POOL X - Rankings By Rehan Mallick

Rank	Team	Why
1	GLCC	The showcase game of the week, lived up to its expectations. Last wicket fell in the last over when the victory was only a stroke away from MegaBytes. Krishna bowled the only over of this game and boy, he did what was expected. A very disciplined performance in the field by GLCC proved too hot for the Megs to handle. GLCC has regained the momentum just at the right time. Two back to back outstanding bowling performances must be sending chills to the teams who will face them in the play-offs. Kiran is in a prime form who held the GLCC innings together throughout, otherwise Hari almost ran through their line up with his nagging length deliveries. No such bowling heroics from GLCC side but a collective bowling effort supplemented by three run outs did the job. This reminds me of last year's final where they almost did it with their fielding when their bowling couldn't give them break throughs (teams playing GLCC in play-offs, watch out :). GLCC has certainly finished the regular season on a perfect note and looking good to reach the Final, yet again.
2	MegaBytes	MegaBytes had a dream season throughout till they fall on the final hurdle. Their dream of staying undefeated was shattered by a team who is on a roll. Megs must have missed the services of Binod but they shouldn't complain about it as they failed chasing a total of 64 and are primarily undone by the three run outs. They really need to do a lot of soul searching on how to handle GLCC, as they will most likely face GLCC again in the Final (as most of us here predict). However before that they need to make sure that they don't lose their momentum in the play-offs. However Hari's bowling and Praveen's batting are two positives they can take from this game into their remaining journey. They will get a break along with GLCC and will come fresh to have a go at the play-off qualifiers.
3	Gladiators	Gladiators won the much needed game against Stars. After losing to Bridges last week, they wanted to gain some momentum going into the play offs and they did it even without some of their star players. Kothandaram produced an amazing spell by taking all the six Gladiator wickets but he could only bowl 5 overs which in the end wasn't enough. A flurry of boundaries by Amit Patel saw Gladiators through without much fuss. Next up is Lions in the play-off. Wouldn't Glads be dreaming for this play-off game to take the revenge of last year's QF :). I will give it 70/30 in favor of Gladiators, but beware of their bowling Gladiators !!!
4	Bridges	Bridges played a tie with RBCC. Such a rarity in any form of cricket and probably one of the unique games in the history of DCL. After conquering the Lansing Lords, Bridges must have set relax and got caught up by a team who desperately wanted to make an impression before going into the play-offs. Skipper Venkat played a gem with both ball and bat to defy easy sailing for Bridges. We would love to hear about the last over or at least the last ball of this game. For a new comer to end the regular season at # 3 slot in Pool X, it is an amazing performance. Kudos to Kishan and his team who should be thankful to two of their star performers Aditya and Phani. Next up is Indus, which may not be an easy game for either. Considering the DCL experience that Indus has, I would call it 50/50.
5	Juggernauts	Another close game which lived up to the expectations and went to the wire before Juggs finally snatched the victory. Juggs finally played a game to their potential.They had been rusty most of the regular season but just did enough in both pool rounds to stay afloat. However they need to lift up their performance if they want to challenge the front runners of this year's league. Next up is Cougars. Juggs should win this easily - 70/30
6	Brownstown	Idle this week, will come back for the play-offs after a long 3 weeks break to have a face-off with Falcons. They need to keep an eye on the impressive trio of Srikanth, Aravind and Sai. Brownstown hasn't been impressive this year and are not showing signs of the defending champion yet. May be this is their time to start showing those signs. Will still give 60/40 in favor of Brownstown.
7	Strikers	A loss to Juggs in the last game of the regular season is not what the Doc had adviced. Nevertheless a very close game that ended up in favor of Juggs. Strikers need to get their strikes on spot to prove a threat in remaining games. Tushar, Parthiv and Co. need to lift their game physically and mentally to produce the final touches. Playing Stars in the play-off may not be as bad though and they may already be thinking of their QF encounter with Mighty MegaBytes !!!
8	RBCC	RBCC had the opportunity to grab the # 5 spot in pool X but they missed it by a whisker. Great performance by Venkat Vadnala to give team Bridges a scare. I am sure he must be an unhappy man getting out LBW against a leg spinner but he should be proud of his peformance as he almost demolished the conquerors of Lansing Lords. Next up is GREENS who are entering the play-offs on the back of some Sterling performances. Venkat needs to have a repeat of his own performance and probably more from his team mates if he wants to set up a show down with GLCC in the QF. I will call it 60/40 in favor of Greens
9	Stars	Stars promised a lot but failed to deliver in any of the Pool X games. Kothandaram impressed a lot though in his mesmerizing spell. They must have missed the services of the star of Dil-Se, Mr. Ravi Kumar. Rajesh and his team had a good opportunity to polish up themselves with playing against the top crop and hopefully they have learned from their mistakes in those games. They failed to win any game in the Pool X but now they have an opportunity to prove handful when things really matter most, that is the play-off games. Striker will not be an easy team to walk through, though.

