TCC prevail by 12 runs against Anzacs in a high-scoring match

TCC defeated Anzacs by a mere 12 runs in a humdinger of a game at Shiloh on Saturday. At the outset, TCC would like to thank Ron Knight and Vijay Kumar (CCC) for officiating in this game and keeping their focus in this high voltage match-up and Cashif for helping us out as 12th man and substitute.

Having agreed to an early start to beat the heat and thunderstorms later in the day, Aravind got lucky with the coin and decided to bat first. There was a lot of dew in the outfield and gripping the ball proved to be a challenge for the opposition. Anzacs were coming into this match with a loss against DCC and were under the gun to perform well, but a win against us in the previous encounter seemed to give them the much needed dose of confidence. Rahul and Parth bowled a tight line. Shot making was hard, but Ravi and Aravind batted cautiously unwilling to throw their wickets away. We just had 15 runs off the first 5 overs and Anz seemed cock-a-hoop. But, the openers' patience paid off and they added 93 runs in the next 13 overs displaying the customary nonchalant elegance. The century stand was posted in no time and we were coasting along. Ravi was run-out for 55 responding to a call from Aravind for a cheeky single, but he had ensured that we had created a dent in the opposition's confidence. Irfan Pathan look-alike Nikhil got Aravind to mistime his pull and Salman took an easy catch at short fine-leg. TCC's skipper made an invaluable 50. Riaz failed as a pinch hitter and holed out to Ketan at mid-on off the very next ball. At 119/3, we seemed to have lost the momentum. Charan went in, faced the hatrick ball with some anxiety and started to rotate the strike in Shibu's company. What followed from now on was absolute murder of the bowling attack. Charan took a liking to the Anzacs bowlers with Sunil and Parth taking the brunt of the massacre. He show-cased his accelerating abilities by carting them all over the park while boundaries rained in unstoppable fashion. Mind you, these were good cricketing shots straight from the book. We rocketed to 216/3 in no time, amassing 104 runs in just 9 overs. Charan completed his second successive fifty in spectacular fashion on the way. It's worth noting that Shibu never tried matching shot for shot at the other end and instead held the fortress beautifully. Of course, the finesse was evident with late cuts and flicks racing away with little or no effort. Charan was bowled in the last over for 68 off 28 balls, a knock that would made Afridi proud. Vijay went in and both batters made sure that there weren't any dot balls.

We were treated to some sumptuous lunch and resumed the defense thereafter. Aravind and Amar shared the new ball and boy would we like to forget the first 6 overs. Krishna and Shekar opened the batting for Anzacs and they seemed determined to finish the match in a jiffy. The ball started to disappear into the trees while both our opening bowlers struggled for rhythm. They added 60 odd runs in just 8 overs and we found ourselves at the receiving end. Folks in the pavilion seemed to push their vocabulary and their lungs to the limit seeing the carnage unfold. Rajesh Virkar seemed to be the man of the hour for us. Krishna holed out to Charan at long-off and Shekar was bowled off a loopy full toss the very next ball. We breathed a sigh of relief, but Parth was in no mood to lose the momentum since they knew that it was a stiff target. Amar returned for a second spell and got rid of Rahul with Charan taking another good skier at long-off. Anzacs had two experienced campaigners in Parth and Ketan at the crease and they added 31 runs at almost 6 an over. Nutty was brought into the attack and he varied his line and length in superb fashion often beating the bat. Ravi had a close shave when he literally ran into the bushes trying to catch a six off Vijay's bowling. Parth was looking ominous, but Nutty foxed him in the flight and Aravind completed the formalities at long-on. Ravi held a spectacular catch at short cover to dismiss Ketan off Nutty. Anzacs were starting to cave in at 150/5 off 23 overs needing 10 an over. With Sunil and Anirudh at the crease, we knew not to write them off just yet. Sunil launched into Charan and almost 19 runs came off his first over and the Anzacs camp came back alive sensing an improbable win. But, Charan had the last laugh when Sunil cut the ball straight into Vijay's hands at point. Anirudh was pounding the ball as well at the other end. This match seemed to go to the wire. Sudeep, the man-in-form for Anzacs started belting the ball with utmost ease and we were starting to get desperate with the pavilion loving every hit. Aravind cleaned up Sudeep all ends up and now both bowlers pulled the match back in our favor. Jeff was bowled off Charan's last ball and we had won the match by just 12 runs! We had hung on to our nerves this time. 434 runs were scored underscoring the fate of the bowlers on either side.

Keep on keepin' on TCC!!!

Man of the match: Charan for his breezy 68, 2 wickets and 2 good catches.