Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
HCC News:Himalayan represented in the WCL Executive Committee
Suresh elected Executive Secretary of WCL for 2011-2013.
HCC enters the T20 play offs on a 5 game unbeaten streak.!!!!
Even before we started the game we knew we were through to next round :).. Bengals lost to Elite by a huge margin which comfortably placed our team in next round.
PWCC - 119 all out in 18 overs. The game was reduced since the earlier game went over the time.
Pwcc won the toss and elected to bat. They started well with their openers putting a decent partnership. Once we got their first 2, the rest tumbled. First one was taken by Gupta. Batsman had no clue how the ball went and hit the wkt. Then Saurabh sent their opener back, well caught by Deepak H. Saurabh got one more. Venkat as usual ripped their batting order with 4 wkts, Kundal got 2, and Y got 1.
Anna and Saurabh started our innings. Saurabh got out trying to play square cut, then Srini joined Anna, both put 60 runs together. Anna got out, Syed joined Srini and put up a 40 run partnership, It took us close to target. Syed hit a huge six of a full toss and suddenly the game seemed to be decided.When it was run a ball needed, Syed got out trying to go for a second run. Second last over, Srini got out trying to hit the ball for four. Kundal was the next one to go. The equation was still at run a ball. Last over read like this, 7 runs in 6 balls 5 wickets in hand. Deepak H hit a shot which was a six, fielder pops out the catch to six but calls it in and didn't give a six or a four, there were 2 taken on that. So 5 of 5 needed. A dot ball and a single from Deepak G brought the equation to 4 runs in two balls. H sends to ball towards the boundary and the fielder gets to it and cut the boundary. We needed 2 of last ball. Deepak H hit and ran for single and the score was tied.
HCC wins by wickets with the scores leveled !!!!
Srini - 33(40), Syed - 30 (21), Suresh N (29 (22), Venkat - 4 wkts, Saurabh and Kundal - 2 each, Deepak G and Suresh Y - 1 each.
H - 1 catch and 1 stumping, Srini & Kundal - 1 catch.
Himalayan Thrashes Bengals2 in 20/20
disturbs the timber to get his second, he gets one more lil later. Suresh Y took one, .. we got them all out for 114. Kundal playing with a backsupport took a great low catch.
We had to finish our quota of overs by 12:40, assuming we start at 11. But our bowling obviously goes over our time limit. Because of all the delays the target was reset to a high score, we had to chase 157 in 20 overs.
Saurabh/Suresh N opens: Suresh N sends second ball of their inning flying over the boundary. And from there on no turning back,, it was a sixes rain...bengals had no clue what hit them. By the time they regained their consious the damage was done, we were crusing towards the Win. Suresh N (sizzling knock, 20'ish balls 58 runs (5 or 6 x6's). Saurabh got out early, Srini added some runs (22 runs). We were 117/3 in 10'ish overs, when Srini and sushant went out to get water. Kundal and Syed were in middle keeping the scores busy.
who gave 10 wides in an over that brought us closer to win. Kundal (25* runs) with his aching back and Syed (19* runs) brought us home comfortably. 162/3 in 13-14'sh overs.
Good game guys !!!!!! lot of energy and enthu on the field.. keep it up
!!!!!!!!!!!
Players Choice Award & Presidents Choice Award
Our Players Choice Award winner for 2010 is Deepak "The Destroyer" Kundal. Congratulations!!!!
There were two clear favorites and Kundal edged another equally well deserving competitor in Deepak G. The vote that edged "K" over was cast by none other than his competitor "G", who voted for "K". It goes to show how these two have performed and the mutual respect they have for each other. After all they belong to he Deepak Club. Maybe it was preplanned? Deepak's conspiracy?
Overall, Deepaks K & G, Saurabh, and Sameer were the top candidates for the votes. Looking at all of your perspectives and factoring in some others, I thought that this might be the time to look at presidents choice awards as well. SO here are our winners for 2010 Presidents Choice Awards
Presidents Choice Award # 1: Deepak G- No brainer
Presidents Choice Award # 2: Saurabh for taking the initiative to organize practice sessions, leading the team to 2 wins in the last two games and all round contributions on and off the field.