Dil Se - By Sudheendra about Ravi

Lot of people may not even know him. He is very very low-profile. But this DCL player is no new comer and has played the league since 1999. Some teams he has played in the past: Greens, Troy Cricket club and MCC ( Motor city cricketers). This year I coaxed him to leave weakened Greens(after Minal's exit) team and join Stars in the hope we will play in Pool X and do better in playoffs.

He is very uncharacteristically modest for a bowler but with super-effective results. You never see him in any of usual theatrics that bowlers get into: staring at batter, sledging at the batter after good delivery or gesturing at batter after taking his wicket. Never would you see him making any negative comments to batter. That's just not his style of aggression. But his results are remarkable. His RPO this season so far is 2.4 . He is the league's third in that category. He has consistently been among the most economical bowlers in DCL. You hardly ever see an over from him with > 3 runs. He pitches the ball at the right spot; Never bowls extras; Takes a short run up but still has excellent pace; And his over almost always seems to go by in a breeze. It seems like the captain is just done giving the ball to him and within a minute the captain already has the ball thinking of his next bowler.

With the DCL tball and pitches favoring bowling to batting, can u imagine a team with 5 Ravi's:-) That team will almost inevitably claim the championship. Yes I am talking about Ravi Kumar, the Stars bowler and he deserves a HUGE 'Dil Se' recognition :-)

POOL Y - Predictions

IndusCougars
Both teams are exceptionally talented 50:50

GreensVisionPhoenix
Greens should take this very easily

PTSDarkHorses
If PTS can gain at least one point out of this they are in for play offs and say bye bye to INDUS and A2C2. Anyways PTS should take this one easily

TigersSpiders
Forfeited and first points for Spiders

LionsA2C2

Lions with no issues

FalconsBeavers

Forfeited

PTSBeavers
Forfeited

POOL X - Predictions By Sudheendra

GLCCMegabytes
Touted to be the Best game of the season so far. This game can go either way. With Ashraf also coming in bowling, GLCC is now quite strong in bowling. GLCC bowling line up with Vijay, Krisha Beri, Ashraf, Samish, Manpreet is slightly better and experienced compared to MB bowling line up of Binod, Gowtham, Matta, Jeet, Raghu, Hariharan . It was a bit surprising to see Matta's performance in bowling. GLCC's Batting appears (atleast on paper) weaker than Megabytes. This game will be fought hard. Absent batting fireworks from Matta, I give this 55:45 game in favor of GLCC


RoyalBluesBridges
Bridges will easily take this. RBCC batting is weak and with the Bridges 2 spinners I think RBCC's batting easily be exploited. I expect RBCC to be all out <50 in this game. Plus, this game appears to be played at Lansing. If Bridges bat first, I expect a big total of 130+ from them. 70:30 in Bridges favor

JuggernautsStrikers
While Juggs have a good batting line up, Megabytes bowled them out <30 runs. This suprised me. Strikers have too many motivated players and I think they should be able to pull this game from Juggs. Still I think this game has a chance to be nail-biter. 60:40 game

GladiatorsStars
Stars have decent bowling line up for this game. For Glads it appears this game doesn't make
a difference in their Pool x ranking. Viju was heard saying he will not field his best 11 for this game. If Stars bowling can pull some surprises in this game and they are supported by some decent batting this game can go in favor of Stars. 50:50 game

POOL Y - Ranking By Ravish -week-6

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!

POOL X - Rankings By Rajesh Velnati - week-6

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. Next up is Glads. It will be a practice game for both the teams as it will not make much difference on the outcome of this game. I am sure STARS needs a morale boost and Glads needs good practice. I agree with Samish that DCL games are favored to Bowlers. It’s the bowling strength that wins the games in DCL. I also agree with him on his other comment that the team should know how to win even without their full strength
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. I am not fully convinced with RBCC that they will move beyond playoff’s this year. I wanted them to move but I think they have to do lot of home work.

