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.