Having choosing to bat first, HS15 played an innings which is highly unlike HS15. Aswin, their captain, did not play his routine sparkling attacking knock up the order, his teammates didn’t bat as their world ends with Aswin’s batting and most interestingly they played a fearless brand of cricket. As Aswin struggled to score runs at a good rate, good little cameos by Vimal and Avinaash ensured that a decent economy rate is maintained. But, the scholars’ bowlers, led by Manoj never lost grip over the innings as they kept taking wickets in the first 5 overs. Manoj was in “You miss, I hit “ mode as he kept getting batsmen bowled. At 4.5 overs, HS15 had lost half their side and a disastrous all out was on the cards. To make things worse, Manoj was on a hat trick after sending Karnalius and Sridhar back.
Although everyone knew that Deva has been learning black magic to trick people with his leg cutters, Deva batting against a top quality attack with a fractured finger was not a hopeful affair, even for the most optimistic of people. But, there he was, punching the hat trick ball straight down the ground and announcing his arrival to the crease. He, ably supported by Rathnika, put up a stand of 34 in 25 balls. Though Deva’s innings lost its steam towards the end, thanks to some disciplined bowling by Ranjith and Nishant, he had added 27 runs to the team’s total with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes. Scholars’ bowling strength was again in display as they gave away just 4 runs in the last three overs, with the last 2 being maidens.
Defending a target of 78 against the scholars’ batting lineup is very difficult but HS15 seemed up to the task. After the first two overs, scholars could manage only 11 runs and lost their opener Radeef. But, with 20 runs scored off Ramya’s third over, the match was in scholars’ control again. As only 47 runs were needed off 7 overs, an uncomplicated Scholars’ chase was around the corner, but it was not to be. It was now Deva’s turn with the ball. Getting the ball to move sharply from the right hander, the scholars’ batsmen struggled to play him. The most incredible moment of the match happened when Anil (who scored 20) left a Deva ball for a leg side wide only to hear the sound of the stump flying. The disciplined bowling effort by Deva, Aswin and Karnalius delayed the inevitable victory for the scholars. Jithin finished off the match in supreme fashion, hitting a straight four off Aswin’s last ball in the 8th over. Jithin top scored for the scholars with 24 runs off 13 balls.
For the scholars, the victory is an addition to the wonderful streak they are enjoying. But the match turned out to be a game changer for HS15. That they were in the match for a good part of the match despite a misfire by its captain speak volumes of their improvement as a team. As they take on HS16 in a do or die match on Saturday, they would be feeling much more confident as a unit.
Report by Biyas Muhammed
Article 19 