KR Cup 2023 - Nov 1st 2023

KR Cup 2023

Not sure how many of you remember but we had a match exactly a year back on this day. This was an excerpt from that games coverage. 

The KR Cup should be renamed as the Knowledge and Respect Cup. One team used its abundant knowledge wisely and showed scant respect towards the other team. I am not getting into the details of the teams today but clearly the game a year back was a one sided affair. 

And some more trivia from that game last year. 

Best batter - AK showing remarkable hitting ability 

Best bowler - Susmit, back to his best and flummoxing batters with his change of pace

MoM : Aashish contributing in every department of the game 

Anyway enough of the history lesson. The KR Cup 2023 almost never happened. This wonderful group has driven 30 minutes to play at grounds outside, fought Covid protocols to play at any cost and played on days when anyone else would have stayed dry at home rather than mop up the maidaan to play a game. However today's challenge was to get 24 able bodied individuals get to their backyard ground at 7:30 AM. The money was on this being a pipe dream and the early indicators suggested the same. However we finally had a game after ages where Ball 1 was bowled before 8 AM!! 

Four days back , the very same teams locked horns and it was a smash fest with over 235 runs being scored in 35 overs. You would think that the conditions should remain the same and while the Vikings lost the toss and were put into bat, it would still be a tall scoring affair. The early start meant that we had cooler air and the ground being more moist than usual. Under moist conditions, a batsman has to struggle with the effects of the damp ground, which slows down the ball. The bat absorbs moisture, which makes it harder to strike the ball deep. Moisture also reduces the grip between the feet and the ground due to lower cohesion, and a lot more effort is needed during batting. In dry weather, a batsman does not have to struggle that much to hit a four or a six. 

The Infernos smarting from the close defeat the other day, had done their homework well. Starting with the ever improving and pacy Ayush who bowled such a tight line, the scoring almost went no where. Shiten bowled Over 2 which was rather unusual because HK usually gets him in the middle over to strangle the scoring and taking wickets. However he was all over the batters and it soon became a procession. Everyone tried to force the pace and only managed edges behind the wicket or a mistimed catch. 

CP playing after a long time, struggled with his timing but refused to throw it away and in the company of Harsha initially and then with Bipin tried to move the scoring along. However wickets kept tumbling and the scoring was going no where with Satya getting his incutters to deviate sharply and Shiten continuing to strike in every over he bowled. Vicky and the ever improving Dhruv then took the score to some sense of respectability with the innings come to a close at 68 in 15 overs. Superb all round bowling by the Infernos supported by some excellent ground fielding. Kings was a standout. 

With the back to the walls, Vikings knew that the only chance they had was to get wickets and a bunch of them considering we were playing 12 to a team. Arjun opened the bowling but the openers KIngs and Aditya safely negotiated him without any fuss. Vikings needed a superhuman effort today, and Susmit answered that call. With his bowling confounding the batters and his own fielding of his bowling getting more spectacular with each ball, anything was possible. 

Infernos were almost emulating the Vikings with their batting effort. Wickets at frequent intervals and the score barely moving along. That brought HK into the crease and he eased the anxiety with a few lusty blows. However before he could take the match away, he was snared by Susmit and that opened the game up. The Infernos were around 38 runs at this stage with about 8 overs remaining. The ball was doing tricks and with Hari's injury, it was anyone's game. 

Samir who was off colour in the last game and Shiten came to the crease. If there was one shot that took the sails off the Vikings, it was that beautifully launched six by Shiten. Samir got galvanized by what he saw and started stroking it freely. 

It finally came down to a straight forward 8 runs needed off 3 overs. Arjun bowled a tight over getting rid of Samir which brought Satya to the crease. With 2 overs to go and 6 runs needed, it will very much Infernos game...

The Vikings sprung a surprise by introducing Harsha to bowl the penultimate over. With a brilliant incutter, Harsha got rid of Satya which brought Hari in. With the fielding team egging Hari to go for glory, guess he did..Hit it over the fence to get out. 

Now the Vikings suddenly felt anything was possible. The fielders moved in to choke Kishore but Mr. Ice Cool, saw a half tracker come his way and smoked it over the boundary to give Infernos a well deserved win. 

MoM : Shiten for a wonderful spell of bowling that had everything and stepping up during the chase

Infernos Lead 6-3