Game #3 : Gladiators def LumberJacks by 97 runs

Another batting revival, led from the front by Asghar (yet again) helped Gladiators score 232/6 in 25 overs. At once stage, the score was a 73/4 in 13 overs. Mudit got out after a small cameo. The bowler and the umpire together got Sameer out, who was clearly pissed at the shocker of an lbw decision. Yasir got another start, but got out at another 30ish score when the team needed him to stay. Imran's decision to promote himself backfired as he got out cheaply. A collapse seemed possible at the innings break. LJ bowlers looked happy, but we had seen Asghar play beautifully just 2 matches earlier in a similar situation. Ahsan on the other end looked confident at the crease.

After the break, we were expecting some sensible revival and hopefully some 6-8 runs per over for the next few overs. But then fireworks started all of a sudden. Ahsan started with a flurry of sixes and this flow never stopped. Although he got out a few overs later, the later batsmen all joined in the fireworks. Ahsan and Mohsin provided good support to Asghar who had unleashed his brutal self on the poor Pitt students of Lumberjacks. When it looked Asghar can't be bettered, the innocent looking Yasir went berzerk too. He hit some great shots and by the end of the 25th over had scored 31 of just 12 balls. 

The last 12 overs saw a total of 16 sixes and 159 runs at over 13 an over. Huge hits, blowing the confidence of the bowlers away, and sealing the match for all practical purposes. 

The batsmen had done a wonderful job and the bowlers were just required not to screw up too badly. And with 7 regular bowlers in the side, the unexpected didn't happen. Lumberjacks were all out for 135. Mansoor and Zee started well to start the spell. Mohsin and Yasir bowler well and never allowed the batsmen any realistic chance of a chase. Mudit and Imran finished off taking 2 and 3 wickets respectively.

This gave the Gladiators another thumping victory in the tournament. With 3 wins in 3 matches, and two with bonus points, the team is rocking :D

My Batsman of the day (I) : Of course the shining star - The Rao Asghar 

My Batsman of the day (II) : Yasir (not Bhatti)

My Bowler of the day : Mohsin for his tight bowling and taking some good wickets

My Fielder of the day : Sameer and Yasir Bhatti

My Man of the Match : Asghar

The feeling of being at the top

Wow !! 

In all my playing career with Gladiators, we have always played the catching up game. But after the 2nd week of games this season, Gladiators stand at the top. Atleast for now :D

But what the hell.. 

I'll cherish it till I can. And strive to maintain this for as many weeks as possible.

Last year, we were almost written off by mid-season. When I joined mid-season after my internship, Gladiators was at 6th spot (out of 10 teams). I dared myself to be at the top by the end of the season. Though we reached at 4th spot by playoffs, we had beaten all the top teams in the 2nd half of the season.

This year I dare myself to stay in the top two for the entire season. Lets see..

Game #2 : Gladiators def SteelZags by 5 wickets

Gladiators had a great day on field and finished the day with a clinical win. Put in to field after losing the toss, the bowlers stuck to a good line and length. None of their batsmen could settle in, and the entire team collapsed at 109 in 18.3 overs.

Chasing 110 just required staying at the wickets. Mudit went to open the innings again, had his share of luck and played a handy knock staying not out till the end. The bowling was quite average and aided by contributions from Sameer, Zeeshan, and Saad, Gladiators hit the winning runs in 19th over, enough to fetch them a bonus point for the outright victory. 

With 2 victories in 2 matches, Gladiators are all set to rock the tournament.

My man of the match (at the risk of sounding narcissist): Mudit for his 4 wickets (4-1-4-11) and for carrying the bat through [35*(44) ].

Game #1 : Gladiators def. Monroeville by 32 runs

Gladiators began the tournament with a bang, well almost. What seemed like a convincing victory at the end had its own deciding moments. And on most of those occasions, they came on top. 

 

Imran won the toss (once again) and elected to bat. Although Yasir kept the scoreboard ticking at one end, Mudit fell cheaply and Afzal, sent 1-down, took far too many balls to score his runs. Eventually, he perished trying to up the ante. The bowling wasn't special, but the wicket was wet and was slow and keeping both low. YasirB got out after making a good 30+ but at a time when he was required to just stay at the wicket. Sameer got out immediately after and the score was 85/4 in ~ 14 overs. With just Asghar as the only specialist batsman and other versatile all-rounders left, there was a chance of collapsing at a score of 120ish - very much Gladiator-like. It almost did as the next 3 batsmen in,  Imran, Zeeshan, and Kashan - all got out cheaply. The score was 107/7. And MU's main bowler - Anu was bowling quite intelligently.

Then Yasir joined Asghar at the crease. This was the first turning point in the match. Yasir started blasting away the MU bowlers with some clean hits. Asghar, on the other end was batting beautifully, cautiously playing for the off low deliveries but making sure the loose ones are fetched from the woods. From 129/7 in 22 overs, the last 3 overs fetched 46 runs. Yasir and Mohsin together contributed 36 runs of just 14 deliveries. Asghar on the other hand was playing a perfect knock and blasted 44 in just 32 deliveries before getting out in the penultimate over. Anu's last 2 overs went for over 30 runs.

Defending 175 can be tricky. It was never an easy target to chase, but a lot depended on the descipline of our bowlers. Zeeshan and Mansoor opened the bowling. They bowled with pace and MU openers had trouble connecting their deliveries. Mohsin and Yasir as first and second change maintained the pressure.  Although wickets weren't falling quickly enough, the asking rate was climbing and MU's batsmen were looking to up the scoring rate. At halfway mark, they were ~ 68/2. Imran and Mudit came into the attack, with choking the runs as their main target. Mudit took 2 wickets, thanks to fine catches YasirM and Afzal in his first 2 deliveries for the season. But after that, the batsmen regrouped. The next 4-5 overs saw a mini-revival with batsmen scoring at almost 8 an over. Another turning point?

Imran made the right move by bring back Zeeshan into the attack. He bowled with great heart and his second miserly spell with 2 good wickets completely sealed any hopes of a comeback by MU.

In the end, it was a good lower order batting revival and desciplined bowling that brought Gladiators their first victory of the season. The batting revival was led from the front by Asghar which saw Gladiators going from a  107/7 to 175/10.

My choice:

Batsman of the match: Asghar 44(32) 3x4 3x6

Bowler of the match : Zeeshan 5-0-2-22

Man of the match: Asghar