Fresno 293/9 (Irfan 90 (5*4,3*6), Dilraj 56 (4*4,3*6), Kuljit 45 (3*4,2*6),
Ravi B 9-1-53/3, Abhi 9-1-50/2, Kasha 7-0-48/2, Anand 7-0-44/1, Vivek 3-0-30/1,
Wides: 24)
lost to
Seas 294/6 in 44.4 overs (Sista 58 (4*4,2*6), Kasha 52* (6*4), Abhi 45(5*4,2*6),
Rajesh 40 (1*4), Vivek 33(3*4), Anand 31* (5*4,1*6), Rakesh 9-0-61/2,
Harmail 7-0-47/1, Kuljit 9-0-49/1, Sukhwant 8.3-0-54/1)
Fresno won the toss and elected to bat.
1st innings:
------------
. Harmail and Lavi opened batting for Fresno while Abhi and Karthik (Balas) opened
the bowling proceedings for Seas.
. Abhi started with a maiden and after that things went downhill for Seas. Our bowlers
were very wayward and conceeded lots of wides and loose balls and Fresno raced to 80/1
by 15 overs.
. 2nd session went along similar linesas the 1st for Seas. Fresno added another 82 runs for the loss
of 2 more wickets.
. If the 1st and 2nd sessions were bad for Seas, 3rd session was worse of the all.
Fresno plundered 130 runs amidst some indifferent bowling and some lack-lustre catching.
Irfan top scored with 90 runs and Dilraj chipped in with 56. Both the batsmen were dropped
on 0s!!!. Fresno innings had 15 fours and 10 sixes)
. Gautham Singampalli was the best bowler for Seas and was unlucky not to get any wickets.
Abhi bowled couple of fiery spells.
2nd innings:
------------
. Over the lunch, Seas team laid out strategy for chasing this mammoth total. We plan to
get around 75 runs in the 1st session, 90 runs in the 2nd session and go from there.
. Vivek and Zuhayer opened batting for Seas and things immediately went south for Seas
as Zuhayer was castled for 2 runs in the 1st over itself. Seas 4/1 in 1 0.5 overs.
. Vivek and Rajesh then started re-building for Seas. Vivek batted fluently while Rajesh
was steady at the other end. Just when things started looking good for Seas, Vivek
was caught and bowled off Rakesh against run of the play. Seas 58/2 in 13 overs.
. Sista joined Rajesh at the crease and Seas went into the 1st break with 62 runs on the board.
(Around 10-15 runs short off what we had planned for).
. After a couple of quiet overs, Sista opened up dramatically and started carving bowlers to
all parts of the park and induced much needed momentum for Seas innings. There were fours,
sixes and hard run singles and twos and the 3rd wicket added 90 runs in 13 overs. If there
was a turning point in the game, Sista's innings should be it. Sista was well set for a big score
when he was out stumped looking for a big hit over long off. He scored 58 runs off just 46 balls
including 4 fours and 2 big sixes. Seas went into 2nd break at 165/3. We have added 100+ runs
in the second session for the loss of Sista's wicket.
. The chase in on with 130 runs needed off the last 15 overs. Abhi went at #5 and started timing
the ball well from ball one. He hit some towering sixes on his way to 28-ball 45 runs. 5th wicket
partnership of ~55 runs in 6 overs. Like Sista, Abhi was dismissed when he looked like taking
the game away from Fresno. Seas ~215/4 runs in 37 overs.
. While Sista and Abhi were going hammer and tongs, Rajesh was silently constructing a workman like
innings at the other end. He scored 40 runs with just one four and lots of hard run ones/twos.
He battled cramps and hot sun and looked liked anchoring the innings until the end when was
unfortunately mankaded put while backing up too far. Seas ~220/5 in 38 overs.
. Karthik (Balas) going at #7 didn't last long. and Seas needed 70 runs in 7 overs to win.
. Kasha and Anand made mockery of that target by taking the attack to Fresno. There were some
delectable cover drives & straight drives, powerful pull shots and quickly pulverized Fresno
into submission. Such was their dominance that we just needed 3 runs heading into the last over.
which we scored with out any hiccups. Kasha ended at 52* (6*4s) in 36 balls while Anand
ended at 31* (5*4s and 1*6) in just 18 balls. This pair added 70 runs in 9.3 overs
and handed Seas an inspiring win.
Mor: Sista for his momentum inducing innings (58 runs)
MVP: Kasha (52* + 2 wickets) and Abhi (45 runs + 2 wickets).
Special mention: Gautham Singampalli (for his miserly bowling) and Rajesh (for his patience and grit).
Cheers ...
-Ravi.