Presidents Choice Award # 3: Sameer for consistent performances in the middle. He made a good impact in the relatively few no: of games that he played.
Congratulations!!!
Other contributions that are often overlooked, but worth mentioning are
Aashay: Always there at the field on time, committed to the core and for his excellent keeping and stepping up to the challenge in the absence of Lali and Nirun.
Nirun and Y are just one spark away from turning the corner and lighting up the field.
Here are some random comments in support of Kundal from all of you.
"Important innings in the second game against PWCC game.
Devastating opening spell against Beng 2 in the last game of the season."
"He's been consistent with both bat and bowl. Played a pivotal role in the last 2 wins. "
"To me 4 people stood out for this trophy.
Gupta, Kundal, Sameer and Saurabh.
Sameer for providing stability in the innings, has been good with bat and is fourth on the list.
Saurabh for leading the team to 2 wins on the last 2 games & 4.8 economy rate. Turned out really good with the ball.
Kundal 8 wkts 5th on the list; 27 vs PWCC result win, 3 wkts vs bengals 2 result win; 1 wkt vs Omnitech result Win
Gupta for all round performance, crossed 100 runs, 42 runs a fighting knock vs hunters , 2 wkts vs PWCC result Win; 2 catchs vs PWCC & Bengals, result Wins; second on the fielding list.
Kundal and Gupta stands out even with performances resulting in Wins"
"Great team motivator n funny "
"For me it was tough to pick between Deepak G and Deepak Kundal. But I will go with Deepak Kundal.
1) He shared the new ball and with excellent results in the games vs. Elite, Omnitech, PWCC & Bengals2.
2) His lower order batting was instrumental in a key partnership with Deepak H against PWCC to script a great win for the team when the chips were down.
3) A good team person who is amongst the first folks ready to go for square leg umpire duties and on the funnier but more imp note his wife, Bhabi is present for most of the games to cheer, keep score and also provide us with delicious food."
" His commitment and support from his wife to HCC is great."
"I would like to nominate Deepak Kundal, for his knock against PWCC and his 3 (or was it 4) wicket spell against Bengals2 in our last game. xxxx xxxxx xxx xxxxx, it was a pleasure watching those 2 nipping deliveries that disturbed the timber not once but on 2 ocassions. It was an all round effort from him on both occasions, and it was for a winning cause!!!
I PROPOSE KUNDAL FOR PRESIDENT!! my 2 cents.. "
Highlights from the 2010 Season Finale
2010 HCC award winners moved to the side bar.
HCC was 45/6 and the lower order (More like the top) put up 161 runs for the last 4 wickets.
Remarkable efforts from Deepak H, Syed M, Nirun R,and Sushant M
The last 4 partnerships between, Deepak H, Nirun R, Syed M, Praveen N, & Sushant M read, 62, 13, 19 & 67 runs.
Sushant and Praveen were playing their first game with HCC.
Himalayan Scored 206 in 38.4 overs
Syed M 52*, Deepak H 30, Sushant M 28, Nirun R 24
Bengals 2 142 all out in 30.4 overs
Suresh N- 4 wickets, 2 catches, Deepak K- 3 Wickets, Saurabh, Chandresh & Venkat- 1 wicket each. Syed M- 2 Catches, Deepak G- 1 catch.
Himalayan tops Division II, Jefferson Conference "Group B" West
Thanks to all of our regular folks, guest players and those who had to scramble at the last minute to get us the playing XI.
Himalayan beats PWCC
It was the day the tail wagged the dog and wag they sure did. Himalayan registered a win over PWCC!!
PWCC won the toss and elected to bat. Scored 173 all out in37.1 overs. They were 49/5 at one point.
HCC were about 60+/5 and with Deepaks(all three) and Syed playing great innings got us home in 38.3 overs.
Deepak"The Stud" Hiremath top scored with 52*, Deepak K 27, Syed M 23, Deepak G 13.
