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\f0\fs26 \cf0 Saturday - 21st June 08\uc0\u8232 RCC vs MCC\u8232 After\'a0a controversial week of speculations and allegations against MCC and whether RCC will actually play against MCC or not and whether MCC will be thrown\'a0out of the league altogether. Well the\'a0inquiry is still going on against MCC but in the meanwhile the game was played on the scheduled day and date.\u8232 RCC won the toss and elected to\'a0bat first. Openers Shekhar and Fahad were\'a0all raring to go and score\'a0some\'a0runs on the small\'a0reedy creek ground. Fahad took strike and\'a0started the proceedings with a nice\'a0huge 6 on the leg side.\'a0He kept on playing his shots while shekhar was giving him the stand and rotating the strike and getting his eye in. The ball was not swinging at all\'a0and was coming on nicely onto the bat. it was a perfect ground for posting a big total and that's exactly what RCC was looking to do. Unfortunately just one ball swung in the whole game and Fahad was unlucky to get\'a0cleaned up on that ball. he was looking in terrific\'a0form and gave a flyer\'a0of a start to RCC. In\'a0went Paaji and he also played some brilliant shots before being given LBW. In went Faraz, who is struggling with his form right now and he and the whole team was hoping for him to fire as\'a0it was a perfect\'a0pitch for him to get his\'a0form back in but unfortunately he\u8232 hit a rash shot very very early in his innings\'a0and was\'a0caught at\'a0long on.\'a0next batsman in was Sam and he hung in there for a few overs but\'a0was late on\'a0playing a shot and was adjudged LBW to the off spinner. All this while Shekhar was back in his form and he was playing his blistering shots all across the ground. he was eyeing the ball like a soccer ball. In went\'a0Andy,\'a0he\'a0has also been struggling with his form and\'a0that was clearly evident with his stroke selection.\'a0just when he had started\'a0to look good he got stumped\'a0and was given out....one of the most controversial decisions. In went Snehal, RCC captain and he was seeing the ball pretty good initially but he was mishitting his shots and luckily they all landed safe. and then shekhar and snehal\'a0built a partnership and just when snehal started to look good and had started playing his shots with a few huge sixes...he got cleaned up to a good length delivery which kept low. and then the tail\u8232 enders went in and chipped in with some valuable runs including\'a0Miraj and Vipul (who hit one big six). RCC were bowled out for 221 in\'a034 overs. It was a defendable score and RCC was all determined to make sure that happens.\u8232 A very short 15 minute break was taken between the innings with the threat of thunderstorms and rain. RCC went in to bowl and Faraz started the proceedings. MCC batsmen started playing their shots\'a0but not for long....Faraz's second over and he got a LBW decision in his favor and got\'a0the opening batsman out\'a0(who knew for sure that he wasn't out but well all MCC bastmen think they can never get out...i think they shud come\'a0only with two\'a0players....coz they always think they are not out so no point in having other batsmen too)\'a0Along with Faraz Vipul started the proceedings and he was bowling a immaculate line and length. both faraz and\'a0vipul kept\'a0the batsmen guessing and mistiming and\'a0mishitting their shots. We did bowl\'a0quite a few deliveries outside the leg stump for which we\'a0were rightfully punished. the only batsman who actually scored\'a0the runs for MCC with good strokes was Amar, all rest were just helping the ball on the leg side or pulling\u8232 the short deliveries.\'a0Snehal was the first bowling change and he also was all fired up and was bowling a great line and length. Along with him Andy was the other bowling change and he was bowling a great line and length too. He had\'a0Amar\'a0mishit a shot but confusion between Snehal and Sam(myself) gave him a life and he went on to score some good runs. After this RCC bowling attack did dwindle a little bit and were being clobbered away for runs all over the park.\'a0Satbir was the next bowling change and he did get hit for a few runs as well.\'a0In the meanwhile Amar mishit another one and he got caught iin the covers by Andy. Sam came into bowl and\'a0did manage to contain the batsmen except for his leg side deliveries.