Dil Se - from Rehan about - Syed Akbari

Another figure in team Brownstown that has remained unnoticed by many is Syed Akbari. A very useful all rounder and sharp fielder who always keeps the team motivated with his pep talk. His left arm slow medium bowling is mostly used to cease the run flow or to break a threatening partnership. Barely gives any extra run ( a rarity in Brownstown team :). A handy middle order batsman. He is probably the only batsman who plays MegaBytes bowling with more confidence than anyone else in the team. Rewind back to the SF in 2005. MegaBytes bowling was all over Brownstown batting, reeling at 40+/5 in 19 overs. In comes Syed. When it was so hard to take singles against tight MB bowling, he hit couple of sixes, took sharp ones and two and lifted the score to around 80 runs at the end of 25th over. A victory by some 10+ runs wouldn't be possible without his innings. Another moment of excellence was witnessed in 2008 play-off game against Megs. Someone called it 'throwing without seeing'. Ranga played with soft hands towards mid on and threatened to take a single by taking a few steps down the pitch. Syed pretended to throw down the non-striker end but he actually scored a direct hit at the strikers end giving no chance to Ranga to get back to his crease. His these little moment of excellences always lift up the team spirit and have been phenomenal in Brownstown team's success on numerous occasions.

Predictions

Gladiators Vs Bridges
Game to watch and tough one to predict. I give 60-40 advantage to Gladiators.

GLCC Vs Brownstown
Anybody's game, I am sure both teams will fight hard to prove that they are second best in current lot. 60-40 Brownstown

Juggernauts Vs Megabytes
I don’t see any team that’s equipped enough to beat MegaBytes

RoyalBlues Vs Stars
Both teams looking for their first win in second round, first time I am going with Stars with 60-40.

DarkHorses Vs A2C2
A2C2 should take this one easily

Lions Vs Beavers
I know it's forfeited, if it happens I would have expected Lions to break some records.

Greens Vs Cougars
Matured team Vs energetic team, who ever bowls better, will end up winning the game. 60-40 Greens

Indus Vs Spiders
Indus with big margin

Tigers Vs Falcons
Forfeited

POOL Y - Ranking By Ravish -week-5

Before I start with the ranking, a couple of things. One is about the “Standings” mail which hit my mail box a zillion times last week. I am sure the committee must have had the time of their life dealing with one very simple issue that was blown out of proportions. Must really hand it to the committee for handling it amicably. Good job guys!

Secondly, I don’t understand the rationale behind teams talking about breaking rules because one rule was misconstrued. My two cents – Two mistakes doesn’t make one right. Like some wise man once said - “There are some who find solutions in problems, and then there are others”.

Coming to the ranking, there were quite a bit of actions/surprises in Pool Y, with a considerable change in the standings. Some exciting finishes, some big scores by under rated teams and some come back teams spiced up the POOL Y matches. There is no team in POOL Y that held the No. 1 position for more than two weeks since there has been highs and lows for every team every week.

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.

POOL X - Rankings By Samish - week-5

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. Their next game will settle the debate for the second spot in the regular season. To me, it is the game of the week, so if you're not doing anything, stop by ;)
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. Next up Glads. If top 4 click in batting, only God can save Glads. If not, it is Glads game to take.
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 about - 'most under rated yet effective - Tariq Ahmad'

Cricket is a team game but quite often we hear about few stars. It is time to talk about those guys who remain silent and never get into news. These guys are committed team players and do things that nobody notices, some take wickets and some score runs - some provide much required energy to the team and sometimes do things that don’t get reflected in score cards. I call them "most under rated yet effective". It is time to recognize those great never seen, never talked about guys. I would like start this series by thanking most talented Mr Rehan Mallick, former captain of Brownstown. His motive is simple "recognize those great guys" and motivate other team's captains to do the same.

Thanks again Rehan

DCL Blog

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.

However there is one figure that usually remains unnoticed but have played significant role in Brownstown's success over a long period of time. This figure is ever charming and smiling personality of Tariq Ahmad. He keeps a low profile, gets to the bowling mark whenever asked by his captain, gives away very few runs, takes one or two early wicket and gets the job done for his team. It is usually his early break through with the new ball that makes in roads for star bowlers and makes their job easy.

Falcons will never forget him when he single handedly took the play-off game away from them in 2005, which led Brownstown to the championship title. Falcons were all set to take the game and were probably planning for next play-off game, needing only 14 runs in 6 overs, with 6 wickets in hands. Their opener Sandeep was at the crease playing a gem of an innings. In comes Tariq to bowl the 20th over. Three wickets fell in that over , Brownstown won the game by 6 runs and eventually won the tournament but not too many people remember that if it wasn't the heroics of Tariq Ahmad , then the history would have written differently.

To be continued

Monday Blues

GLCC (109/6 in 25 overs) beat Juggernauts (94/10 in 24 overs)

Umpire won the game more than teams winning or losing ;).

VisionPhoenix (141all out in 24.3 overs) beat Spiders (84/10 in 15.2 overs)

84 runs in 15 overs shows that spiders really tried their level best to chase huge total.

Strikers (123/8 in 25 overs) beat RoyalBlues (106/9 in 25 overs)

Nothing special RBCC lost but one positive thing that’s worth mentioning is they scored 100+ against strong bowling attack

Greens (116/7 in 25 overs) beat Falcons (90/10 in 20 overs)
Greens brought much required face lift to pool-y, thanks to team greens.

