| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLCC |
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| 2 | MegaBytes |
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| 3 | Gladiators |
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| 4 | Juggernauts |
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| 5 | Brownstown |
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| 6 | Strikers |
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| 7 | RBCC |
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| 8 | Indus |
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| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLCC |
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| 2 | MegaBytes |
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| 3 | Gladiators |
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| 4 | Bridges |
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| 5 | Juggernauts |
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| 6 | Brownstown |
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| 7 | Strikers |
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| 8 | RBCC |
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| 9 | Stars |
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| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greens | Retain their position with a win over Cougars. A game that didn’t promise much zeal after Cougars got them all out for 64 proved otherwise. Sriram couldn’t have asked for a better finish. Winning the toss and batting first, the Greens’ scoreboard was moving at a pace of snails on sedatives, with a run rate of 2 an over until the 13th .Aashish was the lone ranger battling to get a decent score to defend. Mustafa and Syed chose to loosen up after the break but that didn’t last long either. Sriram, Sathish and PC managed to prolong the agony a little more and they ended up with a paltry 63 of 21. Whatever happened after that was a display of skills and tactics from an experienced captain and his mates. Starting aggressively with Syed and Mustafa, Greens took two wickets in two overs. Sriram used Sathish effectively to put some more pressure on Cougars. The middle order Cougars threatened to do away with some sensible batting, but then Ezhil happened – Sriram’s master stroke. His slow nagging deliveries fetched him 5 wickets in no time and they emerged triumphant much to the surprise of Cougars and Greens.They are playing Vision Phoenix this week. With back to back victories, Greens have an upper hand and they will get this with some fight. 60:40 for Greens |
| 2 | Lions | No Game last week. They played some competitive cricket in D/N tournament to stay in touch and not lose the momentum which is very much required for the next coming games. They are playing A2C2 this week. My stakes are on Lions. With almost everyone in their team playing some quality cricket, Sashi will get this game without much hungama, unless A2C2 throws in some surprise. Venu, Kiran ,Harsha and Vamshi as usual will be key. 70:30 for Lions. |
| 3 | Falcons | No game last week and no game this week either. Stand number 2 as of now in the DCL standings. |
| 4 | Indus | A much required win from Azeem and Co., The move up the ladder with this win. One more win and they have a bright chance of making it to the play offs. Akshat, Nitya and Sagar chipped in with the bat and for a change Raj did that with the ball along with an impressive spell from Akshat. Indus get to play the “low on confidence” Cougars this week. This will be the most exciting game of this week in Pool Y because the end result could change the equation of the playoffs. It off course depends on the results of the other games in Pool Y too. Indus, I presume will be completely charged up and look to put in all their might to get the 4 and the extra 1. Good luck guys!Tough to predict the result. I will go with a safe 50:50. |
| 5 | Cougars | Move down after the defeat against Greens. Sent to bowl after losing the toss, Cougars bowled like a team possessed, with everyone contributing to the cause. Batting, they just lost the plot and got carried away trying to chase a meager score. A lesson learnt though! Facing Indus this week – 50:50. |
| 6 | PTS | No game last week. They are playing a very crucial game this week against the DH. A crucial game for their entry into the play offs. Like I said before PTS is a good team which has the potential to get to the next level, and I won’t be surprised if they make it. Good luck Dipesh!!Against DH: 60:40 for PTS. |
| 7 | Vision Phoenix | No game last week. Played the Lansing team (Bridges and Glads.) in the D/N tourney. They have their final game of the season this weekend against Greens. Nothing to lose here. VP should bring in their best and might as well finish this season on a winning note. 60:40 against VP |
