And it finally dawned..


"We know and they know, that we can beat them"

- Saurav Ganguly


Something really amazing happened in the world of IITB Cricket this year. Because, there had been times in the past when IITB Cricket looked too vulnerable and the defeat was all but certain whenever the team reached the bottlenecks of the quarter finals. This year, it was none other than the home team Roorkee which confronted Bombay in the quarter finals. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, Roorkee team welcomed Bombay batsmen at the crease with their nonstop sledging. Bombay team thoroughly answered them by smashing the ball all across the ground. On the very first ball of the match, Abhimanyu, with his stylish flick through the midwicket, set the foggy stadium on fire, while Shubham Gupta finished the innings with a massive six over long-on and a boundary over Extra-covers. The lethal bowling attack and equally magnificent fielding kept the home team far away from the shores of victory. Thereafter, came one of the most crucial landmarks for IITB Cricket, when after a dearth of two years, the team broke the jinx and entered semi finals. 

This year’s Inter IIT Cricket was special for one more reason. For the first time, thanks to the efforts of Vivek and G.Sec Sports Rajesh, Inter IIT Cricket tournament was played in colored dresses, which added a slice of glamour and revitalized the ruthless T20 spirit in the atmosphere.

In the 1st match against Guwahati, Bombay scored 133, thanks to a 55-run partnership between Ashish and Abhimanyu, followed by Devansh’s quick-fire cameo in the slog overs. Guwahati batsmen replied with a patient but consistent batting. They did not lose any wicket in the first 10 overs and at the same time, kept the score moving. Situation started becoming more and more tense. But spin attack by duo Amit-Sumit brought breakthroughs one after the other and Guwahatians surrendered to the savage of left armers.

Next match against the defending Champions Kanpur, was a feast for Bombay Cricket fraternity.  Starting with a four on the very 1st ball, Vivek went on to score a fierce 65(48) runs and with Abhimanyu, already in an enthralling form, set a partnership of 63 for the first wicket. When it came to bowling, Captain Pinkesh started an unmerciful assault picking up 3 wickets in his very first over. His 4-1-10-4 spell left the Kanpur in an unbearable agony. The blitz Krieg assault that Kanpur suffered boosted the confidence of Bombay team for the Quarter finals.

High on confidence after defeating the home team on their turf, Bombay was all set to face the embellished Madras team which had, by far, won maximum Inter IIT Cricket Tournaments. Amidst heavy fog and bone chilling cold, Shubham Vijay, playing after a two-match gap, opened the bowling attack and picked up an early caught and bowled. Pinkesh and Gurman added to the pressure on the batting side by restricting the run rate to 4 and left armers duo of Amit-Sumit and leggie Abhimanyu dismantled the Madras batting line up. Set a target of 124, Bombay started its innings at a steady pace. While, Ashish slaughtered every bowler who came in front of him, Vivek, with his experience, anchored the innings. Situation was well under Bombay’s control with a score 42/1 in 6 overs. But what appeared a hands down win for Bombay at some point, turned into a scary nightmare when a deadly off-spinner knocked off Ashish, Devansh and Vivek in his two overs. When the situation began to tilt in Madras’ favour, Yashanshu and Shubham Gupta stayed firm at the crease. They built the innings by scoring singles and doubles. Just when Bombay team could see a ray of hope in Yashanshu-Shubham partnership, Yashanshu lost his wicket, leaving Shubham alone in the battle-field. Despite the unexpected batting collapse, this young lad took them all single-handedly. Although Bombay lost the game, Shubham’s unbeaten knock of 44(25) shall remain a source of inspiration for all future batsmen of Bombay.

Journey towards Gold Quest was over but on the brighter side, Bombay still had a chance to fight for the Bronze. The wounds from madras defeat were fresh and they drove Bombay batsmen to set a pile of 159 runs, with Abhimanyu and Vivek putting up a stellar 102-run partnership for the 1st wicket. Devansh hammered Mandi bowlers all across the ground; while Rohit scooped the ball over fine-leg, thus capping the innings with a boundary. Gurman knocked off both the openers in the very first over, while Pinkesh, to everyone’s surprise bowled off-spin and took 3 wickets. Gurman took an astonishing catch on Amit’s bowling, thus finishing Mandi’s innings for just 87.