Lions (85/8 in 24.1 overs) beat Indus (84/10 in 24.2 overs)
3 consecutive sixers by Harsha off Milind Kulkarni, wow wow wow. I am sure all lions might have roared all weekend.

Megabytes (99all out in 24 overs) beat Bridges (47/10 in 19.4 overs)
Is there any team that can beat Megabytes ?

PTS (133/6 in 25 overs) beat A2C2 (87all out in 20.2 overs)
Watch out for PTS, when they win they win big.

On a side note if there is any recognition for "spirit of the game" or "best behaved team" that should go to PTS team, these bunch of guys care about the game, not the result. I am sure cougar's captain second my thoughts and hope DCL committee is hearing.

Stars Vs Brownstown
BT won big, scored around 140 and stars close to 80.
Tigers Vs Cougars
Tigers Forfeited

Predictions

Royal Blues Vs Strikers

On paper nobody can beat RBCC but they are yet to show it on the field on the other hand strikers is about parthiv and Thushar and both have been in great form. 60-40 Strikers

GLCC Vs Juggernauts
Tough one to predict, always a fun to watch this game. 50-50

Bridges Vs Megabytes

Expecting a great game 70-30 megabytes

Stars Vs Brownstown

Brownstown should take this very easily

Indus Vs Lions
I am expecting big score from raj segal. 60-40 indus

Green Vs Falcons
Falcons with big margin

Tigers Vs Cougars
Expecting a close one with slight edge to cougars

PTS Vs A2C2

Yet another close game, 50-50


VP Vs Spiders
VP should take this easily

LBW Rule - Samish Kilam

It is not easy to judge an LBW. I've tried to break it into steps to help eliminate the complications of the rule. I hope this doesn't make it more complicated ;)
Four things to keep in mind when judging an LBW are:

Where the ball has pitched with respect to the stumps.
Whether the batsman is playing a shot or not.
The line of impact with respect to the stumps.
Whether the ball appears to go on and hit the stumps.

1. Ball pitched outside leg stump:
a. NOT OUT (no matter what - even if it is appears to be hitting the middle of middle stump)

2. Ball pitched anywhere else:
a. If the batsman is playing a shot (includes a defensive shot).
i. The ball MUST hit the batsman (leg or any other part of the body) in the line of the stumps i.e. the point of impact MUST be between off stump and leg stump - even for full-toss hits.
ii. The ball MUST appear to go on and hit the wicket (both with respect to height and line with due consideration given to swing and spin).
b. If the batsman is not playing a shot (e.g. deliberate padding)
i. As long as the ball hasn't pitched outside leg stump, the ball should appear to hit the wickets (both height and line). The ball can hit the batsman outside the line of stumps unlike when offering a shot.

Additional Notes:
FULL-TOSSES:
You CANNOT presume any movement off the pitch (turn or cut) when the batsman is hit FULL-TOSS. In case of a full-toss hit, the only thing to judge besides (2a) and (2b) (see above) is if the ball appears to go on and hit the stumps (consider the swing in air).

Some more No Ball Rules

Ball bouncing more than twice or rolling along the ground

The umpire at the bowler's end shall call and signal No ball if a ball which he considers to have been delivered, without having previously touched the bat or person of the striker,either (i) bounces more than twiceor (ii) rolls along the groundbefore it reaches the popping crease.

Ball coming to rest in front of striker's wicket

If a ball delivered by the bowler comes to rest in front of the line of the striker's wicket, without having touched the bat or person of the striker, the umpire shall call and signal No ball and immediately call and signal Dead ball.

Position of wicket-keeper

The wicket-keeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker's end from the moment the ball comes into play until(a) a ball delivered by the bowlereither (i) touches the bat or person of the strikeror (ii) passes the wicket at the striker's end
or (b) the striker attempts a run.
In the event of the wicket-keeper contravening this Law, the umpire at the striker's end shall call and signal No ball as soon as possible after the delivery of the ball.

Movement by wicket-keeper

It is unfair if the wicket-keeper standing back makes a significant movement towards the wicket after the ball comes into play and before it reaches the striker. In the event of such unfair movement by the wicket-keeper, either umpire shall call and signal Dead ball. It will not be considered a significant movement if the wicket-keeper moves a few paces forward for a slower delivery

No ball to over-ride Wide
A call of No ball shall over-ride the call of Wide ball at any time

Ball not dead
The ball does not become dead on the call of No ball.
Out from a No ball
When No ball has been called, neither batsman shall be out under any of the Laws except "Handled the ball",
"Hit the ball twice", "Obstructing the field" "Run out".