| 8 | A2C2 | Played a thriller with DH, and prevailed in the end. They bowled first and got DH all out for 86. They chased with Vijay, Mangat and Himanshu making key contributions of 15, 15 and 10. It came down to 12 runs required in 3 overs with just 1 wicket. Kondal who usually excels with the ball had a different role to play this time, to take their team to victory. He along with Palani batted sensibly through the 3 overs and chased successfully with 3 balls to spare. Good show guys!! Some consolation for A2C2 at the end of the season. They are playing the Lions this week. It will be tough contest, since Lions are not easy. Like VP, try and finish the season with a win guys! Good luck.Against Lions : 70:30 for Lions |
| 9 | Dark Horses | Had a ball with A2C2 last week. They are playing PTS this week. 60:40 for PTS. |
| 10 | Spiders | Played the last game of this season. Spiders couldn’t get anything right throughout the league. With a few good players it was tough to balance the scale, and they ended losing almost all the matches. Better luck next season guys! |
| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MegaBytes | This is 9th straight win for Megs. Matta’s repeated performance collapsed Jugs batting. Next up is GLCC. This will be the game of the DCL 2009. Unless some miracle happens, I am sure this will be rehearsal for finals for both the teams. So I am sure both the teams will be paying with the full strength. 50-50 chances |
| 2 | GLCC | GLCC took their revenge by crushing BT for 30 runs. I am sure this will be shocker for last year champs. Ashraf is back with 5 wkts spell and supported by Vijay Namburi. With Ashraf back in action, I am sure GLCC is ready for a big fight next week |
| 3 | Gladiators | Even though Glads lost to bridges, I believe, Glads is a balanced team if they play with their full strength. Viju will be definitely looking to compete for the championship this year and I am sure he might have done his home work by now to move beyond playoffs. Next up is STARS. By looking at the history of STARS, Glads should be winning the next game. But they will be facing STARS full strength along with a surprise bowler. I give 60-40. |
| 4 | Strikers | Had a bye last week. On given day Strikers is a dangerous team but they are not consistent. They just need to focus on the game. Next Up is Jugs. They will decide whether to play with STARS or POOL Y team. I give 70-30 chance to Strikers |
| 5 | Bridges | Bridges team beat Glads in Lansing. By now all the teams knows Bridges weakness and should know how to capitalize. I am sure Viju might have concentrated on Phani & Aditya. But another player stepped up other than Phani & Aditya in the batting and this time it’s Naveen who made a difference for Bridges. Next up is RBCC. It should be a comfortable win for Bridges. I will give 70-30. |
| 6 | Brownstown | Loosing to GLCC so badly might have shocked BT. I know that BT is struggling for the players this year. I don’t believe they have showed their strength yet to retain their championship. It will be tough for BT to move beyond Playoff if they don’t correct their mistakes |
| 7 | Juggernauts | Jugs lost to Megs so badly. Matta’s magic worked well. Looks like Bala & Joy is not showing their strength yet. Next up is Strikers. This game will decide whether Jugs will play with STARS or Pool Y team. I am sure they want to play with STARS since all the Pool Y teams are looking stronger now but they have lost to STARS in round 1. I give 30-70 |
| 8 | Stars | STARS lost to RBCC. It was a 5th straight loss in pool X. Even though STARS are in loosing streak, I didn’t get many chances to play with my full team this year. We won against Falcons, Jugs in round 1 and lost to GLCC. These are the only 3 games we played with full team. Against GLCC, It was a close game and we almost scared GLCC. The costliest mistake we have done on that day was dropping at least 7 catches. We are looking beyond playoffs this year and I am sure our bowling strength will make a difference. |
| 9 | RBCC | RBCC won against STARS. STARS were 13/6 at one point of time but RBCC was unable to capitalize the situation. STARS made 71/8. Also RBCC chased the target in 18.3 overs by loosing 6 wkts. I know both the teams didn’t play with their full team. |
| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greens | Had to ‘ace’ them after they beat the No.1 team in Pool Y. It was just about time that the Greens showed their full potential. Some folks said that Falcons will get this easily, but I had my chips on Greens. So it was no surprise for me. It was an exciting game and the Greens prevailed in the end. Looks like the Greens are just getting ripe for the play offs. Batting first, they posted 116 with contributions from almost everyone. I guess if PC had not gotten run out, he would have stretched the score a little closer to the 130s. The unwavering Singaiyengar held one side intact for some time while the others played second-fiddle to him perfectly. Bowling, skipper Sriram and the maven Sathish kept the Falcons in check with a steady support from Ezhil, Sayed and PC. Playing Cougars this weekend. It will be an entertaining game for sure. Cougars and Greens haven’t played each other in a long long time. So there will be surprises from both sides. 60:40 for Greens. |