The team finished at 3rd position, contributing valuable 4 points towards the Overall GC. I relived my entire five year long cricketing journey before gifting my bat to Shubham and I could feel that, for some, the Inter IIT Cricket journey has ended and for some it has just began. This cycle would never cease and so would the hunger for Gold.

Location: IIT Bombay, IIT Area, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400076, India

Comments

Post a Comment

More!! :)

Royal Flush!! Mt. CB 13 Expedition

Image
Part 1- I walked back to the mountains: Year 2011. IIT Kharagpur. Inter IIT cricket tournament. Our team of young players lost to IIT Delhi. We prepared well. We defeated previous champions but we failed to keep the winning momentum going. After the match, I spoke to my ex. Captain Kartik. He was totally disappointed & frustrated. He had seen our progress very closely during the training days and not only Kartik but all IIT Bombay cricket fraternity was holding high hopes from our energetic team. That we could win the series. That we could defeat IIT Delhi and avenge previous years’ loss. But sadly, total disappointment came to their way. So did to me. That scar never healed. Never. Here on CB13 expedition, after 6 years, almost similar situation had arisen. Our team of young mountaineers after putting up a stellar attempt, fell short in reaching the summit. And we were left choiceless and had to turn back leaving last 400 m due to worsening weather conditions an
Read more

Climbathon 2014 – Bara Shigri Glacier part 3

Image
The trek begins On the morning of 16 th we hiked along the Chandra river towards the snout camp of Bara shigri glacier. Only obstacle was the notorious Karcha nallah. Previous year while crossing the nallah one of the participants had slipped off. Thanks to the instructor present there who ran towards the scene and secured him out. The climate was sunny and the trail was plane with mountains on left side and the Chandra flowing benignly on the right side. We had already identified famous peaks of the valley such as Papsura and Dharmsura as they could be seen from the road. Within 3-4 hours we reached the snout camp. A lush green meadow upon which red, blue and orange colored tents were set up. A tiny blue watered pond augmented the loveliness of the campsite. But on the mountain side, intimidating moraines and deep jaws of valley through which the Bara shigri glacier flowed, awaited us next day.   At night we gathered in a huge dome tent which accommodated everyone inc
Read more

I will come back..

Image
Introduction Unlike my previous accounts, this is not a narration of scenic beauties of Himalaya despite there was plethora of exquisiteness in Gangotri National Park, Nandanban meadows and shear elegance of giant mountains. You may hardly find any mention of glacier walks, fixed ropes, summit and happy endings, although few of us had wonderful feelings in experiencing them all. There is no talk about the floral outburst on well-marked trails that snake along the Bhagirathi River. The experiences and feelings I had in me during those days, were perhaps entirely different from that of others despite we shared the same physical reality. This is rather than a thrilling, adrenaline gushing adventure story; a brief recollection of the things that happened up there and what I felt about how some of those could have been done differently to make the expedition an even better journey. My faults, however minor they seemed then, have defeated my purpose of coming here. There were a fe
Read more

Home ground Tail baila

Image
22:00, Thursday, 7 th Apr 2016. After a satisfactory dinner at Annapurna restaurant, we parked our vehicle at the Lonavla bus station and were waiting for Jayant to come who had agreed to reach there by 22:30. And he did come. But not before 1:15 AM. Needless to say, he was greeted with an overwhelmingly touching ovation. At 2:30 in the night, Tailbaila dyke looked as stunning as it always. And we were glad that we were the only mad minds who skipped Gudipadva celebration at homes and came to this lonely place for climbing. Generally our hosts are a pack of monkeys from whom keeping our luggage secured is an adventure in itself. But today even they seemed to be on vacation on the eve of the festive day. At 6:55 AM, after snacks of a few dark chocolates and black tea, Sanket and I set forth on the easiest route (left inner). Although the route was easy but we had a different plan in mind. Simultaneous climbing. Which means, no belay. We had 10-12 m rope and
Read more