The Wolves continue to show their fangs....

Have you ever seen a Wolf tame a Hurricane? 

 

After the mid week rains, there was uncertainty around a game taking place on Saturday. However the the rain relented and the ground though a little damp in patches was very playable. A little repair work thanks to CP's intervention and we were off to a full two point 15 over battle. 

Satya was standing in for Shiten and both teams had pretty much full squads apart from the ever present Dhruv missing from the Hurricanes line up. However the Hurricanes were galvanised by the presence of the Double H's - Harsha and Hari. 

On paper, the Hurricanes had a stronger batting line up and the Wolves had a repertoire of bowlers at their disposal though their trump card in the last game, Pranav was missing. 

Aashish won the toss for the umpteenth time and had no hesitation in putting the Wolves into bat. Damp conditions typically help the bowlers and it was a fairly easy call. The decision proved to be the right one as Ayush with a brilliant first over and Vicky who now cant call himself an irregular bowler snared 4 wickets among them in the first 2 overs. On any other day, the Hurricanes would have been super relieved with the start they had got but they also knew that the big guns had yet to come to the crease. 

Over the last few games, the Hurricanes have repeatedly made the mistake of taking the foot off the pedal and they had clearly not learnt from their mistakes. Susmit and KG started counter attacking and before you knew it the loss of 4 wickets did not matter. Susmit hit some brilliant shots clearing the boundary with ease and KG rode his luck to make the bowlers pay. 

After 9 overs, the Wolves were 70 and the run rate was just above par. Susmit and KG perished trying to up the ante but it brought two of our most destructive batters to the crease - HK and Chaitanya. It almost seemed like the perfect situation for these two to flex their muscles. Chaitanya smartly played second fiddle doing what he knew was best in the situation, giving strike to HK. 

HK single handedly pulverised the Hurricanes into a gentle breeze. The bowlers despite Aashish and the fielders egging them on repeatedly erred in their lengths and got smashed. It finally came down to whether the Wolves would cross 150 but they finally ended at 142 in 15 overs. 

While it was a tall score, the Hurricanes needed to believe that with a strong batting line up, they could pull this back. However I think the Hurricanes mentally gave up after the last 5 overs of their bowling display. This is when heroes are born and the game was perfectly set for someone to take the wolf by the fangs.

A new opening batting combo of Ayush and Gopi gave the Hurricanes the perfect start by scoring 25 in 2 overs. Gopi was excellent and the Hurricanes slowly had their competitive juices flowing. The openers were then dismissed which brought Hari and Arjun to the crease. The run rate was mounting but it required some smart batting like what Sus and KG did in the first innings but it was not be . Arjun, Hari and then Harsha lost their wickets with Chaitanya pulling an ace out of his bag. Bowling an impeccable length and changing his pace, he had the batters in two minds. 

Thereafter it became a procession with Satya all charged up and taking 5 wickets. Satya is a super smart bowler. He makes the batters believe that they can get the better of him but its usually the other way around. I cannot miss noting the outstanding catch he took off his own bowling. Satya runs for it as the ball skims the branches and lands above the sitting area, pushes CP away and completes a remarkable catch off Kishore. It left everyone dumbstruck but Satya made it look like a walk in the park. 

Vikram was the last man out but he played some beautiful shots through his innings. The Hurricanes clearly needed a few more Vikrams on the day. Only Kiran who played a nice little cameo with Vikram showed the gumption to fight with some clean hitting. The final result was never in doubt and the Wolves won by over 45 runs. 

The season is proving to be one for the ages. The series is now tied 11 a piece and everyone is excited to hit the ground tomorrow.   

And the press is never biased. 

MoM: Satya 

Performance of the Day: HK......