Match Report
NCA Winter League Game 4 - October 1st, 2006
LVCC juggernaut rolls on
The Xpress were on fire this Sunday as they defeated the Lankans by 62-runs. With the win, the Xpress extended their winning streak; and are on their way to solidify a place in the finals.
Result: LVCC win by 62 runs :: Scorecard
Sunday, October 1st 2006:
Avi won the toss again and put his team to bat. Adnan, the wicket-keeper batsman, was promoted to open with Lenin, who has been in great form with the bat. LCRC, determined to win their second game, put the openers under pressure by bowling some tight line and length. Adnan, who has been quiet all summer long with the bat, showed some great stroke-play to score 28-runs and added a 68-run partnership to the opening total. Lack of concentration ended his inning as he got out bowled off a slower delivery by Ravi. Lenin continued his crafty stroke play smashing some spectacular boundaries and a couple of huge sixes .A careless shot brought an end to his entertaining 34 ball inning in which he scored 42. He was yet again short of his half-century and will be looking to produce one in the next match.
Aurangzeb and Jahangir helped stabilize the inning by putting together a 58-runs partnership. Aurangzeb finally found some form in his flashy inning of 29-runs. A good knock was long overdue since his magnificent inning of 154. Jahangir continued to show an array of skilled shots by smashing a couple of sixes and a slew of boundaries before he holed out to Chan in the deep. LCRC were sharp in the field as they did not drop a single catching opportunity in the outfield. Lala, Ravi and Anuraddha were the three key bowlers for LCRC as they helped contain the Xpress innings in the middle. Xpress had their habitual lower order collapse, with Nasir being the only one to produce some shots at the end. They ended with a total of 193, which was respectable but far less than they would have expected after a solid start.
LCRC were under pressure from the get go as they chased 194-runs off 180 balls. Shanta and Pasindu needed to play a vital inning to help their team win their second game, but a vicious in-swinging Yorker by Aurangzeb shattered Shata’s stumps off the very first delivery. David, who only bowled an over in his debut game, looked to redeem himself as he opened with Aurangzeb. Taking advantage of the overcast conditions, he consistently varied his line and length to trouble the LCRC batsmen time and time again. In the end, his consistency paid off as he produced a spectacular swinging delivery to clean up Lala, LCRC’s premier batsman.
Pasindu was the lone ranger in the top-order as he saw his teammates lose their wickets in quick succession to some great bowling by Jahangir and Nasir. Sanjeeva and Pasindu steadied the ship by putting on a solid partnership, which created some uneasiness in the Xpress camp. The two took charge of the Xpress bowlers but the resistance was finally ended by Nasir when he took a splendid caught and bowled of Pasindu. Anuraddha, who was economical with the ball, showed his cavalier batting abilities by smashing a few boundaries including a picture perfect pull shot for a six. His bursting inning was ended by Jahangir when he got through the defense and shattered the furniture behind Anuraddha. Sanjeeva was the last wicket to fell after a painstaking stay at the crease, just to see his team fall short to a 62 run defeat.
Avi and Lenin led their team to a brilliant victory with their flawless bowling and fielding schemes.