Note : These are ICC rules, may or may not match with DCL rules.

DCL NO BALL Rules that do not match with ICC rules

DCL Rule
A bouncer over the shoulder and a ball that sails above the waist, bowled at a batsman in an
Upright position standing at his crease is considered a NO BALL

There is no warning for bouncer in DCL

ICC Rule
One bouncer above the shoulder is allowed and its umpire's duty to warn the bowler.

DCL Rule
The ball following the front-foot no-ball is deemed a ‘free hit’ ball. The fielding team can position
their fielders in any manner. The batter and the non-striker can be out only by way of a run-out. If the free hit ball is a wide or a no-ball, the following ball will be a free hit ball as well. This goes on until a legal delivery is bowled.

ICC Rule
The free hit in ODIs applies to all foot fault no balls and not just front foot no balls.
Fielding positions cannot be changed if the same batsman faces the free hit ball who faced the NO ball... but if the batsmen had taken a run in the NO ball and now the other batsman is facing the free hit ball fielding captain is allowed to make fielding changes

Substitute

A substitute in the sport of cricket is a replacement player that the umpires allow when a player has been injured or become ill after the nomination of the players at the start of the game.

A substitute can act for the injured or ill player in the field, although he may not bowl, bat, or act as wicket-keeper or as captain

If a player has a runner, he may be given out if either he or his runner transgresses the rules.

What if a substitute fielder entering the field of play without permission?
The ball shall immediately become dead and the umpire shall award 5 penalty runs to the batting side

player wishing to change his shirt, boots, etc. must leave the field to do so. No substitute shall be allowed for him.

Objection to substitutes
The opposing captain shall have no right of objection to any player acting as a substitute on the field, nor as to where the substitute shall field. However, no substitute shall act as wicket-keeper.

Transgression of the Laws by a batsman who has a runner
batsman's runner is subject to the Laws. He will be regarded as a batsman except where there are specific provisions for his role as a runner
A batsman with a runner will suffer the penalty for any infringement of the Laws by his runner as though he had been himself responsible for the infringement. In particular he will be out if his runner is out "Handled the ball", "Obstructing the field" or "Run out".

What happens if both the striker and and substitute both run and reach the bowling crease ?

I dont know the answer, I think the run is not counted and rule says striker with substitute should always be on strkers end.

Missing Score cards

Teams that failed to enetr score cards

PTS - None

Dark Horses - Only when they win

VisionPhoenix - Missed few

RBCC - Missed one

Spiders - Missing bowling figures

Juggernauts - Missed bolwing figures

What's the rule ??

3.18 Scores Cards & Umpire Reports


a) Scorecards for all games must include the full batting, bowling, and fielding records, wherepossible.
b) It is the sole responsibility of the captains to input the scores [designated website] no later thanMonday midnight after the scheduled game. In case the game is moved to the “rain day” thedeadline for submitting the scorecards is Tuesday 5:30pm, after the game. Umpires MUST sign acompleted scorecard and ensure that both captains also sign it.
c) If a game is played under protest, this should be mentioned on the report. Any and all otherissues (e.g., delays, misconduct, umpire incompetence, etc.) MUST also appear on the score sheet.
d) If the scores are not entered before the above deadline, the scores must be submitted to thecommittee via email. The designated committee member(s) will input the scores.
e) Captains must fill-in the team declaration sheet and submit to the umpire before the toss. Thisinformation cannot be changed unless the rival captain agrees.


Guess what nobody can question Captains and designated committee member(s) ;)

Predictions - By Venkat Adapa - week-4

Gladiators Vs Megabytes:
This is a must see game, as this hard fought rivalry takes the field again. Megabytes with depth batting lineup, it will be a challenge and a nightmare for any bowler to control star studded Megabytes. We shouldn't under estimate Vijju; he may have some trump cards to play against megabytes. I predict that Megabytes win (60:40).


Bridges Vs Strikers
50-50, anybody's game. If Parthiv has a good day, no team can withstand their onslaught. But Bridges has great leg spinner. Phani and one of the best all rounder, Aditya, who can handle any batting & bowling lineup. Good game to watch.

Juggernauts Vs Brownstown:
This is yet another must see game of the week. If BT can put full team, it will be a great challenge to Anand. Players to watch: Rehan Bokhari; Rehan Mallik with Yasir coming back from Pakistan trip will challenge Anand, Bala, Ashwin, Sreeram, Vinod. I pick Brownstowne (60:40)

DarkHorses Vs Spiders
Tough one to predict, however I am leaning towards DarkHorses

Greens Vs A2C2
With Alex, Kondal, Bobby, A2C2 can turn the match in their favor. Easy win to A2C2

PTS Vs Cougars
Cougars with some new additions, Ravish & team will have complete control over PTS. Easy win for Cougars.