\'a0Sam in his second over\'a0got the breakthrough\'a0by\'a0breakin the partnership between Donald and the other batsman, by dismissing\'a0Donalds partner with a excellent catch by Miraj on the boundary. Sam bowled his third over and got another wicket\u8232 of Donald who tried to haul him to the boundary but mishit the shot and got the edge and was an easy catch or Arvind, who wud've\'a0killed ne1 who wud've come between hiim and the catch!!! Damn arvind u r intimidating!!! In came\'a0Qaiser....one of the cleanest hitters of the ball and\'a0hits the farthest ones too!!! The very first ball Sam bowled to\'a0Qaiser\'a0the ball flew of his bat and unfortunately\'a0the wicket keeper\'a0moved down the leg side and the ball flew of the edge on the off side and wud've been a simple catch for Arvind if he hadn't moved down the leg.\'a0Faraz bowled the over after that and Qaiser showed y is he\'a0one of the feared hitters....he hit 16 runs in that over\'a0off Faraz. Sam came in to bowl\'a0the next over...his fourth....and Qaiser didn't spare him at all HITTING 24 RUNS OF THAT OVER...first ball\'a06....second ball dot ball....third ball 6....fourth\'a0ball 6....fifth ball 6....sixth ball Qaiser clean bowled....WHICH NO ONE EVEN BOTHERED\u8232 TO\'a0NOTICE OR ACKNOWLEDGE obviously as Sam had given 24 runs in the over and that wicket didn't matter much at that time as MCC were left with only 9 runs to score in 6 overs with 4 wickets remaining. RCC got together and did some pep talk and with the belief that we cud still make it as they were only tail\'a0enders remaining....snehal came in to bowl with full force and cleaned up the new batsman on the very first ball....3 wickets remaining...9 runs....second ball of snehals over....trapped the new bastman LBW....team hatrick 2 wickets remaining and still\'a09 runs needed....snehal was on a personal hatrick as well...unfortunately 3rd ball was given a wide....3rd delivery again....bang and the stumps were flying...1 wicket remaining....8 runs...4th, 5th and 6th ball were played out by the last batsman. Vipul was given the next over....8 runs to win for MCC 1 wicket remaining....1st ball....batsman take a single....2nd ball....batsman hit a random shot\u8232 and\'a0snehal dived\'a0for the ball\'a0on mid wicket but it dodged him and went for a 4....3\'a0runs to win....1 wicket....3rd delivery of Vipul's over....and\'a0BANG....of goes the off stump outa the ground!!!! RCC win by 3 runs.....everyone jumped out of joy and MCC cudn't believe\'a0it. RCC was ecstatic and elated!!!\u8232 Damn Faraz....we tried our best in the two overs that we bowled to make RCC lose...we just gave 40 runs in two overs...damn....but Snehal and Vipul were just too good and didn't let us achieve our conspired plan!!! its good that Vipul is going to texas and snehal...i'll take care of him next game...u make sure we get good money to fix the next game!!! hahahahaha\u8232 This victory meant a lot for the whole team....those who were playing and those who weren't playing but in the team or related to the team. It meant more because of all the controversies\'a0MCC had created to avoid playing this game...and secondly it was a very very much needed win for RCC to save their pride against MCC and to be in consideration for the playoffs. Overall a great great win and a terrific morale boost....excellent display of team work and belief in one another and the team.\u8232 i will let the captain and senior players do the advise talks this time...i've spoken enuf in this\'a0report...all in all a great game and great performance by everyone....keep up the good work and this is exactly the team that we are...fighting team....collapses don't happen to us...they are meant for the weaker teams who give in under pressure. this was a excellent example of keeping the cool under pressure. GREAT JOB SHEKHAR AND\'a0VIPUL AND SNEHAL....\u8232 just one thing i would like to stress....BOWLING NEEDS TO B MORE DISCIPLINED!!! WE\'a0HAVE A OFF SIDE\'a0FIELD SETUP FOR THE BOWLERS AND SO WE\'a0WANT U TO BOWL ON THE OFF...NOT ON THE LEG!!! that's where MCC scored\'a0most of their runs...they didn't score them...we gave them balls to score....free runs!!!\u8232 anyways guys\'a0see you all in practice and have a good week until then :) keep it rocking!!!\u8232 GO RCC!!!}