substantial partnerships that took them to a healthy 251/9. For IISc, Debajit and Arindam claimed three wickets each. IISc went into the match without the services of regular opener Shimjith and run-machine Ashith. A split webbing suffered by Vikram further compounded their woes. Mahadev and Pramod wrecked havoc in the IISc camp reducing them to 60/5 by the twelfth over. The odds were stacked strongly against IISc and the matched seemed all but over. Salil and Varun started rebuilding the innings brick-by-brick defending stoutly and scoring whenever the opportunity presented itself. But IISc sunk further to 146/6 with Varun's departure. Teja walked in and gave company to Salil's symphony at the other end. With Salil scoring freely through a broad array of sweetly timed strokes, Teja took his time to settle in before opening up and thumping some telling blows. A couple of sixes from him seemed to derange the opposition as their fielders started wilting under pressure. Salil was down with cramps and was barely able to run. After some arguments between the umpires and the opposing captain, Lalit was allowed in as substitute runner. Teja was stumped with 12 needed of 12 balls. Out walked Vikram with six stitches on his hand and smote the most crucial of boundaries flat over mid-wicket. The drama didn't end there though. Four runs were required off the last over. With the confidence of five wickets under his belt, Pramod conceded two off the first two balls and snared Vikram off the third ball. Three balls, two runs. Arjun  walks in and all the fielders close in. What does he do? He scoops the ball over fine-leg for a boundary sending the IISc camp into raptures. The small crowd that had gathered at the benches and the stairs at the IISc Gymkhana ground were treated with a royal roller-coaster ride.

Brief Scores: Rajajinagar Colts - 251/9 in 50 overs

(Rahul 87, Sandeep 24, Vinay 25, Bhaktavatsal 22, Raghavendra 32, Debajit 3/81, Arindam 3/83) IISc - 254/8 in 49.4 overs (Salil 108*, Varun 26, Teja 47, Pramod 6/88, Mahadev 2/100)

Result: IISc won by 2 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Salil Kashyap

Upcoming match: Sunday, 10 October 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Rajajinagar Colts

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 10 October 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

IISc drub Sangam

3 October 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Riding on a sparkling unbeaten century by guest-player Vasanth (109*), IISc drubbed Sangam Cricketers by four wickets in a friendly match. 

 

Sangam lost half their side with hardly 70 runs on the board. Arjun scalped an impressive three-wicket haul besides effecting a sharp runout. But Deepak (99*) and Kate (37) put together a commendable rear-guard action helping Sangam post a challenging total of 233/7.

IISc's chase had an assured start before it went into overdrive with Arindam (42) and Vasanth unleashing some furious blows to all corners of the ground. Such was the dominance of the batsmen that IISc reached home with more than twelve overs to spare.

With their run-machine Ashith unavailable for the all important league match versus Rajajinagar Colts, a stern test awaits team IISc coming Sunday.

 

Brief Scores:

Sangam Cricketers - 233/7 in 50 overs

(Jeevan 22, Deepak 99*, Kate 37, Arjun 3/38)

IISc - 235/6 in 37.5 overs

(Arindam 42, Vasanth 109*, Sounik 28)

Result: IISc won by 4 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Vasanth

Upcoming match: Sunday, 3 October 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Sangam Cricketers

50-overs Friendly Match

9:00AM, Sunday, 3 October 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Fancied Malleswaram SC surrender to IISc

12 September 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Spurred by Ashith's all-round heroics, team IISc thumped fancied opponents Malleswaram Sports Club by a resounding six-wicket margin thus completing a hat-trick of victories in the ongoing KSCA Metro Shield. They are now strong contenders for making it to the super-league stage of the tournament for the first time in fifteen years.

