IISc pip Merchants CC, reach super-league

The worms (red: Merchants CC, green: IISc) show that IISc had the luxury 

to pace their chase knowing that the target wasn't stiff.

16 October 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: For the second consecutive season, the IISc cricket team has made it to the super-league stage of the highly competitive KSCA Metro Shield tournament winning four of their five league stage matches. The latest victims at their hands were Merchants CC who were defeated by three wickets in an evenly contested affair that showed how a low scoring match could still dish out edge-of-the-seat cricket.

Merchants started out confidently with some authoritative boundaries. But the hosts fought back through some disciplined bowling and agile fielding reducing the visitors from 33/0 to 75/4. Aneesh (41) and Ikram (35) arrested the collapse and ensured that the visitors had a decent total to defend with their famed bowling line-up. In a collective effort, Debajit (2/42), Teja (3/33) and Vikram (2/23) plotted the downfall of the opposition restricting them under 200. 

Knowing that the target wasn't stiff helped IISc pace their chase perfectly in the face of some stifling spin bowling from Merchants. Salil (22) and Kiran (19) ensured a steady start but in a dramatic turn of events the home team found themselves at 76/5 largely through a string of soft dismissals. The stage was set for Ashith (45) to play a captain's knock under pain and pressure, stitching crucial partnerships with Teja (37*) and Debajit (26) both of whom are fast developing into seasoned finishers. IISc romped home with three wickets and close to five overs to spare.

After all the grueling cricket in the past couple of months, team IISc now gets some well-deserved rest before their face-off with tougher oppositions in the super-league. While things seem to be clicking very nicely in the batting and bowling departments, they will be most pleased with their marked improvement in fielding and catching over the previous matches, touch wood.

Brief Scores:

Merchant's CC - 199 all out in 45.2 overs
(Saroj 22, Aneesh 41, Ikram 35, Debajit 2/42, Teja 3/33, Vikram 2/23)
IISc - 201/7 in 45.3 overs

(Salil 22, Teja 37*, Ashith 45, Debajit 26, Aneesh 3/25)

Result: IISc won by 3 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Ravi Teja

Full Scorecard

Newspaper Reports: 
"Deccan Herald" 

IISc clinch thriller

9 October 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: After the agonizing loss to Vikram CC in the last game, team IISc was under pressure to win this match. And so they did via a commendable team effort beating Vivekanada Union CC by three wickets with just two overs to spare. 

Vivekananda Union came into the match with some reputation for hard hitting and Ajay (70) and Anil (60) justified that with some lusty stroke-play. Ajay in particular was on nitro-boost mode biffing eight fours and three sixes. Debajit (4/49) came out of his consistent three-for mode claiming four wickets for IISc. Vikram (2/57) and Ashith (3/33) shared the rest of the spoils.

In a conscious effort to always stay ahead of the required rate, Salil (38) and Kiran (45) got the hosts off to a blistering start scoring at around nine runs an over. When Kiran was dismissed at a team score of 80 in the tenth over, IISc had a firm foundation to build their chase on. But they squandered the initiative with a dramatic middle-order collapse that took them to a precarious 145/6. 

Reminiscent of the epic chase against Rajajinagar Colts almost exactly an year ago, it was Varun (43) and Teja (55*) who played the rescue act to perfection. There weren't too many boundaries - both the batsmen hit only one six each - but the running was especially impressive as they repeatedly put pressure on the fielders stealing plenty of doubles. When Varun got out, IISc was still 33 runs behind the target, but some composed and sensible batting from Teja and Debajit saw IISc through with a couple of overs to spare.

While the result might not reflect it, the home team has some serious problems to sort in the fielding and catching department. The next match versus Merchants CC will not be an easy proposition to handle with butter-fingered fieldsmen. 

Brief Scores:

Vivekananda Union CC - 245 all out in 45.1 overs
(Ajay 70, Anil 60, Debajit 4/49, Vikram 2/57, Ashith 3/33)
IISc - 247/7 in 48 overs

(Salil 38, Kiran 45, Varun 43, Teja 55*, Soail 5/44)

Result: IISc won by 3 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Ravi Teja

Newspaper Reports:
"Deccan Herald"
"The Hindu"

Vikram CC, rain prevail over IISc

 The worms (red: Vikram CC, green: IISc) show that IISc's chase was cut short at a crucial juncture.

