Dynamos beat arch rivals Marin II

beat

Marin CC II – 165/9 (S Shaikh – 53,Faraz Mirza – 33,  Ajay – 9-0-20-1)

MOM – Atif (Sunnyvale)

MVP – Waqas Mirza (Marin)

Match Report – (by Sunder)

Marin won the toss and elected to field first on  a cloudy Sunday morning at Ortega park. Sunnyvale opened with Raj B and Sanket. From ball one, Waqas, Marin’s opening bowler was swinging the ball considerably, and got Raj out cheaply to a debatable decision. He was given out to what looked like a bump ball.

Sanket started positively at the other end, but fell in the next over, bowled by Waqas. Three more wickets fell quickly.At 27-5, Giri and Athul put together a partnership of 33 to steady the ship. Athul played some great shots, and just as we looked to consolidate, Giri got a bad lbw decision. This was followed by another flurry of Sunnyvale wickets, as we were at 80-8.

Then came the Atif show. Some lusty blows from Atif bhai, with support from Sunder at the other end saw the score go to 150.

The partnership ended with another horrendous lbw call. Atif though, continued with Ajay for support, and finished strong on 47*. He was unlucky not to get a 50.

Having fought to a competitive total of 175, Sunnyvale took to the field full of energy. Eashwar and Atif started the bowling, and created pressure with the batsmen finding no way to score runs. Arun came on as 1st change, and broke the opening stand. Atif then got Sunny Singh caught by Sanket.

Marin were 51/2 at the break. At this point, Ajay and Sunder squeezed the pressure as the next 7 overs yielded very few runs. At 22 overs, Marin we 62/3, with Ajay getting Waqas caught behind brilliantly by our keeper Sanket!!

The pressure created was making the Marin batsman take chances, we got another couple of wickets before the 2nd break. The spinners continued to exert pressure with miserly overs, while Marin tried to up the ante.

This was followed by a period when Marin staged a fightback, and the game was evenly balanced. Athul broke that partnership, and Sridharan got rid of the set batsman with Atif bhai once again taking a skier under pressure.

This swung the game back Sunnyvale’s way. Finally, Marin needed 16 off the last 2 overs with once upon a time Zimbabwean test batsman Everton at the crease. Atif bowled a great penultimate over conceding just 3 runs. With 13 needed off the last over, Eashwar bowled the over conceding just 3 runs, to bring home the win.

The man of the match was without a doubt Atif bhai, with bat, ball, and a stunning catch. Athul deserves special mention for his batting and for picking up crucial wickets in the Marin innings. Giri bhai captained very well, with positive bowling changes, and good field settings. All in all a sumptuous team performance for the win.

Having said that, Dynamos top order needs to step up and batsmen need to bat majority of the overs. In the field, we need to tighten up with in-fielding, and all 11 players need to be in the game till the last over!!!

Well played Sunnyvale!!! … Go Sunnyvale!!!