Second day-22nd March 2006

Second Day-Semifinal Match against M.techs

This was like a lazy kind of day.Our match was the second one starting in afternoon.So again after reaching by 9 we had to wait and watch the two teams play it out for a spot in the finals.Before this match started we decided to do some home work and decide on field positions.So me Shantanu and Shounak went to the middle of pitch and made rough drawings for fielding for eeach bowler.This was like a small discussion.

The first match had started,i remember sitting there....its a truly great experience to be a spectator also many people don't realize that the atmosphere at the ground is very different as compared to watching on TV from home.Everyone passing comments....we were still excited after that close win yesterday.There was no teacher today(yesterday one of our Sirs-Mr.Bhagwat had dropped in to chk out)and everyone was very relaxed in a way enjoying themselves.

There is another story involved here...The captain of one of the teams playing(team of B.tech Bioinfo+Biotech)today was admitted to hospital becoz he suffered from a heat stroke.He was calling every 5 mins to chk out the score....amazing na...their team eventually won as they held on to some amazing crucial catches.Now you can imagine how hard the conditions were to play in and keep in mind that we are not athletes who play day in and day out....i.e.practice everyday...if not play matches....So after two grueling matches yesterday we had to drag ourselves to play an important match today.

Ironically semifinal was against the team we had lost to earlier M.tech batch.Quite frankly I didn't really think their team was good enough for us today....of course i have to say that...coz i am from opposite side...but you know we get a judgment of the other team by their mannerisms and we were on a high after the big win yesterday.All said and done we still had to deliver the goods and play well.

Start of Play:-We got to bowl first and it was like a professional performance.Rahul started off well getting early breakthroughs.Everyone bowled well in this game actually and the run rate never crossed over four.We kept it tight and that gives an idea of how well we bowled and took the match in the first half.I got to bowl 3-4 overs(dont quite remember exact) and conceded around 12 with a 2 wkts.(bowled and LBW)It was a great spell for me...not that yesterday i was bad but didnt have an impact as much i would like to....i was economical and happy with my personal performance.That match was perfect in a way for us....chasing around 85 we got a good start from Rahul,Chinmay;Satyen went early but shantanu played well and was there till the end.Since the run rate was low it was easy and the batting was strong form our end.Not that their bowling was bad but we knew how much to get and played accordingly.I got a chance to bat in the end...after Rahul got out...at that stage only 4 were required in 3 overs.

At the crease there wasnt that much pressure but they tried to create pressure by surrounding me with many close fielders....fortunately for me the bowler bowled a wide on the leg side after i left a couple go through to the keeper.....and got to be at the other end....have to say Batting on pitch is a hard skill and requires quick reflexes....Even when this person was bowling medium pace i wasnt quite comfortable.So we won the Semifinal taking revenge for the previous defeat and we were going to the FINAL of the tournament....Everyone was pretty excited after we heard the news that college would remain close tomorrow as there was a FINAL to be attended.