Bowling, Deepak G (2), Deepak K (1), Saurabh(1),Venkat(2), Chandresh(1) and Suresh N(1) were among the wickets. There was a run out and a "non issue" controversial stumping by Nirun. Catches , Nirun-2, Abhinav-1, Suresh N-1
Deepak "The Stud" H is our unanimous Man of the Match # 2 for his 52* the key performance for this win.
Match report and the pictures shall come soon.
I think we might have a record for 7th or 8th wicket partnerships.
Our Picnic shall include our 2010 Annual awards.
Match report Vs Hunters
We won toss and elected to bat on a super hot and toasty day. The sad part was that we were home and laying down the mat took quite a toll. The good news came later in winning the toss. Deepak G won the toss and we went to bat.
Since Saurabh was not ready, Srini opened with Suresh. The openers got us to the usual quick start with big hits. With the score at 30 runs in 2.2 overs, 2 Sixes and 14 runs later Suresh N was caught off an edge in the slips trying to pull a short pitched ball. Saurabh joined Srini and kept the score board busy. Srini was the next to go bowled by a delivery that moved a little and beat him. He made 17 runs with 3 fours and added 19 runs with Saurabh for the second wicket. Deepak K looked to score but was only able to get 2 runs before getting out leg before at 51. What followed was disaster with Nirun getting out for nought, caught at square leg. Deepak G came in at 51/4 and began the process of reconstructing the innings. He played confidently and with determination. Saurabh got out leg before after making 17 runs that included 3 fours. Deepak continued the good work with Venkat who got out bowled trying to go after the bowler. Venkat made 12 runs with 2 fours. Deepak G was playing solidly at one end while, Syed (1 Run, bowled) and newcomers Vinay (9 runs 1x4) gave him company. Vinay offered promise but was lured by the spinner and stumped. After 42 runs that included 6 hits to the fence , Deepak was out trying to score a quick single. He had helped the score reach a respectable 155 in the 31st over. Abhinav, the last man in joined Ravikanth and excited us with a good looking four. He too was lured out and was stumped in the 32nd over to end the innings. Ravikanth remained unbeaten on 1.
Looking at the hunters lying down exhausted, we realized how fortunate we were to win the toss. Things did not start out well for us, Srini and Venkat started things for us. But there were runs coming steadily through the edges, well placed drives, and the occasional loose balls that were racing to the boundary before we could stop them. Hunters started picking up the pace, perhaps seeing bad news on the horizon. Deepak K was brought in first change and before he could wrap up the over, wind came upon us like no tomorrow. White dust from the adjacent baseball field and red dust from the pitch was thrown up and we had to stop play. Soon after there was an unusual sight of a park rangers car in the middle advising us to clear the field due to a tornado advisory. We promptly complied and took shelter in the cars. Rain lashed out and Hunters scrambled to cover the pitch, despite the park rangers warning. With the help of Syed and Venkat they nailed the covers on the pitch. Meanwhile, the team celebrated the birthday of Anita Kundal, the other half of Deepak K, who was there to cheer us. In spite of the rain, we ended the day with cake and vada. With the match declared a wash out we split points.
Result - rained out
Himalayan:
162/10 in 32 overs
Deepak G: 42, Deepak's all time best, very patient knock, Saurabh - 17, Srini - 17, Suresh -14
Hunters - 62/0 in 8.4 overs
Link to the score card.
Match Report: Himalayan vs Star @ Clarksburg, Jul 18
Result - Star won by 58 runs
Highlights: Suresh Y all round performance (29 runs & 4 wkts), Lali - 39, Venkat - 3 wkts, Nirun - 19
On an important note, any team playing at this ground on a hot day, make sure to take a tent that can fit most of the players. The ground is pretty flat with literally no shade.
Star won the toss and elected to bat first. Star started of good and made use of the short boundaries & a fast out field. Deepak G and Venkat bowled a tight spell to contain runs. The first 10 overs went for 54 runs. Himalayan leaked more in the second session. Suresh Y playing his last game of the 40/40 games produced his all time best, 4 wkts. He almost got his 5 wkt in his last over but couldn't hold on to a tough caught & bowl chance. End of the innings, star scored 221 all out. Himalayan did a great job in getting star all out for 221 on a ground that had more runs in it.
