IISc rout Vikram CC

Varun struck telling blows in his spell of 8-2-26-3

23rd September, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Team IISc moved one step closer to securing a semifinal berth by winning their second super league match on the trot in KSCA Metro Shield 2012. Vikram CC was shot out for a meagre 158 that was ruthlessly chased down with six wickets and close to eighteen overs still to go.

Batting first, Vikram CC started in extremely circumspect fashion. Varun had Satish caught behind in the fifth over. The very next over, Debajit trapped Benedict plumb in front for a duck. The IISc bowlers largely hunted in a pack as they kept chipping away on the wickets reducing Vikram CC to 31/5 in the thirteenth over. 

Manoj Thapa (31 off 64 balls) and Nikhil (33 off 42 balls) stabilized the innings with a 58 run sixth wicket partnership before Alok got the latter stumped. Towards the later stage of the innings Rohit contributed 39 runs off 37 balls while the rest of the batsmen perished. Varun ended with impressive figures of 8-2-26-3.

Chasing 159, IISc lost both openers cheaply and had to go through a tricky phase of nine overs before the lunch break. Skipper Ashith (57* off 70 balls) and debutant Satya Rungta (29 off 59 balls) shared a crucial 60-run third wicket partnership that put IISc back on track. Vikram (25 off 27 balls) played a typical cameo before holing out in the deep. Ashith finished off the chase with Varun (14* off 11 balls) at the other end. With this undefeated innings, Ashith has already slammed 296 runs in the tournament at a Bradmanesque average of 98.67.

Having already bettered their performances in the past sixteen years, team IISc is just one step away from the semifinals as they face Spartans Sports Club in their last super league match coming Sunday. 

Brief scores: (50 overs match)
Vikram CC - 158 all out in 41.1 overs
(Manoj Thapa 31, Nikhil 33, Rohith 39;
Varun 8-2-26-3, Alok 9-0-35-2)
IISc - 159/4 in 32.1 overs
(Ashith 57*, Satya 29, Vikram 25)

Result: IISc won by 6 wickets
Man of the match: Varun Raturi

In the newspapers:
"Deccan Herald"