The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author. However, this report has been prepared with the help of some insider information, eyewitness accounts, and personal interviews. All errors are entirely their fault, not mine.
Game 13: WVUCC versus Lumberjacks
Sohail Chaudhry had played the Lumberjacks 5 previous times and had done reasonably well against them (see the end of this article for a more detailed breakdown). The Lumberjacks knew that their best chance of pulling off an upset was by dismissing this ginormous thorn early. Unfortunately for them, they were given a chance to try this right away as Sohail won the toss and chose to bat.
Walking in with Arvind Thiruvengadam, Sohail continued from where he left off in the previous match, thumping boundaries and scurrying for singles, almost at will. Arvind played within himself again, scoring 25 runs (with 4 boundaries) in 20 balls because Sohail was settling in for the long haul. Unfortunately for Arvind, Puneet managed to slip one by at with some low bounce and the first wicket fell at 48.
In preparing for life after C.S. Manish (funny how I manage to keep getting his name into every report long after he is gone!), the WVUCC thinktank came up with a like-for-like solution. If Arvind got out, Ashok Varadarajan would come in, and if Sohail got out Abishek Murlaidharan would come in. Ashok had been questioning his true worth as a batsman and the promotion to #3 was just the tonic he needed to find himself. Sohail and Ashok put on a 101-run partnership with Ashok contributing a steady 38 in 38 balls (2 fours and a six - all hit towards cover). When Ashok fell, Abishek continued along the same vein, keeping Sohail company.
Sohail took a few balls to settle in, escaping a couple of really close LBW shouts. Once he got his eye it, the most-feared all-rounder in the PCA league served notice that his season-long batting slump was over. Wading into the Lumberjack bowling with typical aggression, Sohail did not let up, finding time to play all of his favourite shots and more. While not quite at top form, Sohail still managed to play 63 balls, and find the fence often enough (8 fours, 5 sixes) to notch up the third century of his PCA career. When he finally got out, the score was a formidable 199 for 3. WVUCC finished at 214 for 6 in 25 overs, their second straight score over 200, and the 4th time they had done so in the tournament so far.
I'd like to tell you that the Lumberjacks put up a great fight, and gave the Mountaineers a run for their money, but that would be far from the truth. By now, the bowling of the 'Eers was assuming scary proportions (for the rest of the league) and Venkata Sathi bowled 4 overs in the opening spell, took 5 wickets and gave away just 11 runs. Very few teams can recover from such a start, and the Lumberjacks certainly aren't one of those. The dominance was such, Sohail did not even bowl a ball. Instead he gave some extended time to the other bowlers and this gave Nishit Banuri some valuable time to showcase his talents. Fast emerging as the bowling find of the season, Nishit gave Sohail another shut-down option in the middle overs and the Mountaineers were starting to click at the right time. (Once again, thank you, PittsPunters)
Now for the promised stats on Sohail's love affair with the Lumberjacks. He has played them 5 times so far. Here are his scores (an * indicates a not out innings):
Sohail Chaudhry had played the Lumberjacks 5 previous times and had done reasonably well against them (see the end of this article for a more detailed breakdown). The Lumberjacks knew that their best chance of pulling off an upset was by dismissing this ginormous thorn early. Unfortunately for them, they were given a chance to try this right away as Sohail won the toss and chose to bat.
Walking in with Arvind Thiruvengadam, Sohail continued from where he left off in the previous match, thumping boundaries and scurrying for singles, almost at will. Arvind played within himself again, scoring 25 runs (with 4 boundaries) in 20 balls because Sohail was settling in for the long haul. Unfortunately for Arvind, Puneet managed to slip one by at with some low bounce and the first wicket fell at 48.
In preparing for life after C.S. Manish (funny how I manage to keep getting his name into every report long after he is gone!), the WVUCC thinktank came up with a like-for-like solution. If Arvind got out, Ashok Varadarajan would come in, and if Sohail got out Abishek Murlaidharan would come in. Ashok had been questioning his true worth as a batsman and the promotion to #3 was just the tonic he needed to find himself. Sohail and Ashok put on a 101-run partnership with Ashok contributing a steady 38 in 38 balls (2 fours and a six - all hit towards cover). When Ashok fell, Abishek continued along the same vein, keeping Sohail company.
Sohail took a few balls to settle in, escaping a couple of really close LBW shouts. Once he got his eye it, the most-feared all-rounder in the PCA league served notice that his season-long batting slump was over. Wading into the Lumberjack bowling with typical aggression, Sohail did not let up, finding time to play all of his favourite shots and more. While not quite at top form, Sohail still managed to play 63 balls, and find the fence often enough (8 fours, 5 sixes) to notch up the third century of his PCA career. When he finally got out, the score was a formidable 199 for 3. WVUCC finished at 214 for 6 in 25 overs, their second straight score over 200, and the 4th time they had done so in the tournament so far.
I'd like to tell you that the Lumberjacks put up a great fight, and gave the Mountaineers a run for their money, but that would be far from the truth. By now, the bowling of the 'Eers was assuming scary proportions (for the rest of the league) and Venkata Sathi bowled 4 overs in the opening spell, took 5 wickets and gave away just 11 runs. Very few teams can recover from such a start, and the Lumberjacks certainly aren't one of those. The dominance was such, Sohail did not even bowl a ball. Instead he gave some extended time to the other bowlers and this gave Nishit Banuri some valuable time to showcase his talents. Fast emerging as the bowling find of the season, Nishit gave Sohail another shut-down option in the middle overs and the Mountaineers were starting to click at the right time. (Once again, thank you, PittsPunters)
Now for the promised stats on Sohail's love affair with the Lumberjacks. He has played them 5 times so far. Here are his scores (an * indicates a not out innings):
48*
102
69* (in just 19 balls)
11 (batting at #4 for the only time against the LJ's)
102
That is a total of 332 runs at an average of 110.6 in 5 innings.
With this win, WVUCC improved to 8-4-1 and awaited a return match against the Blitzers.
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