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.