Main Umpire: Ron Knight Leg Umpire: Batting side
Report:
Battle of the colleges – The Wolf preys on the Hokie.
On what looked like a gloomy, overcast day, NC State took on Virginia tech at
Blacksburg trying to improvise on its 7 and 1 record. With a long drive, few
hours of sleep, an anti-climax “continental “breakfast and yet another lost toss
behind them, the wolfpack took to the field with one weary eye looking up at the
sky following the disappointing wash out of the previous match. Rustiness showed
on the player’s during the pre-match fielding warm up which was a cause for
slight concerns for some players. The new ball was given to Amit Chopra this
time instead of Abhishek. Owing to the size of the field, good overs were
repeatedly being spoilt with the loose balls being dispatched/slogged for
maximum. The size of the field was a little disappointing as is evident from the
fact that 15 sixes were hit compared to the 11 boundaries. Amit got the first
breakthrough in the 3rd over making Azhar drive a beautiful outswinger only to
edge it to gully where Vinay took a comfortable ca!
tch. Ankur was the next man in. He took his chances and hit some real meaty
shots before holding out to Abhishek at long on of the bowling of Vamsee. NCSU
got another wicket (lucky break) just before drinks when Nikhil took a good
catch at the mid wicket boundary to dismiss Anirudh off Krishnan’s bowling. Yet
at the interval, CCVT were comfortable at 83/3 after 15 overs. And yet again
NCSU bowlers stifled the batting side from overs 15 to 25. Nikhil and Nihar as
usual put in inspired spells frustrating the batsmen with a nagging line and
length and movement of the pitch. Nihar’s parsimony with runs continued as he
gave up 10 runs in his quota of 6 taking 3 wickets including the important scalp
of Kunal who was looking good at 30 but was comprehensively bowled. The bowler’s
were ably supported by some good fielding and catching and Krishnakant neatly
tied and wrapped the CCVT batting line-up with his fiery spell at 123 in the
25th over.
After a short break, NCSU embarked on a run chase of what seemed an easy total.
However Amit was soon back being bowled by a scorcher from Azeem. Vinay and
Vishwas tried to steady the innings from there on. Vishwas, contrary to his
usual self decided to drop anchor while Vinay tried his luck with the long
handle. The score moved to 63 when Vinay completely missed the line of a ball
and was bowled by Kunal. Incame Vamsee, who looked comfortable till he edged one
off the bowling of Ashwin to the keeper. Sushil followed suit almost immediately
when he kicked the ball to the stumps. And ever so suddenly the tide of the game
changed. The hokies were sensing blood and the wolf jitters. Azeem was virtually
unplayable with his pace and the pitch’s unpredictable nature. However his
failed effort to catch a skier by Abhishek changed everything and from there on
Abhishek stubbed all jitter’s with 3 quick long sixes and quickly got the game
over with. Vishwas remained unbeaten at the o!
ther end on 29, an innings of character and maturity which was the call of the
day. The score card betrays the actual nature of the game which was closely and
highly competitively fought. A wicket here and there and the game could have
gone either way. However a good match and a tough hard fought win for the
Wolfpack and at the end of the day, 8-1-1.