Malleswaram Sports Club won the toss and spontaneously elected to bat with the confidence of two totals in excess of 300 behind them. Against an eager and committed IISc side they could barely manage 213 as they were dismissed before completion of the stipulated quota of overs. Teja's first over set the trend for the match as he made Alok Deshpande - who came into this match having scored back-to-back centuries - dance to his tunes beating him repeatedly with pace and bounce. The rest of the bowlers, not to mention the fielders, too stuck to their task admirably. Ashith's spell of 8-2-19-2 was the crucial one. Debajit and Shimjith also picked up two wickets each. Janathan (72) and Kiran  (51) scored fighting fifties for Malleswaram SC.

IISc's innings was off to a contrasting start when as many as 18 runs came in an erratic first over. Though a couple of early wickets were lost, Shimjith (32) played a useful hand to guide the chase during the initial overs. Then Ashith (70*) and Vikram (52) put together 77 runs for the fourth wicket in a partnership that killed any fight left in the opposition. While Ashith was clinical and assured, Vikram played the role of aggressor to perfection. Vikram's departure with the score at 147/4 might have given some glimmer of hope to the visitors, but the captain and the vice-captain efficiently erased any such hopes with an unbeaten 70-run partnership.

Three wins in four matches is good. Four in five is better. That's what IISc will target when they face Rajajinagar Colts on 10th October.

Brief Scores:
Malleswaram Sports Club - 213 allout in 47.2 overs

(Alok Deshpande 26, Janathan Hiremath 72, Kiran Kumar 51, Lakshminarayan 28, Debajit 2/44, Ashith 2/19, Shimjith 2/5)
IISc - 217/4 in 43.2 overs
(Shimjith 32, Ashith 70*, Vikram 52, Sounik 26*, Janathan 3/61)

Result: IISc won by 6 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Ashith Shyam

Newspaper reports:
"The Hindu"
"Times of India"
"Deccan Herald"

Upcoming match: Sunday, 12 September 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Malleswaram Sports Club

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 12 September 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Varun, Vasanth star in facile win

5 September 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: A stunning five-wicket haul from newcomer Varun and an aggressive unbeaten 89 from guest player Vasanth helped IISc drub BEL Colony Recreation Club by five wickets in a 50-over friendly match.

Teja and Debajit were as stingy as ever in their opening spells. Debajit (4/62) continued his rich vein of form claiming yet another four-wicket haul. The standout performance of the day came from rookie medium-fast bowler Varun whose figures read 8-2-10-5. On the sheer weight of the numbers, it would easily count as one of the most devastating spells in recent memory. The BEL innings folded for a meager 167.

IISc started cautiously in the absence of regular openers. Shivu (27) played a handy cameo featuring some audacious strokes. Vasanth's swash-buckling and solid innings of 89 was the cornerstone of IISc's chase. His 60-run third-wicket partnership with Vikram (23) - who curbed his usual attacking instinct in favor of a responsible and calculative approach - clinched the match for the home team.

Brief Scores:

BEL Colony RC - 167 allout in 43.3 overs

(Santosh 21, Rajiva 22, Manjunath 33, Varun 5/10, Debajit 4/62)

IISc - 169/5 in 36.3 overs

(Shivu 27, Vasanth 89*, Vikram 23, Manjunath 2/31, Sudhir 2/34)

Result: IISc won by 5 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Varun Raturi

IISc trounce Spartons SC

29 August 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore:  Playing their third match of KSCA Metro Shield 2010, IISc thrashed Spartons Sports Club by seven wickets with a sparkling display of team effort. They now have two wins and a loss from three matches, as they go on to face high-flying Malleswaram Sports Club in their next match.

As Spartons decided to bat first, Teja and Debajit started proceedings for IISc in a disciplined manner. Teja's spell of 8-3-16-0 might have been cruelly wicketless. Nonetheless, it was a heart warming exhibition of aggressive and accurate fast bowling. Debajit (3/60) and Vikram (3/39) bagged impressive three wicket hauls. But Arindam's spell of 4/33 was undoubtedly the match-winning one.

