The Pacers annihilate the Raptors to win Season 22...

 Guest piece by Hari A....

And so we come to the end of yet another fantastic season of Maidaan cricket. After a while - we had a winner-take-all final. It turned out to be slightly one-sided in the end, but there were many close moments and subtle momentum shifts which could have changed the game. Harsha starts ominously but gets out unexpectedly. Arjun blasts like only he could. HK doing HK things with the ball. And then some early wickets and brain-fades for the Pacers in a low chase... before better sense prevailed and things settled down.

Deserving Finals awards.

- Sameer : Best bowler. What a season our man has had after some quieter times by his standards. His bowling was a threat throughout, and today the discipline was the standout factor. After getting hit by Arjun in the previous over for a few boundaries, he came back with a deadly 13th over maiden, with bullets spearing in the legs, and got Arjun out - snuffed out any chance of a high score. Made the difference between a score of 80 vs 60, which tilted the scales in the final.

- ⁠Apoorv : Best batsman. Took responsibility and stayed almost through the innings. Shot selection was very good throughout - mixing singles and boundaries. Got yelled at only once today (by Naren) which is an achievement by Apoorv's standards. Super season overall as well.

- AK sir : Best fielder. My god - the agility and the close-in fielding on the leg side today. Some Pacers batsmen were lucky not to get run out... His restless and yet perennially calculating mind, and intention to contribute - is something to aspire to for all of us for years to come.

And yeah - through the season, there were many heroes and personal contests. But who are we kidding - let's be honest - it was always Satya vs Arjun. The old warrior sage chasing his first season win in forever, and the Prince of Palladian with his swagger and bluster. ICE vs FIRE. The first 2 games set up the story perfectly.  The first match, Pacers chasing a very low score - Satya 6(26) - now a score etched in Maidaan legend. The next match - Arjun for the Raptors walking out in a pressure situation - boom, 180 degree turnaround, blasts us to all corners!

After ~100TB of below-the-belt Whatsapp messages and 1000s of brutal barbs on the field, we can still say this was one of the most-competitive and yet best-behaved seasons ever. Hoping for more to come in the same vein!

Well-deserved MVPs from both teams.

- Vikram - we saw the passion and fire from the man this season. Came early (relatively), stayed until the end (mostly), and was involved in every ball (kinda), and didn't randomly laugh and irritate his captain (for the most part). His bowling was a consistent threat all through - you feel you ought to hit it, but there is that little bit of variation of pace, line and length - if even Vikram doesn't exactly know why that is happening, what chance does the batsman have ?? And as was observed before, his batting went to a level we haven't seen from him, with calculating shots - the high point being today's switch hit for SIX! 

- Dinesh, of course - what can you say? His interview told us everything we had already guessed. His positive energy and bindaas attitude while batting, bowling and fielding - was a pleasure to be a part of the same team. I am sure our man is going to etch his name into Maidaan legends in the years to come.

Long live Maidaan cricket!