Match Report (Game v/s Inland Empire 1 - 03/19/06)

The enthusiastic new Team 3 of SDCC got together first game of the season against Inland Empire 1. It was a happy sight to see the folks turn up on time and contribute enthusiastically in ground preparations. Andy then conducted some nice warm up routines. Manish started off the day with a motivating speech to the team.

Manish won the toss and chose to bat. Mani and Anand opened the innings. One bowler of IE1, Gunvant Patel, had his own script for the day and he set the tone by picking up two wickets in the first over, a mighty blow for our team. Anand and Hari were both cleaned up on swinging yorker length deliveries.

Mani and Shaival looked to start a rearguard action but for Gunvant again who bowled Shaival of a slower delivery. Manish went in with a huge responsibility and joined Mani who was looking comfortable. An overconfident shot from Mani cost him his wicket and Andrew joined Manish to put up the saving grace partnership.

Both the batsmen played very patiently and accumulated runs. They were pegged down by the spinners too. Finally Andrew ended up going for the big shot and was comfortably caught. Niraj got a start but just fell as another victim to Gunvant. Manish tried to up the tempo and unfortunately was out bowled on a ball that kept low. He received standing ovation from all teammates for his marathon knock. The innings was wrapped up for 92 in 33 overs with Gunvant picking 6/15 in 8 overs.

Sid and Sampath started off the bowling proceedings really well which led to a couple of early wickets. With too many loose deliveries being bowled too often by most of the bowlers, the run flow was never under check. Sid returned for a spell to pick two more wickets, it was too late by then. Some brutal strokes against the spinners brought the end too soon for us as IE1 reached the target in the 24th over. Sid was the pick of the bowlers with 2/16 in 5.3 overs.

Fielding effort by SD3 was good overall, though one might feel for the couple of dropped chances. You never know in cricket...

Not an ideal start to the season in terms of result, the encouraging part was the fact that everyone put in a sincere effort. With practise, the day is not far when SD3 will be kings of BMP!!!

Match Report (Game v/s Pasadena 2 - 03/26/06)

Manish started off the day well, winning his second straight toss. Learning from last week's match, Manish immediately decided to field first. With the overcast skies and the sopping wet field, the decision was undoubtedly the right one.

Taking the new ball, Sampath bowled the first over. On the very first ball of the match the batsmen tried to take an ill advised run. Sandeep K. came up with a terrific piece of fielding, but the square leg umpire thought otherwise, denying the appeal.

The first breakthrough would not come until the fifth over, when Sampath delivered an excellent ball that stayed low on middle stump, hitting the batsman plumb in front. The appeal was affirmed and the opening batsman was on his way off. The new batsman, Mansoor, took a very aggressive approach, and with the other opener well set, the two of them put up a solid partnership before the next wicket fell.

Manish came up with the next breakthrough in the fifteenth over. Sanjay, the other opener, tried to play straight at an outswinger, only to catch a thin edge collected by Andy, who had been keeping up in an effort to stop the batsmen from charging down the pitch. It was truly a beauty of a ball. Wickets began to fall on a regular basis after that, coming every five overs, or so. With six wickets down for 126 in the twenty-sixth over, it looked as if SDCC could wrap up Pasadena for well under 200, but Pasadena had other plans. An eight over, forty-one run partnership, followed by a rapid twenty-seven run eighth wicket partnership in three overs set up Pasadena for a very competitive total of 212, all out.

Though there were some chances put down and some run-outs missed, there were a few especially notable fielding performances, including Sandeep K.'s and Sampath's steady fielding and throwing and Srinivas's excellent catch (when it at first appeared he was sleeping!). The final bowling figures for SDCC were (O-M-R-W): Sampath 6.4-0-26-2 Shyam: 8-0-51-1 Sandeep M: 8-1-40-0 Manish: 8-0-29-3 Suresh: 8-1-46-2 Srinivas: 3-0-17-1.

It was one of the best wicket-keeping performances by Andy. Not a single bye in the match, the amazing catch standing up to Manish's bowling and his bruised body was testament to his committment behind the stumps.

SDCC knew they had a difficult task ahead of them, but went into their innings with a mind to get the job done. Manish and Sandeep K. opened the batting. After appearing to be very well set, Manish was the first to fall in the fifth over after a leg flip was taken, quite sharply, by a Pasadena fielder. Shan came in next, and had a mindset to get the match back under control. With Sandeep K. on the other end switching strike, Shawn hit a number of lusty boundaries, racking up a forty-three run partnership before Sandeep K. fell in the sixteenth over. Mani came in next, but was bowled by a low ball before he had a chance to make a mark on the scoreboard. Sandeep M. came in next, bringing with him the experience of years in division 1, and helped to stabilize the scoring.

After an eleven over partnership, and sixty-one runs, a ball that pitched and stayed low skidded under Shan's bat, taking out his off stump. His personal best 62 with division 3 was much needed. It was really high quality innings with good running, tight defense and shots all round the wicket.

Andy came in next to try and make sure it did not go to waste. Unfortunately, Pasadena thought otherwise. On his third ball, Andy was sent packing for one after a short ball stayed low and Andy was struck plumb in front thinking the ball would be traveling over the mid-wicket boundary.

The wickets fell regularly after that, with only Suresh and Sampath reaching double digits with some lusty hits. SDCC ended up crumbling to a total of 156, a marked improvement from the previous week's 92, but a score which still needs much improvement. Special acknowledgement goes to Shan for his brilliant 62 (marked by eight 4's and one 6), and Sandeep's mature knock of 26. The full scores for SDCC were Manish: 9 Sandeep K: 6 Shahnawaz: 62 Mani: 0 Sandeep M. 26 Andy: 1 Shaival: 8 Srinivas: 1 Suresh: 10 Sampath: 17 Shyam: 3*.