Saturday saw Glory Hunters bowing out to Flame in the league matches and set the semi-final lineup with Flame vs Support Strikers and BoB against Inferno. Glory Hunters needed 129 in 10 overs to qualify (141 to win) but they could manage only 118. Flame had their moments of anxiety till the very last over but in the end it was a comfortable margin of victory.
Sunday was the day of the tournament. In the first semi-final Powerful BoB with seasoned campaigners were outright favorites against Inferno. But the fearless young bloods of Inferno had their own plans. Inferno created an upset by inflicting BoB with only their 2nd defeat in 3 NPL Seasons and effectively denying them any chance of wining NPL4.0 and completing a hatrick of Championships.
Bhupesh and Subhojeet started the chase but couldn't keep up with the ever mounting run-rate. Some tight bowling spells by Ashish, Himanshu and others also did no good to BoB's chances and the pressure showed up when they lost some quick wickets. Deepak Soni(Captain Inferno) on the square leg boundary was spot on with his field placing and himself took 2 crucial catches. With Partha departing in an attempt to clear the boundary, the 'unthinkable' was just a matter of time.
In the second Semifinal, Flame had a cake walk. Batting first, Support Strikers lost ground like a house of cards. Sanjeet took 5 wickets and Saroj took a fine reflex catch of Piyush (the only dangerous batsman in SS's armory apart from Himanshu) . Flame batsmen just had to spend time on the wicket and they did
exactly that leaving no room for any more surprises.
Be there on the BB's ground next Saturday's grand finale b/w fresh Infernos vs diligent Flame.
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Great work FLAME.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up boys.
Peechali har ka badala le liya.
Now we have to lift the winners trophy again.
All the very best.
Shadab, my money is on Inferno. They are the ones who overpowered BoB, not flame :P.
ReplyDeleteNo Problem Sanjay san... lets see your investment is safe or not.. :)
ReplyDeleteItna Sannata Kyun Hai Bhai Blog Pe..... Koi Kuch Bolta Kyun Nahi... :)
ReplyDeleteRama san, No worries about the investment. I know your team has the experience (read sledging :P). Just that I really enjoyed watching the way these guys play their cricket. Gambatte :).
ReplyDeleteSanjay san, this NPL turns out to be very Fair play game. Not much controversy is happenning. :)
ReplyDeleteMany congratulations to FLAME & Rama-san to win NPL4.0
ReplyDeleteFrankly speaking, the way BoB were outplayed by Inferno, we were expecting them to turn the tables again.
But finally, it seems that Inferno lost the plot after semis itself. As it was evident from Inferno's SF post match comments about their immense satisfaction to defeat BoB & avenge NPL3.0 SF loss.
Truth is, BoB lost to a better side ON A DAY.
To the Inferno guys, Well done..but job half done, so near yet so far. Hope you rlzd how imp it was to carry on your excellent work till the end.Better luck next time.
...nyways BoB managed to win something at last :-)
BoB promises to come back harder & improved!