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.