Fancied Malleswaram SC surrender to IISc

12 September 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: Spurred by Ashith's all-round heroics, team IISc thumped fancied opponents Malleswaram Sports Club by a resounding six-wicket margin thus completing a hat-trick of victories in the ongoing KSCA Metro Shield. They are now strong contenders for making it to the super-league stage of the tournament for the first time in fifteen years.

Malleswaram Sports Club won the toss and spontaneously elected to bat with the confidence of two totals in excess of 300 behind them. Against an eager and committed IISc side they could barely manage 213 as they were dismissed before completion of the stipulated quota of overs. Teja's first over set the trend for the match as he made Alok Deshpande - who came into this match having scored back-to-back centuries - dance to his tunes beating him repeatedly with pace and bounce. The rest of the bowlers, not to mention the fielders, too stuck to their task admirably. Ashith's spell of 8-2-19-2 was the crucial one. Debajit and Shimjith also picked up two wickets each. Janathan (72) and Kiran  (51) scored fighting fifties for Malleswaram SC.

IISc's innings was off to a contrasting start when as many as 18 runs came in an erratic first over. Though a couple of early wickets were lost, Shimjith (32) played a useful hand to guide the chase during the initial overs. Then Ashith (70*) and Vikram (52) put together 77 runs for the fourth wicket in a partnership that killed any fight left in the opposition. While Ashith was clinical and assured, Vikram played the role of aggressor to perfection. Vikram's departure with the score at 147/4 might have given some glimmer of hope to the visitors, but the captain and the vice-captain efficiently erased any such hopes with an unbeaten 70-run partnership.

Three wins in four matches is good. Four in five is better. That's what IISc will target when they face Rajajinagar Colts on 10th October.

Brief Scores:
Malleswaram Sports Club - 213 allout in 47.2 overs

(Alok Deshpande 26, Janathan Hiremath 72, Kiran Kumar 51, Lakshminarayan 28, Debajit 2/44, Ashith 2/19, Shimjith 2/5)
IISc - 217/4 in 43.2 overs
(Shimjith 32, Ashith 70*, Vikram 52, Sounik 26*, Janathan 3/61)

Result: IISc won by 6 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Ashith Shyam

Newspaper reports:
"The Hindu"
"Times of India"
"Deccan Herald"

Upcoming match: Sunday, 12 September 2010

IISc Gymkhana vs Malleswaram Sports Club

50-overs KSCA Group-I, IV-Division Match

9:30AM, Sunday, 12 September 2010

IISc Gymkhana Ground

Varun, Vasanth star in facile win

5 September 2010, IISc Gymkhana Ground, Bangalore: A stunning five-wicket haul from newcomer Varun and an aggressive unbeaten 89 from guest player Vasanth helped IISc drub BEL Colony Recreation Club by five wickets in a 50-over friendly match.

Teja and Debajit were as stingy as ever in their opening spells. Debajit (4/62) continued his rich vein of form claiming yet another four-wicket haul. The standout performance of the day came from rookie medium-fast bowler Varun whose figures read 8-2-10-5. On the sheer weight of the numbers, it would easily count as one of the most devastating spells in recent memory. The BEL innings folded for a meager 167.

IISc started cautiously in the absence of regular openers. Shivu (27) played a handy cameo featuring some audacious strokes. Vasanth's swash-buckling and solid innings of 89 was the cornerstone of IISc's chase. His 60-run third-wicket partnership with Vikram (23) - who curbed his usual attacking instinct in favor of a responsible and calculative approach - clinched the match for the home team.

Brief Scores:

BEL Colony RC - 167 allout in 43.3 overs

(Santosh 21, Rajiva 22, Manjunath 33, Varun 5/10, Debajit 4/62)

IISc - 169/5 in 36.3 overs

(Shivu 27, Vasanth 89*, Vikram 23, Manjunath 2/31, Sudhir 2/34)

Result: IISc won by 5 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Varun Raturi

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"