IVS Cup.... It has been an enthralling tournament as far as I am concerned. 22 teams participated and we are now to the finals!!!! The final is just hours away and it could well be a humdinger. I just cannot wait for the moment to happen.
IVS cricket tournament is part of IVS celebrations that have been realised by a group called IVentureS. IVS is a big department in Mysore and to imagine the logistics involved in managing 22 teams and their schedule means business and I congratulate the IVentureS folks who made the tournament a grand success.
Well our journey in this IVS Cup has been no less than sensational. We never knew how our opposition would be. We had to first face 'Sher-e-BT' in the first round. 8 overs a side and we needed to win as all the games were round-robin games. We batted well to score 62 runs in 8 overs under lights. I had got out for a DUCK :( :( ...and that too off the very first ball of my innings. Things looked gloomy for me when I got out. People around me had built up a reputation for me and my bowling talent. I had to make sure that I live up to that reputation and give my captain the confidence with my bowling. Happily, it did happen. I took 3 wickets in the match, helping my team win the first round. Wicket of the first ball I bowled, 2 wickets in the first over and 3 wickets overall (all bowled !!!) was a satisfying performance. 'Sher-e-BT' was thus thwarted.
We had a relatively easy game and we were through to the 2nd round where we had a weaker opposition in 'The Invincibles'. We were off to a flyer scoring 57 runs off 5 overs and guess what, I got out again for a DUCK :( :( :( ....off the very first ball also. My captain was annoyed with my batting performance. But rain interrupted and the game was halted for a week !!!!
We had to wait for more than a week for the game to resume. But, to our shock, we lost all our wickets for 8 runs and with 9 balls to spare. Invincibles smelled victory somewhere....But, it was not to happen. I couldnt get any wicket in the match but managed to keep it tight and we won the game....Yipeee... through to the QuarterFinals :) :) :)
We now had faced, two oppositions which were definitely weaker than us. In the quarter finals we expected our opponents to give us some run for the money.Instead, they were made to run for their money.Rajneesh showed the way by scoring 67 runs and we finished our innings @ 88 in 8 overs. 'Wachovia Tiger' was finally hunted and we were over the moon as we were through to the semi finals. I had picked up the crucial wicket of Gagan Mehra. A very important breakthrough, as he was their main stay in batting. My team was pumped to win this game desperately as one of the mails sent by Vivek, one of the players in the opposition, spurred us on to show who we are.
No strength in the opposition to rattle us and it never happened even in the semifinals. 'The Mavericks' started their IVS Cup campaign quite strongly but failed to show their strength in the crunch game. We lost the toss for the first time and we were bowling first. Sooraj was their star batsman, and I was elated when he got out of my first over as I changed my angle coming around the wicket. That helped because, Sooraj nicked the ball through to the keeper. A very happy moment as I piled on the pressure by bowling a maiden ( quite a rarity in 8 over game). Mavericks lost their way and got out for 21. Rajneesh was among the wickets with 3 scalps. We did stutter while chasing,but never lost our way through. Shino's boundary made sure we were through to the finals of one of the coveted soft ball tournaments I have played.
Most of the team members (Ajish, Vijay, Amit and I) were a part of the ABN CUP winning team. The final is against the 1st seeds, All Stars. All Stars have been the favorites to win this cup and they will be the favourites. They were totally scared by 'Dark Horses' in the semifinals. Skaria saved them and helped them reach the finals.
This was touted to be the match of the tournament, even before the schedule was fixed. More so because, the teams represent two of the biggest accounts in IVS @ Mysore. So, tomorrow will be a big day for both the teams and the winner will take it all. All Stars are a very strong team and my thirst for a strong opposition is here. Here is where people's strengths and weaknesses will be exposed. The crowd is expected to be pour in large numbers. All said and done, the weather could play spoilsport as it has been drizzling all through the day today. The match could well meet the expectations of many or could even become a damp squib. The spirits in the team is quite high and everyone in the team is raring to go for the finals. The tournament has been going on and on for over a month now. The final will be played @ the football ground @ 1630 hrs IST.
Hope I come good with the bat as well :) :) :) 5 wickets and still counting :) :) :)
More updates on the final soon.
Chak De ABN !!!
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