Avengers @ Transformers, August 3 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Avengers won the toss and chose to bat. A wicket in the second over apart, the Transformers’ bowlers were made to sweat. Mohit and Surya forged a strong second wicket partnership, as the batsmen complimented each other well – Mohit rotated the strike, while Surya took the attack to the bowlers.

39/2 after 7.4 overs was a strong launching pad and the middle order capitalized. The Transformers bowlers applied the brakes to an extent, as Avengers got to 62/4 in 13 overs. Ganesh I provided the momentum at the death – consecutive sixes over square-leg and long-on boundaries to start the last over – as Avengers posted 77/6 in their allotted 14 overs.

Avengers bowled and fielded well, to reduce Transformers to 25/4 after 6.1 overs, including two run-outs. However a key partnership between Madhu and Chirag – with Madhu playing the role of aggressor – got the Transformers to 49/4 in 9.1 overs, and their chase back on track

However, the Avengers struck back, as Rushil lead the way with two wickets and a run-out, leaving the Transformers at 58/8 in 11.3 overs. Transformers, playing only 10 men, required their last wicket pair to get 20 runs off 15 balls.

Aggressive running, a moment of confusion and chaos, and a lucky bounce got Transformers a famous win off the last ball of the inning – a boundary hit by Dipesh with four runs required off the last ball.

Transformers with their seventh win in a row have secured the top spot in MPL 2015 – Team Standings with a match to go. Avengers are fifth with two points, with a match remaining against the X-Men.

Player Spotlight:

Mohit, Surya, and Ganesh I lead the way with the bat for Avengers, with each of them scoring 11(27), 29(27) and 15(8) respectively. Surya had two four’s while Ganesh I had two sixes. Ankit and Pritish chipped in with useful cameos – 6(15) and 7(5) respectively.

Dipesh, Chirag, and Anil bowled well for Transformers – 3-0-10-2, 3-0-13-1, and 2-0-7-0 respectively. Madhu getting his first bowl of the season, had 1-0-4-1 to show for his effort.

Hari K, Madhu, Chirag and Dipesh lead the way with the bat for Transformers – 10(15), 18(12), 9(12), and 17(13) respectively. Neel’s contribution of 5(7) with Dipesh, in a 20 run winning stand was vital, as was his running between the wickets. Anil, opening the batting on this occasion, gave his team a quick start – 6(9).

Kunal and Rushil lead the bowling attack for Avengers – 3-0-13-0 and 3-0-14-3 respectively. Rushil also got a key run-out, while Pritish contributed to two run-outs himself. Swarooph chipped in with a wicket too – 2-0-12-1.

Key Stats:

Legend:

Dot Ball Count (DBC): Dot balls faced by all batsmen in the given team for this match. Includes any deliveries not faced on account of being all-out prior to the 14 allotted overs.

Extra Deliveries (ED):The total number of wides and no-ball bowled by the opposition, during this team's batting.

Effective Dot Ball Count (EDBC): Subtracting the sum of wides and no-balls bowled by the opposition, from the DBC.

Runs in Boundaries (RiB): The total runs scored in boundary hits.

Surya joined the ‘batsmen with 50 plus runs in MPL 2015’ club. He now has 63 runs and is fifth in the most-runs table.

Ankit S, with 10 wickets, joined  the ‘bowlers with 10 plus wickets in MPL 2015’ club.

An off-day for Yeshwanth saw him get a combined negative 35.55 points, and thus break his tie for the top-spot in Player Rankings with Yashwanth. It didn’t matter, as Dipesh took over pole position from both.

Plays of the day:

1. Avengers got to 62/4 in 13 overs. Ganesh I was on strike as Yeshwanth came on to bowl the last over. Ganesh I launched consecutive sixes – a powerful flick over square leg and a straight hit over long-on. He was out going for another off the fourth ball of the over, but the damage had already been done.
2. Transformers needed some momentum as the asking rate got to seven an over with seven overs to go. Madhu took the attack to the Avengers, as he hit one toward the deep mid-wicket boundary. Prabhakar back pedaled and took a difficult catch. However, as he was about to celebrate, he realized that his motion had taken him over the boundary line; giving Transformers six vital runs. Madhu capitalized on the lifeline to get another boundary.
3. Rushil was bowling well and had dismissed Raghuvir and Madhu. Yeshwanth had joined Chirag and was at the non-striker’s end. Rushil stopped an attempted straight drive by Chirag, as he fell to the ground and to his right. In a quick swooping action he picked up the ball and threw down the stumps at the non-strikers end. Yeshwanth didn’t have time to get his bat back in the crease, and was run-out through a brilliant piece of fielding.
4. Dipesh pulled-up tender during the first runs he ran for. Chirag and Ankit D had a quick discussion, and Ankit D allowed Yeshwanth as the runner for Dipesh. Master stroke number one by Ankit D.
5. Confusion and chaos reigned in the penultimate over of the Transformers’ chase, as the required rate was between seven and eight runs an over. Neel played a straight drive, and the batsmen ran for two runs.

   However, the umpires indicated that the ball had struck leg first, which seemed to be the consensus among all, prior to hitting Neel’s bat during the stroke. Per NECA rules, once the ball hits leg, the ball is ruled dead – the batsman can only be out bowled if the ball rolls on to the stump, or stumped provided the keeper collects the ball behind the stumps. However, per international cricket, bat-pad and pad-bat are treated the same.

   A discussion ensued among the captains and the umpires – Rohith and Sriram. Ganesh I and Raghuvir were also consulted. MPL was started with NECA rules, but over the years many of the NECA specific rules were stripped off from MPL. No one was sure what rule applied here-in. Raghuvir and Ganesh were of the opinion that NECA rule applied in this case, but Chirag was firm that international rules applied.

   After a few minutes of discussion, Ankit D relented to Chirag, to allow the ball to be score as two runs. Master stroke number two by Ankit D. The discussion though would continue in the Facebook group.

6. Good bowling in the last over by Surya, left the Transformers requiring four to win, and three to tie off the last ball, with Dipesh on strike. A full-ball was swung to the deep mid-wicket boundary, where Kunal was placed. Unsure about the equation (he’d reveal later that he thought that Transformers required two to tie), Kunal charged at the ball.However, a fortunate bounce for Transformers, an unfortunate one for Avengers, resulted in the ball bouncing over Kunal, and reaching the boundary. A famous win for Transformers, a crushing loss for the Avengers – a win for the sport of cricket.

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