| 2 | Lions | The game of the week!! From 10/4 to 85/8 reflects that Lions gave Indus a run for their money. Bowling first, The Lions had their bowling wiz Venu get some crucial breakthroughs, and he was very well supported by skipper Shashi, Vamshi and the all-rounder Harsha. Restricting a team like Indus to 84 is noteworthy. Batting, they had a shaky start with their ace batsmen Venu and Kiran getting out within the first few overs. They lost another 2 in quick successions. Enter Harsha! With trusty partnerships from Vamshi and Sriharsha, Harsha demonstrated a one man show who single-handedly took the game away from Indus. The turning point was the three sixes he hit consecutively from Milind’s over to take them closer to the target. Harsha sure will be cynosure of all DCL eyes for the forthcoming games. Every game one Lion makes a difference. It was Kiran and Venu for some time and now Harsha joins that list with skipper Shashi just a game away.Get 5 points for the Beavers game this weekend. Just one more game with A2C2 and they become part of the famous five for the play offs |
| 3 | Falcons | Falcons found their match in Greens last week. Bowling first, Falcons were tested by the Greens in different phases of their innings. Falcons’ star bowler Rajeev missed the game and it cost Falcons a bit. Not that they are short of bowlers, but it just didn’t click. Every bowler had an ER of almost 5 an over except for Srikanth who stood apart as usual with an impressive spell. Batting, Falcons’ Mr. Reliable, Srikanth and Sai tried their best to be in the hunt, but wickets on the other end kept falling regularly. They missed some batsmen like Piyush and Jaffer in the middle. The Aravinds didn’t have much to do, and Bharath, Hari and Praba could only contribute to a losing cause. I am sure they will be geared up and come back hard for the play offs which I assume will be their next game.They might get bye from Tigers this weekend and then they have a bye. So their next action will be in the play offs. |
| 4 | Cougars | Idle last week. Got a bye from Tigers. Not much action in the past two weeks. Can’t wait to get on field. With the matured Greens, Cougars will have to try hard and do their best to win. Like I said with Greens and Cougars playing for the first time against each other, it will be exciting. 60:40 for Greens. |
| 5 | PTS | This team has surprised one and all within a short span of time. They have a couple of good batsman in the top order and some in the middle. These are the 4-5 players who play some effective cricket and keep PTS on track to the play offs. Dipesh is a cool captain who has a good control over his team. Dhruv is an all rounder who makes a load of difference to their bowling as well as batting line up. There are other players who have also contributed to some of their victories. From the 9th position to the 5th position is a patience hard climb. They are still not doing anything about their scorecards though. I wonder what the committee will be doing for their player eligibility if they hit the play-offs.PTS has just one more game and they already have 5 points for the Beavers games. Tough contenders for the 5th positions. |
| 6 | Indus | Poor Indus. They must have been in the seventh heaven when Lions were 10 for 4. They never would have imagined the surprise onslaught from Harsha. Batting first, Raj as expected did justice to his inclusion in Indus, and was the only batsman all the way. The rest succumbed to the Lions’ bowling without much resistance. Azeem’s run out was crucial. Had he stayed, he would have atleast taken them to the 100 run mark. Bowling, Azeem rendered an impressive captain’s spell 5-2-7, supported ably by all his other bolwers expect one. That one bowler and one over made all the difference. Milind’s comeback to this crucial game proved a bit pricey for the Indus. Unlucky Milind, he always had been a match winner in many different occasions, and is one of the standing pillars for Indus. I am sure he will get back on track before the play offs. Indus still has a small ray of hope, if they get 10 points in their next two games. Good luck Indus!Against Spiders: Odds against Spiders. 90:10. |
| 7 | Vision Phoenix | After a lot of rants and resents last week, Vijay finally made a good decision in continuing with this league, a decision he wouldn’t regret after their game against Spiders last week. End of this league VPs can have a complacent feeling that some of their players made it to the star players list. Sathish Sankara is one of them who had been consistently performing. Batting first, VPs with the help of Sathish, Prasanth and Syed posted a grand 141. Looks like their bowling also showed some progression. Better late than never I guess. They got the Spiders all out for 84.No game this weekend. |