With the scratchy chase against Gary cricketers fresh in memory, IISc needed to win this one a lot more convincingly. And so they did. Openers Ganapathy (54) and Shimjith (21) put up 58 before the latter got run-out. Ganapathy was at his flamboyant best displaying a wide array of strokes. The shot of the day has to be his screaming straight drive all along the carpet - high elbow and all that jazz. Ashith compiled an unbeaten 54, in his trademark composed and fluent manner, as he saw IISc through to victory.

Brief Scores:
Spartons Sports Club - 165 allout in 43.4 overs

(Sham 22, Manish 26, Chinky 45, Debajit 3/60, Vikram 3/39, Arindam 4/33)
IISc - 168/3 in 30.3 overs
(Shimjith 21, Ganapathy 54, Ashith 54*, Sham 2/29)

Result: IISc won by 7 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Arindam Ghosh

Newspaper Reports:
"Deccan Herald"

Upcoming match: Sunday, 29 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Spartons Sports Club

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 29 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

IISc lose T25 friendly match

22 August 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: It was a T25 friendly match. With as many as six regular players unavailable, a depleted IISc put up a brave fight against Sangam Cricketers, but in the end, lost the match by three wickets. Sangam were comfortably placed at 99/0 chasing a target of 141. However, a flurry of wickets at the closing stages took the game into the last over.

IISc's batting was efficient without being extravagant thanks chiefly to a polished knock by Varun (42) who anchored the innings commendably. Sounik (21) and Teja (27) delivered handy cameos. In the end, the total of 140/8 was a good 10-20 runs short of a winning score.

Sangam's openers Praveen (33) and Shivu (51) went about the chase in a composed and organized manner. But at 99/0 the hara-kiri started with seven wickets falling within a space of 41 runs. Needing a solitary run of the final over, a streaky edge through the vacant first slip region ended the match in favor of Sangam. Sunil and Varun captured two wickets apiece for IISc.

Brief Scores:

IISc - 140/8 in 25 overs
(Sounik 21, Varun 42, Teja 27, Vasant 2/14)
Sangam Cricketers - 144/7 in 24.2 overs
(Praveen 33, Shivu 51, Varun 2/15, Sunil 2/21)

Result: Sangam Cricketers won by 3 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Shivu

Close Shave

14 August 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: In a dramatic finish to their second match of this year's KSCA Metro Shield, IISc snatched a narrow two-wicket victory against Gary Cricketers. After doing all the good work on the field to bundle out the visitors for 161, IISc failed to string together partnerships but finally reached the target thanks to a responsible knock of 44 from Vikram.

The highlight of IISc's bowling effort, was Debajit's spell of 19-3-58-4. The figures speak for themselves. Opening the attack with Teja (11-0-55-2), he turned in a marathon spell of nineteen overs unchanged from the SAC end. Arindam also picked up a couple of wickets. But the two standout - nay, inspirational - moments of the innings were Varun's acrobatic catch at gully and Dibyendu's direct hit from the deep. Those brilliant fielding efforts broke the visitors' best two partnerships in the match.

162 was a tricky, if not daunting, target. IISc kept finding ways to lose wickets at regular intervals. While most of the top five were dismissed with not too much on the board, Vikram played an innings that was an ideal blend of caution and aggression. He held his end up and attacked whenever the opportunity presented itself. Once he departed, IISc were reduced to 127/8. But the ninth-wicket duo of Lalit (19*) and Teja (9*) knocked off the required runs under tense circumstances to take IISc home. The last partnership of 35* ended up being the highest partnership of the innings. That conveys cues to what IISc should be working on before their next match.

Brief Scores:
Gary Cricketers - 161 allout in 43.1 overs

(Ashish 29, David 25, Gaurav 24, Uttam 26, Debajit 4/58, Arindam 2/35, Teja 2/55)
IISc - 162/8 in 40.3 overs
(Arindam 23, Vikram 44, David 3/37)

Result: IISc won by 2 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Debajit Sarma

Newspaper Reports:
"Deccan Herald"  
"Times of India"

Upcoming match: Saturday, 14 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Gary Cricketers

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Match

9:30AM, Saturday, 29 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Resilient IISc beat Ranji CC

8 August 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: A target of 251 was always going to be tough, especially considering how miserably IISc had failed in the last match. To add to their woes, IISc collapsed from 93/1 to 161/7. But an unbeaten 90-run partnership by a resilient eighth wicket pair, comprising skipper Sounik and debutant Varun, saw IISc through to victory.