2 October 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: When IISc restricted Vikram CC to 228/8 in 50 overs, they might have felt reasonably confident of registering their third straight win in the KSCA Metro Shield 2011. But during the chase, a combination of nagging bowling and some circumspect batting ensured that the hosts was slightly behind the required run-rate when it poured down cruelly for them.

Vikram CC's innings was steered by a gem of a knock from Sanjeeth (60). For IISc, Debajit  (3/51) picked up three wickets while Ashith (2/38) and Arjun (2/42) claimed two wickets apiece. The home team's fielding was rather profligate which proved quite decisive in the final equation.

In the 22.1 overs that IISc got to bat, Salil (45*) was in the middle of a polished innings. The chase was nipped in the bud at that inopportune juncture  by a spell of heavy downpour leaving the hosts wondering how they managed to lose a match that seemed to be well in their pockets. The umpires did have an inspection about an hour after rain stopped, but the ground conditions were too soggy for any play to be possible.

Brief Scores:

Vikram CC - 228/8 in 50 overs
(Sanjeeth 60, Deepak Reddy 30, Debajit 3/51, Ashith 2/38, Arjun 2/42 )
IISc - 84/2 in 22.1 overs

(Salil 45*)

Result: Vikram CC won by better run rate

Man-of-the-match: Sanjeeth

Newspaper reports:

"Deccan Herald"

Vivekanagar vanquished

Team IISc's wagon-wheel shows that the visiting bowlers

were sent on a leather hunt to all parts of the ground.

24 September 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: The horrid memories of the abject surrender last year were erased as team IISc inflicted a heavy defeat on Vivekanagar Cricketers in the pay-back match. Meaty contributions right through the batting line-up helped IISc post an imposing 288 which was too much of an ask for the visitors who fell 57 runs short.

Vivekanagar won the toss and put IISc in to bat. Their decision was vindicated as Kiran played on one from Balaraj. But Salil (49) and Pranesh (50) kept things simple and played solidly. Salil was particularly fluent punching into the gaps all around the park but got out to a needless run-out that denied him a well-deserved fifty. Arindam was the next victim of yet another horrible mix-up.

Vikram (44) joined Pranesh and settled the nerves in the dressing room with another fluent innings that the team has started to expect of him. In typical fashion, he dealt in the currency of boundaries but eventually lost his wicket in pursuit of a six.  Ashith (51*) went in and played a captain's knock - a silken unbeaten fifty. As the time came for acceleration, both Pranesh and Ashith helped themselves to a towering six each. Pranesh holed out after reaching his maiden fifty in KSCA league and the lower middle order had a mini-collapse. Arjun (29) played a cameo and together with his skipper ensured a flourish at the end that took IISc to 288/9.

Vivekanagar chose a far too cautious approach focusing on keeping wickets in hand. Balaraj (52), Venkatesh (46) and Paramananda (43) did all they could to keep the chase on track. But starting from somewhere around the middle of the innings they fell far behind the asking rate. Their innings came to a meandering finish 58 runs short of the target. Debajit  (3/35) was the pick of the bowlers for the home team.

The worms (red: IISc, green: Vivekanagar) indicate that the

visitors fell far behind starting from the mid-way mark.

With two victories in as many matches, team IISc's KSCA Metro Shield campaign is going strong. Still they have some problem areas to work on - fielding was not up to the mark as is testified by the umpteen mis-fields and four dropped catches. The next match against fourth ranked Vikram CC on coming Sunday will definitely be a tough test.

Brief Scores:

IISc - 288/9 in 50 overs

(Salil 49, Pranesh 50, Vikram 44, Ashith 51*, Arjun 29)
Vivekanagar Cricketers - 231/8 in 50 overs

(Balaraj 52, Venkatesh 46, Parmananda 43, Roger 24, Debajit 3/35, Roy 2/52)

Result: IISc won by 57 runs

Man-of-the-match: Ashith Shyam

Newspaper reports:
"Deccan Herald"

PS: Wagon-wheel and worms compiled using PitchPad Pavilion
 

IISc hammer YBCA

18 September 2011, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: IISc got their KSCA IV Division League campaign off to a rosy start hammering Young Boys' Cricket Association by seven wickets in their very first match this season.

