IISc Rout Sangam Cricketers

Kiran played some delightful cover drives and lofted drives on his way to 94

24th August, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: IISc kick started their KSCA IV Division 2014 campaign with an emphatic seven wicket win over Sangam Cricketers. IISc won the toss and promptly elected to field given that rain was predicted to play a part in the game later in the afternoon. Sangam openers were off to a steady start before Varun nicked out Vinod for 18 in the 9th over. Mithun then joined Sidharth and continued to play in a steady fashion.  Just when it seemed that Sangam had laid down a solid foundation to reach a respectable total, IISc's spinners struck three crucial blows on either side of the drinks break.  The first to go was Sidharth, who holed out to long off trying to force the pace.  The second wicket partnership of 69 came in 18 overs. Mithun soon followed top edging a paddle sweep towards forward short leg. The edge stayed up long enough for the wicket keeper (Kiran) to run across and dive full stretch to gobble it. Sagar barely got set before he tried to slog one out of the park but only managed to find Ankit at long on. The quick strikes dented Sangam's innings, reducing them to 119/4 in the 32 over. Ranjith tried to grab the momentum back by finding the boundary regularly with his unorthodox strokeplay. But, Arindam towards the end of his marathon spell that spanned 12 overs, picked two crucial wickets to ensure that Sangam entered the death overs with no momentum whatsoever. Sangam's lower batting order had no answers to Ankit's tantalising line and Ashit's cleverly disguised slower ones as they ended up getting all out for 202 in the 50th over.

IISc's openers began the chase positively, striking some boundaries early in the innings off Dayanand. Captain Raghu brought himself on early to hold one end up with his nagging line. Nikhil was in the midst of an impressive spell at the other end, troubling both openers with sharp in duckers. Both openers dug deep and fought off the difficult period to ensure IISc came unscathed in the first 10 overs. Kiran then shifted gears and took charge of the proceedings by playing some delightful cover drives and lofted drives off the spinners to bring up his half century in 54 balls. Kiran looked like he was in a hurry to finish things as the next 30 balls he faced produced 44 runs. IISc went into the drinks break at 123 for no loss at the end of the 24th over.  Kiran looked all set to get to his first century this season as the bowlers hardly produced anything that troubled him. However, in a bid to get to his century quickly, he miscued a flighted delivery off Sidharth to long off to go for 94 off just 84 balls. The 135 run first wicket partnership came off 160 balls. Gaurav fell the next over trying to force the pace for a steady 40 of 80 balls. Vikram (39* off 43 balls) completed the formalities by ending the chase in the 39th over. IISc now face Dolphin Cricket Club in their next encounter on 31st August. IISc will not be taking them lightly as they beat Unique Cricket Club in their first game.

 Brief Scores:

Sangam Cricket Club: 202 All out in 49.4 Overs

Sidharth 44, Mithun 40, Ranjit 43

Arindam 12-0-49-3, Ashit 10-2-34-1, Roy 6-0-36-2

IISc Gymkhana: 203 for 3 in 38.0 Overs

Kiran 94, Gaurav 40, Vikram 39*

Raghu 11-0-63-2, Sidharth 2-0-10-1

Result: IISc Gymkhana won by 7 wickets

Man of the match: Kiran KG

Detailed Scorecard: IISC Vs Sangam KSCA IV Division 2014 Scorecard

In the newspapers: 

Kiran and Varun Power IISc to Massive Win

Whirlwind CC Vs IISc Gymkhana (Practice Match)

3rd August, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: IISc registered a thumping 6 wicket victory over Whirlwind CC. Going into this game, there was some concern about IISc's ability to close out games as they struggled to chase down small targets in the previous two games. However, Kiran's return to form in this game ensured that all such talk was put to rest as IISc overcame a stiff target of 223 with more than 20 overs to spare. With the KSCA IV Division League 2014 around the corner these are ominous signs as the team seems to be peaking just at the right time.

Whirlwind won the toss and elected to bat first under slightly overcast conditions. Vishnu got Whirlwind off to a good start by cutting and driving both Varun and Ankit. Whirlwind lost Mitesh for 5 in the 10th over, LBW to a ball from Teju that cut in sharply off the pitch. But, Mohit and Vishnu continued to attack IISc's bowlers, bringing up the 50 in 11th over.  The introduction of spin from both ends saw instant results. Ankit & Alok delivered some quick killer blows to knock the wind out of the Whirlwind middle order, reducing them to 95 for 5 by the 20th over. Nachiketh and Lavneet then helped Whirlwind recover by stitching together a 59 run partnership for the 6th wicket in 15 overs. Lavneet in particular, was impressive, regularly using his feet and sweeping the spinners to ensure the score board kept ticking. Lavneet perished for 41 in the 41st over with the score at 178 for 7. The lower order continued to play their shots and managed to set IISc a competitive target of 223. Ankit was the pick of the bowlers with terrific figures of 10-2-37-3.

 IISc were off to a terrible start when they were quickly reduced to 26 for 2 by the 6th over. Both wickets fell to the lanky left arm medium pacer Vignesh. Vikram was the first to go, trapped in front for 4. Tikkas went for 2, nicking one behind. Kiran and Varun then stitched together a 112 run partnership for the 3rd wicket in just 14.4 overs. They both started cautiously ensuring that there was no further damage done by the pacers. Kiran shelved his natural attacking instincts and looked determined to get a big score. When spin was introduced in the 15th over,  the game was still in the balance with the score at 75 for 2. Whirlwind were only a wicket or two away from regaining control over the game. Both batsmen still had a lot of work to do and IISc was not out of the hole just as yet. But, Kiran then launched a brilliant counter attack to shift the pressure back on to the bowlers. He was particularly, severe on the young leggie Prithvi. He used his feet and swept him regularly to completely turn the tide in IISc's favour. Kushal wrested back some sense of control for the visitors by picking up two quick wickets. First inducing a false stroke from Kiran, ending his innings at 89, short of a well deserved hundred. He then had Teju trapped in front with a slider for 7. However, the Whirlwind bowlers could not exert any real pressure as they continued to bleed runs. Varun (84*) continued the onslaught on the Whirlwind spinners and ensured that the game was finished as early as the 30th over.

Brief Scores:

Whirlwind CC: 222 All Out in 48.2 overs

Vishnu  47*,  Lavneet 41, Bishnu 20*

Ankit 3/37, Teju 2/40, Alok 1/38

IISc Gymkhana: 223 for 4 in 29.5 overs

Kiran 89, Varun 84*

Vignesh 2/22, Kushal 2/42

Result: IISc Gymkhana Won by 6 Wickets

Man of the Match: Kiran KG