Falcons Vs Beavers
With Beavers pulling out of the tournament, Falcon will have full rest have cool beers watch some very good games over the weekend.

Tigers Vs VisionPhoenix
Last week Tiger couldn't get playing 11, if they could able to get the playing 11, easy win to Tigers.

POOL Y - Ranking By Ravish -week-4

Cougars, Greens and Lions not being active this week, they dropped down one rank. Falcons back to No.1. Again, not much is happening in Pool Y. Teams backing out, giving walk over, not posting the results, not entering scorecards makes Pool Y not a place to be in. There’s an “I m bored with it all” kinda attitude from some teams.

Rank	Team	Why
1	Falcons	As anticipated, Falcons were in fact charged up after being idle last week. Though it was a fairly easy game for them, 179 is phenomenal. Batting first they did as much damage as possible. Aravind started the fireworks and the rest followed suit. Falcons have an all rounder skipper Srikanth who appears to be in his peak this season. Consistently contributing every match. They also have another all rounder in the making – Rajeev. Apart from being an exceptional bowler, he could also bat considerably. I think this is the highest DCL score from Falcons, or is it? Bowling, they didn’t have to do much trying to defend the monumental score and Rajeev led the attack along with Munish and Praba Siva taking 3 a piece. Going at this rate Falcons will soon lead Pool Y and march to the play offs brimming with confidence. Move up a rank after beating Spiders convincingly.Not playing this week since Beavers are out of the tournament. So they get 4 points plus bonus by default.
2	Cougars	Idle last week. This week they get to play the unpredictable PTS. Cougars will try and win this one. Can’t take PTS lightly after they beat teams like VP, Indus and Tigers.
3	Indus	Move up the table after beating Dark horses convincingly. Raj batted through with an unbeaten 25, supported by his fellow all-rounder Anand. Other batsmen Nizar, Sagar and Akshat chipped in with a valuable 18, 13 and 14. A good batting line up, Indus is a team capable of posting such big scores against some good teams too. Bowling, Azeem as usual did the damage along with Jestine, Somajit and Akshat. Milind is not seen much this season. I guess he will be back for the play offs. Raj’s addition to Indus this season will be vital. Assuming they will see off Spiders with ease, their game against Lions and Cougars will be crucial for their eligibility, a situation they would never have envisaged of.No game this weekend.
4	Lions	Idle last week, Idle this week.
5	Greens	Didn’t get to play last week. Greens will face A2C2 this week. Sriram will have to move his pieces with caution, since this game will take them closer to play offs. They will have to play their full team. Wonder if Sumit is going to be back. I got a chance to see his game last season. A classy game with a subtle touch of audacity. Very effortlessly clears the ground. Hoping to see all these players in the play offs to make the league more and more interesting. Sathish and Sriram will be crucial as ever in bowling. Batting, they have a lot of options to exercise. Result likely to be in favor of Greens - 70:30.
6	Vision Phoenix	VPs are just losing it. Don’t know what suddenly happened to them. Did they lose any key players or is it just not working out? Don’t know what happened in their last game, but looks like their bowling faltered yet again and they got the same treatment they got from Indus and Cougars recently. Batting didn’t look that great either. VPs were in a very position beginning of the second round. But they are losing it with every game and if they don’t get their act together its bye bye DCL 2009 for them. Playing Tigers this week. If there’s a game it will be a tough call, since both these teams are going back and forth. I am more inclined towards Tigers considering their better bowling than Tigers. 60:40 against VP
7	A2C2	Idle last week, Alex and his boys will be on their toes against the Greens. They need to give more than their usual effort to keep the Greens at bay. What will be Alex’s strategy? Like I said he should come up and play a long innings and leave Bobby and Saurab to anchor the middle order. Just a suggestion. Bowling wise, Kondal will be crucial along with Himanshu and Samir Chitre. They need to do their bowling changes efficiently. Against Greens, considering the experience and talent that Greens has it will be against A2C2. 70:30 against A2C2.
8	Tigers	Gave a walk over to Lions last week since they didn’t have a playing 11. Hope they make it this week against VP. Tigers can very easily win this game even if they go with 7-8 players. So Vishal, go for it. 60:40 to Tigers.
9	PTS	Where is the score card ?
10	Spiders	Spiders were no match for the mighty Falcons. They lost the game in the first half itself conceding 179 runs. From what I remember their bowling wasn’t that bad. Spider’s batting superstar Karthik managed just 12 runs. He seems to hit atleast one six every match though. Agnelo was even better this time with 2 six. Spiders are playing DH this week. A good chance for them to see a victory.Against DH - 80:20 for Spiders.
11	Dark Horses	Where is the score card ?

