TCC manages to hold DCC to a tie

To say that a TCC-DCC matchup would be a good contest would be a gross understatement judging by the latest encounter. Last weekend’s match was a humdinger with TCC managing to hold on to their nerves thus preventing DCC from garnering a win. Thanks to RCC for umpiring in this hard-fought match and to Raj Uchil for helping out as the 12th man in sweltering heat.

Rajesh won the toss and we elected to bat first. Although we lost Anand B. early in the innings, Muki and Aravind put up a 74-run partnership in no time. Owing to a loss of concentration after the drinks break, Aravind fell short of his 50. Muki was in no mood to let go and carted the hapless DCC attack all over the park while Vijay played second fiddle with a solitary six that made it to the railroad tracks. The pair added 57 runs before Muki was run-out for a superb 73. After a couple of quick wickets, DCC seemed to pull things back a little. In walked Srinivas Reddy at no.7 and mayhem reigned supreme. While Shibu seemed like poetry in motion at the other end, Srini massacred 54 off 21 balls and we finished up at 268, a tad more than our target.

Play resumed after the customary lunch break under sapping conditions. Rohit and Sanjeewa opened, but the former was run-out early, thanks to some good work by Shibu / Anand. DCC decided to change gears and came out with guns blazing. Sanjeewa’s love-affair with the TCC attack continued and Ivan went on a rampage. Our bowling attack was under pressure with 90 runs coming off of 9 overs. Rakesh responded by bowling Ivan thru the gate, but DCC seemed undeterred with Pratik and Sanjeewa carrying on. Pratik fell to a good catch by Srini off Aravind and Srinivas Joshi was gobbled up for a duck off Shibu. Rahul and Sanjeewa built a partnership before Rakesh accounted for the latter. DCC, facing a must-win situation in their remaining matches had elevated their game to the next level. Veteran Mahesh and Rahul ensured that their team went as close to the target as possible before falling to Shibu who bowled magnificently in the death overs. With Aravind having finished his quota and Vijay cramping up, Srini stepped up to the occasion. Muki took a smart catch to account for Nikhil off Srini. It was very much DCC’s match even in the 33rd over with just 4 runs needed. Shibu got Niranjan to hole out to Rajesh trying to clear the fence one too many times, then bowled a wide and that made the scores level,. With 6 balls to spare and 1 run to get, Ravi Bheemarao decided to hit a six off Srini, the ball went way high. Vihari was going backwards trying to get underneath the skier and our hearts were pounding. Regardless of the pressure cooker situation, Vihari fell backwards and stunningly held on to the ball much to our glee!! DCC sank to their knees having fallen short at the threshold of a memorable victory. Kudos to them for coming hard at us and making it a very competitive match.

MoM – Shibu (32 runs, 4 crucial wickets and 1 run-out)