ACA Gladiators put up a truly inspirational performance in yesterdays Div 1. semifinal against Tigers Pro. There were many instances in the game where we were done and dusted, but the boys picked up their swords and starting fighting back.
Gladiators were put into bat and we were immediately on the back foot at 27/3, with a top order collapse. Guru Krish walked in and started taking to the attack. And alongside Salil Joglekar, put pressure on the bowlers and started triggering misfields. The game stood nicely balanced at 92/3 at 15. The dismissal of Guru (46) triggered another collapse and we were staring down the barrel at 127/8 likely to be bundled up < 150 runs. But, Salil Joglekar had other plans and shifted gears into attack mode. He alongside Venkata Kanduri put up great partnership full of classy shots and aggressive running (yes Ram ran like crazy and we almost called the ambulance
:) ). And we ended the innings with a competitive total of 206 with Venkata Kanduri at 39* and Salil Joglekar at 70*.
Tigers Pro got off to a blistering start in their 2nd innings and were sure favorites at 81/0 in 11. But some smart thinking from young Hashmatullah Amir to ask Ram to toss a wide one got the inform Majid stumped. Inspired by a prior Ravens game, we kept an aggressive field set and unleashed our slower bowling against Tigers Pro. The batsman were feeling the screws been tightened on them with some good bowling, fielding and sledging. They started to succumb to the pressure, played rash shots and threw away their wickets. Though Awais played a lower order cameo, it didnt suffice for Tigers Pro and they were bundled up at 169. All the bowlers chipped in with a few wickets but Venkata Kanduri and Prabhuram Jagadeesan were the pick of them with 2 and 3 a piece.
Salil Joglekar was the adjudicated the MoM for his inspirational 70*, 1 wicket and brilliant fielding. Congratulations to him!
The saga that unfolded during the game symbolizes why we must never give up and fight till the last bit in sports (and in life).
Scorecard : http://new.centraltxcricket.org/UfVSY/
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