| 8 | A2C2 | Were in for a surprise from PTS. Bobby, Kondal and Yogi were the only contributors to a losing game. Alex Davis wasn’t there. Play DH this weekend. Will be a close game. 50-50. |
| 9 | Dark Horses | No game last week. They play A2C2 this week. Will be a close game 50-50. |
| 10 | Spiders | Lost yet again. They follow PTS, in not entering the scorecards. This week they play the dismayed Indus. I guess their last game for this season, since the next game against Beavers will be a walk over. Vs Indus - 90:10 against spiders. |
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| Rank | Team | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MegaBytes | Another easy win for Megs. They don't even need to hit the top gear to beat most of the teams. Praveen top scored with 31 and along with Harish and Raghu took the score to 99. That was followed by some tight bowling by Gautham, Binod, Hari and Jeet. They play Juggernauts this week who historically have one of the better records against Megabytes but I'll play it safe and bet on Megs. |
| 2 | GLCC | GLCC hang on to their 2nd spot, but barely. Juggernauts gave them a scare in their previous game, coming within 16 runs of what should've been an easily defendable target (109). Kranti was at his best scoring 40 runs - with ease. Abhi and Vijay continued their good form to take the total over 100. Bowling wasn't up to the standards. Most bowlers gave away 4 runs or more per over. They'll have to dig deep if they want to beat Brownstown in what'll be the repeat of last years final. This one is hard to call - 50:50. |
| 3 | Brownstown | Played without their captain Yasir (who is blessed with a baby) and beat Stars comfortably - by close to 60 runs. Kamran, who's been in top form lately top scored with 41. With a total of 141 on board, it was a fairly easy task for the bowlers. The star of Dil-Se (Tariq - Shahid Afridi look alike - for those who don't know him ;)) took care of the bowling along with Ifran and Amar. |
| 4 | Juggernauts | Gave GLCC a tough fight getting within (16) runs of what can be considered a big target (110) in terms of DCL. Bala and Sriram paced the chase perfectly but fortunately for GLCC both were out when things seemed like getting out of control for GLCC. Anand, Ramesh and Sundar bowled beautifully and kept most GLCC players in check. Ramesh in particular was consistently accurate in hitting the right areas. They play Megabytes this week. It'll be an interesting game to say the least. Are Juggs the team that'll give Megs their first defeat of the season?? |
| 5 | Gladiators | Had a bye week. They play Bridges to decide the real LORD of Lansing. Another must watch game. Too bad it is in Lansing. Another tough game to call but I'll go with Glads, just for their experience. 55-45 Glads. |
| 6 | Strikers | Moved up a spot after beating RBCC in a tough game. Classy Uday top scored with 35 and was well supported by Ashok (13), Jegan (14) and Tushar (10). Bowling was as expected with Abhijeet, Shailesh, Parthiv and Tushar sharing the wickets. They're a deep team both in batting and bowling and are expected to go deep in the playoffs. Hope they live up to their promise. They've a BYE this week. |
| 7 | Bridges | Have beaten some good teams including Brownstown but have lost to GLCC and Megabytes. They are a good unit - Very high on energy but low in experience. Kishan, Aditya, Shashi and Phani are the most experienced players in the team and they need to act like it. Kishan (r.o.), Aditya (r.o.) and Shashi(loose shot) gave away their wickets unnecessarily. It was then left to the rest to chase 100 against a bowling attack of Megabytes - which was not going to happen. In big games, the top 4 need to look to play out the whole inning. A mere 10 runs won't do it. They're however quick learners and I'm sure will come back strong. |
| 8 | RBCC | There isn't much to say about them. Still looking for their first Pool X win. And coming week is their best chance. They're playing Stars and I pick them over Stars. Let's see if RBCC manages to surprise us again. |
| 9 | Stars | Were missing some of the bowlers that kept GLCC in check. However a Pool X team is not expected to allow 140 odd runs. The best of the Stars have to play their best to beat any of the top teams. They are playing RBCC and should look to win this game. |
Dil Se - from Rehan
Most under rated yet effective - Tariq Ahmad
Brownstown's team strength lies in having a balance in their bowling and batting. They don't have many outstanding Star performer but everyone contributes on his day that helps the cause. Brownstown's bowling is led by stalwarts like Javed and Mujahid. Rehan Bukhari's addition last year added a new dimension to their strength.
