SOX make it exciting yet again!!!

SOX had a very cold day to start with and they were happy to bat first after the Berkley captain won the toss and decided to field first, hoping they won't have to field in cold and wet conditions towards the middle of the day.

 

A very inspired Harsh opened with a cautious Prasad. SOX did not loose their first wicket until the end of the 11th over when Prasad who scored 17 valuable runs while blunting the new ball was bowled out by Anish. Harsh continued to play some lovely strokes including the very elegant leg glance that fetched him multiple boundaries. He missed his half century by two runs when he was caught out. Unfortunately, Rajan was not able to contribute to the total much and credit goes entirely to the Berkley bowler (captain), who showed amazing reflexes to throw down the stumps after collecting a sharp straight drive from Rajan and seeing Rajan on the front foot and outside the line.

 

Sam played a helpful hand with Vikram at the time to steady the innings and to ensure that SOX do not loose too many wickets and play the entire set of 25 overs. SOX scored 152 in their inning at the loss of six or seven wickets.

 

From Berkley, Anish, Athar and Sid bowled very well. The fielding was patchy with a couple of dropped chances that could have turned the game.

 

SOX started confidently with Rajan and Chandru bowling their entire quota of 5 overs each and reducing Berkley to 39 for 4. Chandru started the slide with a sharp catch to the slips which was taken by Shahab. He continued with a catch in second slips to Gajja who handled it very well. Chandru also got a batsman run out with help from Sam in the same over. Berkley then lost another wicket to Rajan who got through Sid's defenses to get the middle stump. Berkley were all but out of the game at 48 for 7 when Sam picked up another wicket with Chandru taking a blinder at mid-wicket, however, SOX started to feel a bit more relaxed at that time and a couple of dropped chances saw Anish taking the game away. The equation at the end of 20 overs was Berkley at 102 for 8 with Anish playing the lone hand in everything scored after the grand total of 50 runs.

 

Vaibhav and Shahab bowled very well in the end to contain the batsmen and finished the quota of Berkley overs with them coming short by 10 runs in the end. Gajja contributed with his over as well however, he was unlucky to miss out on wickets when Jagat dropped a catch at deep square leg off his bowling. Jagat, unfortunately, was a victim of the same when he bowled his three overs with a chance going down once in every over.

In the end, Rajan and Chandru stood out for their efforts. Harsh stood out for his batting and his valiant effort behind the stumps.

Vikram was very quick in the field and made sure that everyone kept talking throughout the game. Murali,

 

A very entertaining game that goes to show that SOX need to ensure that they stay on top of the game once they get there otherwise better teams will take advantage and stage improbable comebacks. SOX are now 3-2 after five games. The next game is on the 7th. Please send your availability as soon as it is requested.

 

Thanks,

SHAHAB

 

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