Thursday, July 12, 2007

Aila - Kya match Tha!!!!

The first event at IIMB which really got me excited :))))))))) The names might not be familiar but the mood is!!!!
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The phrase - A cricket match is not lost till the last ball is bowled actually proved its verity in yesterday's match. The girls' cricket match between the PGP1 and PGP2 girls was not only very exciting but also surfacing of hidden talents of our batch... For all those people who missed the extremely captivating match, here is a small account -

Amidst the confusion of having the event or postponing it, I finally got a message from Parul (lot more about her later) saying the match is @ 11:30 pm and the team is ready. As budding managers, we meet just about every deadline perfectly, so both PGP1 and PGP2 girls brought in their teams on time.

The match began with Parul and Ragini opening. It was nothing short of Virendera Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar opening. Sixes, Fours, Running between wickets was fantastic. Then on Shruti's (PGP2) bowling, a stupid tree came in the middle giving Nidhi a very easy catch and sent our very own Ragini back :( Then came Madhumita who gave the same support to our captain (Parul) who only spoke the language of 4s and 6s. The highlight in their fielding was a spectacular catch taken by Mansi Gupta (sideways, lower than her knees) which unfortunately was on a no ball. This stroke of bad luck proved deadly for the PGP2s, since Parul was unstoppable after that. She had got a chance and she meant business!! So, finally after 6 overs we were 119 with the fall of one wicket.

With full confidence, our side came to bowl. We had set a very difficult target and that only boosted our players confidence. Mansi Gupta and Saumya were their openers and Sarbjeet our bowler. Mansi hit 6s in first 2 balls and after which Sarab changed her bowling line. Mansi came ahead and tried to hit the ball which happily went into Madhumita's (wicket keepers) hands who was prompt enough to get her stumped. Third ball and one wicket (one of their good batsman) down and our confidence was on cloud number nine. Then came Saumya who miraculously changed the game from 12 for 1 in 1 over to something like 88 for 1 in 4 overs. Man!! would we lose the match :O Tension on both sides. With the huge number of 6s hit, 32 in 2 overs and Saumya being there, it seemed feasible.

Next over by Sarab and the scene was 19 off the last over. Parul came to bowl in this high pressure moment. The first ball bowled and a 6. The second one went off to the boundary. 9 runs off 4 balls - VERY doable. Neha doing everything to ensure Saumya is on strike and here she was. then the next 3 balls were dot balls. Parul finally got the length right. So, one ball and 9 to win - the match was ours. The celebrations already started among the PGP1s and just then, Saumya hit a 6 on a no ball. The result - 1 ball to go and 2 runs needed. And just when we thought the match was lost, Parul came up with an awesome ball, bowling Saumya off the last ball to get us on the road to victory!!!!!!!

Kudos to the entire team! A special mention to all the guys/girls who stayed up after a looooooooooong day to cheer the team... It DOES make a difference!