The second years, fresh off a well-deserved victory against the third years, now had to square off against the Ph.D. scholars. The Ph.D. scholars, since last year, have made a spectacular resurgence to form, being the current defending champions. The two sides faced off against each other last year in the semi-finals, the Ph.D.s emerging victorious. However, with a couple of good performances under their belt, and with a roster of capable players, the second years have proven themselves to be no slouches. It was to be seen if the second years could turn back the tables this time and claim a win.
The Ph.D. scholars won the toss and chose to bowl first. Out came the charismatic opening pair, Sai Chandan and Athul Muraleedharan. On the heels of his whirlwind 60 in the previous match, Athul was looking to let loose again. Elizabeth bowled the first over and as expected, Athul was rampant, belting 3 sixes. 25 runs came off the first over. Nishant bowled the second over, and though his line and pace were sharp, the openers kept the scoreboard ticking with singles. Disaster struck in the 3rd over, bowled by Ranjith. Athul’s mistimed loft found its way into Anil’s hands. Sai Chandan, the most technically proficient batsman in the HS16 side, was beginning to find his groove, with a couple of aggressive strokes. But his stay came to a close in the 4th over bowled by Manoj. What was to have been an easy 6 was snatched out of the air with a spectacular one-handed effort by Aniket. Libin made a quickfire 21, but he fell to Nishant’s bowling. Susmit was incredibly lucky, getting dropped twice by Ranjith and Manoj. But his luck ran out when an attempted nick was adroitly picked up by Nishant. Wickets kept falling regularly, the scholars maintaining a hold over the proceedings with their incisive bowling and athletic fielding. The first innings wound up in 10 overs for a score of 95, the highest score ever made against the scholars’ bowling attack. Athul was the top scorer for HS16 with 27 off 9 balls. Manoj was the pick of the Ph.D. bowlers, with figures of 3-13.
The Ph.D. scholars had their task cut out for them. With 96 runs to score, they went about the task briskly. Anil tore into the bowling, making 66 of the required 96 runs by himself. The HS16 bowling, despite being well organized, could do nothing to impede Anil’s rampage. Irene was the pick of the bowlers, scalping two wickets. Carrying over her exploits from the previous match, she earned the admiration of the opposition. Still, it wasn’t enough as the scholars coasted to their target in 8 overs. Due credit has to be accorded to HS16. Despite having lost, they still put up a great fight. The Ph.D. scholars have continued their consistency with well-organized performances, both as individuals and as a team. There is no wonder as to why they are still the leading favourites for this year’s trophy.
By virtue of their performances in the previous matches, both sides have qualified to the semifinals.
Report by Rahul Jose.
Article 19 