Earlier, Ranji CC were off to a flier powered by a hard-hitting Muddasar (63) who consistently targeted the arc between mid-wicket and square-leg. Later Aravind (44) and Thangadurai (50) also contributed handsomely to the visitors total of 250/10 in 50 overs. Arindam continued his consistent run with a four-wicket haul.

IISc's chase was initially guided by Shimjith's 49 before it went into complete disarray owing to loss of wickets at regular intervals. Thankfully, a veteran and a rookie saved the day for IISc.

Brief Scores:
Ranji Cricket Club - 250/10 in 50 overs

(Muddasar 63, Aravind 44, Thangadurai 50, Arindam 4/49)
IISc - 251/7 in 47 overs
(Shimjith 49, Sounik 68*, Varun 41*)

Result: IISc won by 3 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Sounik Saha

Upcoming match: Sunday, 8 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Ranji Cricket Club

50-overs Friendly Match

9:00AM, Sunday, 8 August 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Selection Trials

Why should you join the IISc Cricket Team?

• Daily net practice sessions: Everyday you will get to play the game you love. The complete kit (excluding your whites and shoes) is provided by IISc Gymkhana
• Regular friendly matches: You will get to play friendly matches against teams from all over Bangalore (Matches are held only on weekends and holidays)
• You will get a chance to play in the various recognized tournaments: KSCA Metro Shield IV-Division Cricket League, YS Ramaswamy Memorial Trophy, KSCA T20 Knock-out Tournament, IIM-B Invitational Cricket Tournament etc.

IISc start league with huge loss

1 August 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: IISc sunk to an abysmal 125-run defeat against Vivekanagar Cricketers in their opening match of this year's KSCA Metro Shield. Consistent performances in 2010 (Played-17, Won-11, Lost-4, No Result-2) had lead to high expectations from IISc this season. Hence this kind of a start can best be described as a damp squib.

Batting first, Vivekanagar Cricketers were off to a good start with an 80-run opening stand between Jagadish (20) and Paramananda (67). Arindam got IISc the first breakthrough. He and Vikram bowled well in tandem to reduce the visitors to 107/4. But Prasanth and Sunil put together a counter-attacking 116-run fifth wicket partnership to wrest back the control. The innings closed at 252 allout after a few late wickets. Arindam bagged a five-wicket haul for IISc.

No sooner had IISc started their innings they were tottering at 5/3 with the top three back in the hut. Ashith and Arindam tried to restore sanity with a 79-run fourth wicket alliance. But once Arindam was dismissed, the rest of the batting collapsed against the wiles of a thirteen-year old off-spinner Kevin.  He castled three IISc batsmen en-route to an impressive fifer.

Brief Scores:
Vivekanagar Cricketers - 252 allout in 49.3 overs

(Paramananda 67, Prasanth 58, Sunil 52, Arindam 5/72, Vikram 2/26, Debajit 2/43)
IISc - 127 allout in 31.2 overs
(Ashith 44, Arindam 30, Kevin 5/12, Abhishek 2/30)

Result: Vivekanagar Cricketers won by 125 runs

Man-of-the-match: Kevin Christopher

Newspaper Reports:
"Deccan Herald-1"

"Deccan Herald-2"

"The Hindu"

Why this blog?

For more than two years, I've been playing in and reporting about matches - official and unofficial - played by the IISc cricket team. But all such reports were part of a personal blog amongst other content not related to cricket. So I decided to start this new blog dedicated to IISc cricket in the hope that it outlasts my stay in IISc. May it chronicle all that ever happens in IISc cricket. If you wish to know the story of IISc cricket - through match reports - from August 2008 up until the birth of this blog, you can access it here.