Hawks v/s PowerBuilders. July 23 2009. Match 13.
Just last night, I finished writing about Kareem from Dalcha. Today it was another Karim from Power Builders, who hit some crazy Afridi style sixes to guide Power Builders to a victory. The game was full of excitement and pressure. The Power Builders gave a complete team performance, much like their opponents, Hawks.
Sagar won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening duo, Sashi and Bhavin started well. They put on 18 runs of the first 2 overs. Bhavin scored 16 and Sashi made 8. The Hawks went for their shots and were caught on the boundary. Satish of Power Builders was very impressive as He caught 3 catches in the deep. Vinay was playing well and was making the life difficult for fielders, especially at long on as the ball would turn twice or thrice before reaching the fielder. You all know who was standing there. :-). Vinay was caught on the boundary by an absolutely brilliant one handed catch by Harsha. Vinay top scored for Hawks with 22 runs and in the process, hit some beautiful shots. He was well supported by who else, but Ram, who made a quick 14. Pavan and Abhilash contributed as well with scores of 7 and 5 respectively. The Hawks made a fighting total of 84. For Power Builders, Kalyan was the pick of the bowlers, as He took 4 wickets, followed by Karim (Afridi) with 3 wickets.
The Power Builders started well with Satish and Ajas. Satish again contributed at the top of the innings as He made a gritty 11. Ajas made 9. Kalyan played a good innings and hit couple of boundaries. He made 20, which turned out to be the highest score. Sameer also played an important role as he hit 9 before being caught out in the deep. By end of 6th over, Builders were 55 for 3, still needing 30 runs. It was looking like a close finish until Pranav stepped up for the 7th over. He bowled an awesome line and made life difficult for the batsmen. He ended up with a maiden and took a wicket, and there was also one run out in the same over. So from 55 for 3, it was 55 for 5 at the end of 7th over. 3 overs, 30 needed. Can they do it? Karim was still at the crease. He hit couple of big, and I mean it, very big looping sixes and the Power Builders were back in the game. So 10 were needed of the last over. After some crazy hits and running between the wickets, the match came down to last ball, as the 4th, 5th ball were dot balls. Now, 2 were needed of the last ball. How close can it be? Sagar, brought in all his fielders. Karim was at strike and the crowd didnt know what would happen. Will he go for shot or tap it for a couple? You would think that non-striker would run even before ball is being bowled, but not this time. The bowler was smart and He made sure of that as He didnt bowl and stopped to see batsman. Finally, the last ball came in and Karim failed to connect. But Reji, who was at non strikers end, made good ground and ran as if He is running for his life. The batsmen went through with the first run and came back for a second. Karim was runout at keepers end, resulting in a tie. yes, it is a Tie. This is the first tie game but the Power Builders won the game since they lost fewer wickets than the Hawks. What a finish, to this close game.
Winning & Losing is all part of the game. Apart from the thrilling finish, what was beautiful to watch was the spirit of both the teams. The game started with Hawks batting and Sagar their captain as the leg umpire. Yes, that is correct. Power Builders had the same trust in Hawks, as Hawks had in their opponents. The game progressed with everyone smiling and congratulating each other on appropriate occasion. A sight, very rarely seen these days. Even though, Hawks ended up losing the game, you have to admire and respect the Hawks for their strong character & gamesmanship. Sagar and his team mates made sure they congratulated the Power Builders with Hand Shakes and Smile. A message to all teams, that play with passion but also make sure you respect your opponent and shake hands at the end of the game. The Hawks have once again showed us that they are classy group.
Sagar won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening duo, Sashi and Bhavin started well. They put on 18 runs of the first 2 overs. Bhavin scored 16 and Sashi made 8. The Hawks went for their shots and were caught on the boundary. Satish of Power Builders was very impressive as He caught 3 catches in the deep. Vinay was playing well and was making the life difficult for fielders, especially at long on as the ball would turn twice or thrice before reaching the fielder. You all know who was standing there. :-). Vinay was caught on the boundary by an absolutely brilliant one handed catch by Harsha. Vinay top scored for Hawks with 22 runs and in the process, hit some beautiful shots. He was well supported by who else, but Ram, who made a quick 14. Pavan and Abhilash contributed as well with scores of 7 and 5 respectively. The Hawks made a fighting total of 84. For Power Builders, Kalyan was the pick of the bowlers, as He took 4 wickets, followed by Karim (Afridi) with 3 wickets.
The Power Builders started well with Satish and Ajas. Satish again contributed at the top of the innings as He made a gritty 11. Ajas made 9. Kalyan played a good innings and hit couple of boundaries. He made 20, which turned out to be the highest score. Sameer also played an important role as he hit 9 before being caught out in the deep. By end of 6th over, Builders were 55 for 3, still needing 30 runs. It was looking like a close finish until Pranav stepped up for the 7th over. He bowled an awesome line and made life difficult for the batsmen. He ended up with a maiden and took a wicket, and there was also one run out in the same over. So from 55 for 3, it was 55 for 5 at the end of 7th over. 3 overs, 30 needed. Can they do it? Karim was still at the crease. He hit couple of big, and I mean it, very big looping sixes and the Power Builders were back in the game. So 10 were needed of the last over. After some crazy hits and running between the wickets, the match came down to last ball, as the 4th, 5th ball were dot balls. Now, 2 were needed of the last ball. How close can it be? Sagar, brought in all his fielders. Karim was at strike and the crowd didnt know what would happen. Will he go for shot or tap it for a couple? You would think that non-striker would run even before ball is being bowled, but not this time. The bowler was smart and He made sure of that as He didnt bowl and stopped to see batsman. Finally, the last ball came in and Karim failed to connect. But Reji, who was at non strikers end, made good ground and ran as if He is running for his life. The batsmen went through with the first run and came back for a second. Karim was runout at keepers end, resulting in a tie. yes, it is a Tie. This is the first tie game but the Power Builders won the game since they lost fewer wickets than the Hawks. What a finish, to this close game.
Winning & Losing is all part of the game. Apart from the thrilling finish, what was beautiful to watch was the spirit of both the teams. The game started with Hawks batting and Sagar their captain as the leg umpire. Yes, that is correct. Power Builders had the same trust in Hawks, as Hawks had in their opponents. The game progressed with everyone smiling and congratulating each other on appropriate occasion. A sight, very rarely seen these days. Even though, Hawks ended up losing the game, you have to admire and respect the Hawks for their strong character & gamesmanship. Sagar and his team mates made sure they congratulated the Power Builders with Hand Shakes and Smile. A message to all teams, that play with passion but also make sure you respect your opponent and shake hands at the end of the game. The Hawks have once again showed us that they are classy group.
Comments
Half way through the tournament and we can arrange a *fun* game.
Thanks and All the best for your games.