POOL X - Ranking By Samish Kilam - week-4

Rank	Team	Why
1	MegaBytes	Megabytes hold on to their #1 ranking with another dominating win. It was Matta's and Jeet's turn to step up this time. Matta scored 41 runs and took two wickets besides effecting a runout. Jeet scored 20. Megabytes are toying with their oppositions - winning this game comprehensively even after 3 of their most established bowlers took the back seat. No bowler went over 3 runs an over and almost all bowlers were among wickets. They play Gladiators this week. Both teams have a history and it is going to be a tough game. Gladiators have shown that they are capable of beating some good teams and have shown poise in chasing big totals - which is not an easy thing to do in DCL. It will be an interesting game but I pick Megabytes 60 to 40
2	GLCC	This is one of the changes in the rankings this week. GLCC claimed the 2nd spot from Brownstown mainly due to BTs loss to Bridges. GLCC got the job done by beating Stars even though it wasn't as convincing as they would've liked. Abhishek was the star for GLCC scoring a chanceless 53 n.o. I can categorically say that it was one of the best innings played in DCL history and I'm sure that anyone who saw it won't disagree with me. Krishna and Vijay then took care of the bowling department with good support from the rest of the bowlers. Have a bye this week.
3	Brownstown	The champions maybe down but they surely are not out. They lost a close game to Bridges - another exciting team. Kamran, Faraz and Mr. Dependable Javed were among runs. Kamran top scoring with a solid 25. They put up a defendable total, but their bowling failed them. Most bowlers gave 4 and above runs per over which is quite high by DCL standards. They play Juggernauts next. Both teams are equally strong on paper. This might be the closest game in Pool X this week. It is hard to predict a winner here. BT 51:49 ;)
4	Juggernauts	Continue to be our #4 team. Had a bye last week. They play BT this week and I expect it to be a cracker of a game.
5	Gladiators	Have claimed the 5th spot from Strikers by beating them convincingly. Gladiators have once again proved that they are one of the top teams when it comes to chasing big scores - the quality that is very rare in DCL - and guess what, they did it without their star opener Raj Gumbar. Ganesh (38 n.o.) and Shankar (35) led the way for Glads, achieving the target with over 6 overs to spare. There is no doubt that they are one of the most exciting teams in DCL this year and Viju and co. will be looking to continue their winning ways against other “superstar” teams. I'm quite sure that the game with Megs will be fiercely fought. If Glads pull this one off, which I'm sure they're capable of doing, it'll be hard to keep them out of the top 3 ranked teams this year.
6	Bridges	Bridges beat the champions in a close game and they too did it by chasing a big score. Aditya, Phani, Kishan and Naveen led the chase and achieved the total with 1 over to spare. Deepesh, Phani and Milin bowled well to restrict the strong BT batting. With this win, Bridges have shown that they belong in Pool X. The next step for them will be to show some consistency. Aditya and Phani are two exciting players and Kishan has done a great job with this team. I hope they continue their winning ways and make this league more exciting and competitive. They play Strikers this week in another sure to be exciting Pool X game. I tell you this is the most interesting week in Pool X so far. It will be interesting to see how Aditya and Phani will handle Parthiv and co. Based on their current form, I pick Bridges in a close fought game. A lot will depend on how Phani is used in this game - as a bowler. 55-45 Bridges.
7	Strikers	This is their second loss in a row. They were missing Parthiv, but good teams know how to win without their best players. Tushar and Amitabh gave a few runs too many and Abhishek and Jegan were the only players in double figures. Strikers' strength is their bowling and they should've been able to stop Glads with all the fire power they've. They play bridges in the next game and have to find a way to stop the slide.
8	Stars	Stars have definitely impressed me this week. They played their best bowling side against GLCC and did a great job. The old horse Ravi was at his best and was supported well by Yogesh and Prasanna. Yogesh hardly bowled a bad ball and took an exceptional catch during the game. The fact that they were able to score 88 runs even after 4 of their batsmen were out without scoring says a lot about their batting. Nimesh gave GLCC a scare and was excellent towards the end of the game putting together close to 30 runs with last two batsmen. Their fight has put them at #8, ahead of RBCC but will need to win at least a game to stay there. They've a BYE week.
9	RBCC	Shastry was brilliant with the ball and was well supported by Vikas and Venkat, but for the most part RBCC were disappointing. They were bundled out for 55 even when Gautham, Binod and Jeet didn't bowl a ball. To make it worse they were able to run 3 batsmen out, one of which was their best batsman Vikas. It is not really a matter of concerns in terms of playoffs since all teams from Pool X make it to playoffs, but if they want to go deep in playoffs, they've to use the bye week to rethink their strategy and start making necessary adjustments. They too have a BYE this week.