The IISc bowlers led by Debajit (3/12) and Roy (4/16) wrecked havoc in the YBCA camp picking up wickets at regular intervals never allowing any decent partnership to develop. Opener Manjunath (45) was the only opposing batsman who showed some semblance of fight as the visitors were bundled out for a paltry 122. 

IISc's reply was shaky to start with when they lost three wickets with 44 on the board. But from there on it was smooth sailing, as Pranesh (39*) and skipper Ashith (39*) took them home without any further alarms.

Brief Scores:

Young Boys' Cricket Association - 122 all out in 37 overs
(Manjunath 45, Debajit 3/12, Teja 1/21, Arindam 1/13, Alok 1/44, Roy 4/16)
IISc - 124/3 in 24.3 overs

(Salil 30, Pranesh 39*, Ashith 39*)

Result: IISc won by 7 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Anirudha Dutta Roy

Newspaper reports:
"Deccan Herald"

"The Hindu"

 

KSCA Metro Shield 2011

The 2011 edition of the much-awaited KSCA IV Division League also known as the Metro Shield got underway on 3 September. A total of 48 teams split into eight pools of six teams each are in the fray. 

Teams play out round-robin matches within each pool and the top two teams from each pool go to the super-league stage which in turn shall have four pools of four teams each. Round-robin matches in the super-league stage are followed by the knock-out phase - semifinals and finals. The finalists get promoted to the III Division next season.

Typically, the tournament goes on for 4-5 months as all the matches are held on weekends only. Last season, IISc Gymkhana's excellent performance - including a five match winning streak - ensured a finish at 9th position out of 48 teams. This year, team IISc has its sights set on bettering that.

IISc is in pool-E and the schedule of its first round matches is given below.

Sunday, 18 Sept: IISc Gymkhana vs Young Boys' Cricket Association

Saturday, 24 Sept: IISc Gymkhana vs Vivekanagar Cricketers

Sunday, 02 Oct: IISc Gymkhana vs Vikram Cricket Club

Sunday, 09 Oct: IISc Gymkhana vs Vivekananda Union Cricket Club

Sunday, 16 Oct: IISc Gymkhana vs Merchants Cricket Club (1)

Hours of play:
09:30am to 12:50pm - First Innings
12:50pm to 01:50pm - Lunch
01:50pm to 05:10pm - Second Innings

Venue: All league stage matches of IISc will be held in the IISc Gymkhana ground.

Updates: July-Sept 2011

Leading up to the KSCA Metro Shield 2011, IISc played four practice matches in July-September 2011 winning three of them.

IISc vs KIOC (11th Sept 2011)

IISc - 178 allout in 37 overs

(Kiran 58, Shimjith 35, Varun 45, Taha 5/18, Shashank 2/38, Prithvi 2/40)

KIOC - 179/5 in 30 overs

(Dikshanshu 100*, Teja 3/32, Varun 1/16)

Result: KIOC won by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: Dikshanshu

IISc vs Wilson Garden (4th Sept 2011)

Wilson Garden - 192 all out in 45 overs

(Yuvraj 42, Nitin 41, Karthik 27, Debajit 4/36, Sudheer 3/32, Arjun 3/40)

IISc - 195/5 in 40 overs

(Kiran 40, Arindam 59, Vikram 35*)

Result: IISc won by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: Debajit

IISc vs Minerva CC (28th Aug 2011)

Minerva CC - 184 allout in 49 overs

(Padukone 35, Pradeep 32, Vinith 27, Debajit 3/33, Alok 2/33, Ashith 2/17, Arjun 2/40)

IISc - 186/6 in 37 overs

(Salil 62, Varun 65*, Pranesh 20, Vinith 4/36, Pradeep 2/29)

Result: IISc won by 4 wickets

Man of the Match: Varun Raturi

IISc vs Unique CC (31st July 2011)

Unique CC - 177 allout in 36 overs

(Girish 42, Lokesh 41, Arjun 5/21, Debajit 2/38, Vikram 2/21)

IISc - 181/4 in 36 overs

(Salil 58, Arindam 49, Ashith 29*, Girsh 2/15)

Result: IISc won by 6 wickets

Man of the Match: Arjun Chiluka