Suresh N and Suresh Y started himalayan's innings. Second over of the inning Suresh N got runout trying to go for a quick single. Suresh Y stuck to one end as we lost few quick wkts at the other end. Lali came in at third down and built a partnership with Suresh Y. Both steadied the innings. Trying to up the run rate suresh Y got out. Nirun joined Lali in the center. Nirun produced his best 19, striking the ball with ease. Lali got out to a good catch an deep covers. This was a big wicket. We were 10 runs apart from the number of balls required but we kept loosing wkts regularly. Deepak G and Venkat played some aggressive cricket taking us closer to the target but Venkat got out in a mix up and there comes the end.. Last wicket didn't last long. Batting was a let down in the game.
Himalayan vs Srilanka Match Report
The Benlomond ground which hosted this game was new to most of the guys in the team. The last game we played here was the final game of the previous season and the memories of looking for cricket balls in thick shrubs and fishing it out of a creek were still fresh on the minds of some of us, myself included. We were away for this game and unfortunately lost the toss. This would have been a great toss to win as their was rain in the forecast with some extremely hot and humid conditions in store. The Sri Lankan team started swiftly and maintained a good partnership before being broken by some smart bowling. They were pegged back with the loss of quick wickets. Their skipper played a good innings by making a century. He was let go a couple of times by some sloppy catching on our part. There were a couple of rain delays around the midway mark of the first inning. Credit to our bowlers for performing well despite the aggressive batting and damp conditions. After a couple of lost balls and endless instances of searching for hidden cricket balls, the innings ended with SL ammassing a total of 291.
Himalayan-vs-Omnitech at Jefferson May 15
After our first win of the season against Bengals2, we were confident for a good outing. The original venue Mikegordon was not ready for playing condition and the game was shifted to Jefferson. The pitch was still moist due to the rain from Friday evenings' rain and thunderstroms.
After winning the toss, we put Omnitech in to make use of the mositure in the pitch. Srini and Deepak K gave a brilliant start to the innings keeping the Omnitech run rate to just little over 1.5 rpo. The Omnitech openers looked all at sea against against some immaculate line and length from our opening bowlers and Deepak really let the ball zip. Aashay was collecting most of the deliveries almost at his chest level. Deepak K got the first break through. Syed came on as the first change and got two quick wickets to peg Omnitech back. After the end of 15 overs Omnitech were at about 35 runs for loss of 3 wickets. Our bowlers kept the pressure up and Deepak H and Suresh N bowled a very tight line and length and consistently kpet on picking up wickets. Suresh was exceptional in his performance with picking up 4 wickets and giving away only 24 runs in 8 overs. Omnitech were finally bowled out for 113 in 28.2 overs. Kudos to Aashay for doing an excellent job behind the stumps. He did not let a single ball go past him.
After a great bowling effort; we were confident of chasing this small total and Suresh N gave us a rollicking start by playing some aggressive shots. He stroke four 6's and two 4's towards an entertaining innings of 45. Suresh N and Suresh Y had a strong partnership while chasing down the total till Omnitech came back strongly with 4 quick wickets. We were scoring at a decent pace but with some good bowling and little complamency on our part saw loss of 2 more wickets. Deepak H played a solid qucik fire knock of 23 striking two 6's and one 4. We finally chased down the target in 27.3 overs with Syed and Amit at the crease.
Like our every match this one too had some memorable moments. The "ROOKIE" umpire was so nervous that he missed a clear run out by atleast 3 feet from a direct throw by Deepak H (even the batsman knew he was a gonner) and a LBW decision against Deepak K, when the ball hit him on his thigh at his full stance. Amit tumbling and rolling before completing the victory run and Deepak hitting some huge sixes using Suresh Ns' bat ( so for me Suresh scored a 50 ). But the highlight was a six over cover point by Suresh N. He simply was in terrific form and turned in a great match winning performance. I am positive that the thunderstorm on Friday evening and the fish curry he ate the night before (I have this info from a trusted source !!!) had a big role in Suresh N's performance on match day. I offically (with the support of our team) will address him as "Anna" from now on :).
Great team effort and a good win. Go Team !!!!!
Saurabh