My Spirit of Cricket - By SP

Dear Cricket Lovers,
Who are we ? What are we? Why are we here? Have you ever asked these questions for yourselves?
Yes, we are simple, intelligent, most advanced creatures in this world. Who has the power to control anything?

Do you know "Darwin's theory, Survival of fittest ". We human beings have struggled so hard to come up to this stage. Now are we really utilizing the "complete of us"?

Ofcourse, since childhood, we studied, became matured, gained wisdom, knowledge, married, leading a happy family. Is that all ? Is that enough.

No, every one has their own goals set in their lives. To reach some heights. To achieve some thing. To raise their kids in a best peaceful environment, to raise them to a level that is equal or more to what you have achieved so far. Isn't it ?

Ok, what is this got with Cricket. Coming to the point.
To achieve the above goals one should play "Games/Sport" in you're life. Now you may ask why?

Game/sport is one that differentiates you from other human beings, other living things in this World. It builds confidence in you, it builds courage. It will help increase your community

Game/Sport are nothing but "WARS" in olden age, medieval age, which slowly transformed into "these sophisticated sports like "Cricket, Basketball, Soccer, Foot ball, Oh you name. it. These Olympics, Asian Game are all "WARS", all "Cold WARS" between countries.

Why I am telling all this, who am I to tell this, do I have right to tell this. Oh Ya.

I am a good/simple Sports man. I, play lot of sports/games .Of all the Games, I love Cricket. Since my childhood, I played Cricket a lot. Galli, Street Cricket, Real cricket in good grounds

Ya, studies, College did take over it. But in College I did play and was known for it. ie as a good Cricket player.

Later Job, Family, took over certain time. But the passion for Cricket, love for the game didn't leave the heart. So again since 2000 started playing 'Cricket'.

Gathered Friends formed a team "A" which is flying with beautiful colors. And later the group has increased so much formed another Team "B" which is also as good as the other, and running it as a Captain for that, and playing a major role in running a league.

Well these Cricket games so far played (many many of them) are not just played to "Play" sake. When I play, I play with heart, I play with Spirit. I play for a win, with fun and professionalism. The moments are talked about for years and years yesterday, today, tomorrow!!!

The happiness you get when you play as a team and WIN against some tough teams and win against un-predictable "matches" are in-valuable, precious!!!

How to achieve it? It comes with great patience, confidence and courage.

A Cricket Match is won as a Team, but not just with players. A team is like "sticks" and Captain is like a "Rope", who binds all the sticks which cannot be broken

Follow the captain, don't question but give suggestion. Trust him, listen to him do as he says and "just enjoy the game". Take deep breath and have fun on the ground. Forget about the external world, just be in your selves on the ground.

Every run you save is a run you score. Every catch you take is wicket in your pocket.

We, who are playing this game are given an opportunity, of all the others who doesn't have this. So use when you get it.

Chemical bonding theory: Everything is this world is some form of Chemical bond. Organic compound. We who are in a "Team" got separated from some millions of years ago and are here today united, again "in this Team"

Think, like why are we 20 or 30 are in this team, why not others. Answer: isn't there a strong bond to see.

So, Let us play and "WIN WARS", WIN the game of Cricket"

Thank you for reading this. Good Luck & All the best
From a Passionate Cricket Lover
-SP

Monday Blues

Weekend belongs to Lansing boys {gladiators and Bridges} after impressive wins respectively. Great job guys, you guys brought much required glory to Pool-X.

GLCC (102/7 in 25 overs) beat Stars (88/10 in 24 overs)
Stars lost the match but not the pride, they almost won the match.

Indus (134/6 in 25 overs) beat DarkHorses (47/10 in 15.1 overs)
As expected DH lost with big margin.

Megabytes (111all out in 23.4 overs) beat RoyalBlues (55/10 in 21.4 overs)
RBCC lost as expected, I don’t think there is any team that can beat Megs this year.

Gladiators (99/4 in 18.4 overs) beat Strikers (96/10 in 23.2 overs)
Strikers have one of the best attacks and gladiators chased closed to 100 in 19 overs, great job Gladiators.

Bridges (96/6 in 19 overs) beat Brownstown (95/8 in 20 overs)
Its time for respect, and Bridges won it.

Greens Vs Beavers
Thanks beavers for being part of DCL, we miss you guys.

Tigers Vs Lions

Forfeiting is not acceptable, DCL committee needs to address this ASAP


Falcons (179/5 in 25 overs) beat Spiders (91all out in 17 overs)

As expected totally dominated by Falcons.

PTS Vs VisionPhoenix

Sources informed me that PTS won with big margin, PTS scored close to 150 and VP close to 90. Excellent stuff from PTS.