Star SC end IISc's juggernaut

13 November 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Some solid batting from Star Sports Club, Nelamangala aided by some atrocious catching from IISc ended the home team's juggernaut in the ongoing KSCA Metro Shield 2011. Such is the competitive nature of the tournament that owing to this solitary loss, IISc could find themselves out of the fray irrespective of the result of their last super-league match versus Unique CC on 27th November.

Batting first, the visitors were on the offense from the word go. The openers put on 61 runs with Hanumanta Raju (64) in a murderous mood striking boundaries at will. IISc kept taking wickets but never managed to keeping the scoring in check. The seventh wicket pair of Santosh (56) and Manohar (41) put on 68 runs to add to IISc's misery. But the maximum damage on IISc was inflicted by their own butter-fingered catching and fielding - there were a shocking eight dropped catches in the innings. The saving grace for IISc was the efficient spells from spinners Arindam (5/46) and Alok (2/24).

Having made 290 in their last outing, the IISc batting unit may have just acquired some ill-placed complacency. Although the scoring rate was always good, IISc lost far too many wickets than they should have and ultimately found themselves woefully short. Arindam (41) and Varun (39) put up some semblance of fight but in the end it wasn't enough.

IISc play Unique Cricket Club on 27th November in what could be the last match in this year's Metro Shield for both teams.

Brief scores:
Star SC - 265 allout in 50 overs
(Hanumanta 64, Pradeep 36, Santosh 56, Manohar 41, Arindam 5/46, Alok 2/24)

IISc - 176 allout in 33.2 overs
(Arindam 42, Varun 39, Madhusudan 3/33, Sachin 2/65, Pradeep 2/24, Hanumanta 2/41)

Result: Star Sports Club won by 89 runs
Man of the Match: Hanumanta Raju

Newspaper Reports:

"Deccan Herald"

Kiran's ton flattens Young CC

6 November 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Opener Kiran Gangadharan's swashbuckling century (113) helped IISc beat high-flying Young Challenging Cricketers, by a comprehensive 54-run margin in their first super-league stage match of KSCA Metro Shield 2011. Fifth ranked Young CC came into the match with a clean slate winning each of their five league stage matches while IISc had four wins from as many matches.

Wet weather throughout the week hinted at the possibility of a rain-curtailed match. And so Young CC skipper Rakshan Rai promptly put IISc in on winning the toss. Salil (26) and Kiran were solid as ever in putting on an 80-run opening stand that laid the foundation for a big total. Kiran was in ominous touch but more importantly put a price tag on his wicket in an innings marked as much with determination as with panache. Twelve fours and a pulled six embellished his third century for IISc. His 90-run association for the third wicket with captain Ashith Shyam (67) was a veritable lesson on how to build an innings through the middle-overs. Ashith continued his consistent run of form and, aided by a few cameos from the rest of the middle-order, helped IISc post an imposing 290/8 in 50 overs.

Visiting openers MS Vinay and Savan started briskly putting on 46 runs for the first wicket. But the home team bowlers - in the absence of their go-to man Debajit - put in a team effort chipping in with wickets at crucial junctures to keep the chase in check. BA Vinay (32) and Rakshan (38) put on 77 runs for the fifth wicket and kept the visitors in the hunt. In fact Young CC always kept themselves abreast with the required rate but lost far too many wickets for their liking. They kept fighting till the very last wicket fell 54 runs short of IISc's total.

Team IISc play their second super-league match against Star CC, Nelamangala this Sunday, 13th November. A win there would make them strong contenders for a semi-final spot.

Brief scores:
IISc - 290/8 in 50 overs
(Salil 26, Kiran 113, Arindam 23, Ashith 67, Vikram 23, Varun 20, Guruprasad 2/56)
Young CC - 236 allout in 44.1 overs
(MS Vinay 32, Savan 36, BA Vinay 32, Rakshan 38, Guruprasad 22, Teja 2/35, Vikram 2/33, Arindam 3/45, Ashith 2/32)

Result: IISc won by 54 runs
Man of the Match: Kiran Gangadharan

Newspaper Reports:
Deccan Herald
The Hindu

DNA