Ajman Cricket Grounds, 16th November, 2009- Even Sachin Tendulkar loses matches. It’s a humbling thought indeed, that great players, and great games have gone down the drain for the best of the best in the sport of Cricket. Something similar happened to the IMT cricket team, when they played their first Cricket match again Skyline University, Sharjah.
The less said about this place, the better. If IMTians did not already get the feel of living in stark desert conditions, this venue was enough to get that feeling out. The grounds were nothing but flattened fields, with a pitch, in the middle of nowhere. With a field and situations like that, the performances of the IMT and Skyline teams, were commendable to say the very least!
Upon winning the toss, the IMT team decided to bat first. Varun Deshwal and Amarjeet Singh, went in as opening batsmen. What an opening that was! The two batsmen made the best of the uneven ground and the fact that the ball wasn’t bouncing that much. Ball after ball, runs were scored, shots hit and Fours and Sixes flowed aplenty. The rest of the team, in the pavilion, cheered their Opening heroes, with escalating spirits, with each ball passing. The shots were spectacular and no less than any professional match being played. Both the players played phenomenally well, and had a partnership of a 100 runs (Deshwal 68, Singh 32).
The rest of the line-up gave their level best as well. Captain Sumit Nagre scored 19 while Rohan Popli scored 13 runs. Overall, an excellent performance by the batsmen brought the score to a total of 163, all out in 20 overs. An extremely good score to defend.
The next innings, turned the game around, in favour of Skyline University. As the afternoon sun climbed at its peak, and the wind levels rose higher, the IMT team went in to bowl. It is hard to pin-point exactly, what went wrong, but apparently something did since the bowling and fielding fell short of expectations. In the 2nd over, Nakul Sharma was able to take 1 wicket (lbw), which was indeed a good beginning to the 2nd innings. However, the bowling side soon became helpless with weaknesses in the fielding. Catches were missed, runs not saved, and boundaries became abundant, quite unfortunate as the team already had an excellent score to defend.
It being a true case of demoralisation, the Skyline team was definitely extremely skilled and fit, and had fabulously high energy levels. Their game was definitely commendable, and it is nothing but a learning experience to lose to such a skilled team and talented players.
The Skyline side made the required score of 164 in 14 overs, losing 2 wickets. At the end of the day, it was a good match, with lots of great moments when sixes went flying across the boundary, when players cheered for others, when the team came together at the beginning and end of the game, and loyalty of each and every IMT player, visible on their disappointed faces upon the end of the match. If anything, this match has taught the team about their short-comings, and they will definitely work on what they lacked today. Their effort must be supported and their determination and skill lauded!
Next match is to be held on 17th November 2009, against Middlesex University.
Media and PR Committee wishes the team for their upcoming endeavours!!
The Team and Scores
Batting Line-up
1. Varun Deshwal --- 68
2. Amarjit Singh --- 32
3. Deepak Nagar --- 3
4. Rohan Popli --- 13
5. Sumit Nagre --- 19
6. Rohit Seth ---1
7. Amit Kumar --- 2
8. Nakul Sharma --- 0
9. Nipun Magoo --- 0
10. Arjun Rajasekaran --- 0
11. Shailendra Bhaskar --- 0
12. Parth Gaglani
Bowling
1. Nakul Sharma ( 1 wicket)
2. Arjun Rajasekaran
3. Nipun Magoo (1 wicket)
4. Amit Kumar
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