JOIN USLazarus fifty fuels Brigadiers
In a contest remarkable for the similarity in the starts to both innings, the knock of the match indisputably came from Steve Lazarus, whose frenetic 70 (34b, 4x4, 6x6) was the difference between the sides.
Opting to bat, Provident were rocked by David Mathias and slipped to 20 for three before the calm of Sunil Kumar Jain, the versatility of skipper B Akhil and the flaming willow of Aniruddha Joshi helped them post a more than competitive 162 for five.
NC Aiyappa got Provident off to a dream start, accounting for the top three Brigadiers batsmen – including Robin Uthappa for a second-ball duck – to reduce them to 18 for three.
An embarrassing loss loomed when that became 36 for four before the pint-sized Lazarus lay into the Provident bowling with ill-concealed glee, taking his team to the threshold of victory before perishing in the deep.
Not without a few hiccups, the Brigadiers eventually rolled over the line, reaching 166 for seven with four deliveries to spare.
As wonderfully well as Jain and Akhil played earlier in the evening, no praise can be too high for the manner in which the left-handed Lazarus masterminded the Brigadiers’ onslaught.
Having started his career as a left-arm medium-pacer, Lazarus now bowls occasional left-arm spin, but there was nothing occasional about the regularity with which he deposited the white ball over the boundary ropes.
With a phlegmatic skipper Deepak Chougule for company, Lazarus totally dominated the fifth-wicket stand of 52 (34b), then played the lead hand in guiding M Vinod during a sixth-wicket association worth 44 (21b). Vinu Prasad held his nerve towards the end even as Provident lost theirs to fashion a victory that clearly meant a lot to the Brigadiers, who celebrated with abandon. Their celebrations had begun early on as Provident lost two wickets in the first seven deliveries, and limped to 42 for three at the strategy break. Upon resumption, Akhil (55, 37b, 4x4, 3x6) cut loose and Jain (59, 54b, 5x4, 1x6) batted with tremendous poise as 97 (67b) came for the fourth wicket.
Joshi lashed 36 in 13 deliveries (3x4, 3x6) so that 120 were amassed in the last ten overs. Just not enough on this day, though.
SCOREBOARD
PROVIDENT BANGALORE:
MK Manjunath b Sagar 0, Thilak Naidu c Shekhawat b Mathias 1, Amit Verma c Kirmani b Mathias 1, Sunil Kumar Jain b Mathias 59, B Akhil c Shekhawat b Prasad 55, Aniruddha Joshi (not out) 36, NC Aiyappa (not out) 1. Extras (LB-4, W-5) 9. Total (for 5 wkts, 20 overs) 162.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-3, 3-20, 4-117, 5-156.
Bowling: Dilip Sagar 3-0-22-1, David Mathias 4-1-21-3, M Vinod 4-0-27-0, Vinu Prasad 3-0-24-1, Robin Uthappa 2-0-18-0, Deepak Chougule 1-0-16-0, Steve Lazarus 3-0-30-0.
BANGALORE BRIGADIERS:
CB Karthik b Aiyappa 4, KL Rahul c Katti b Aiyappa 11, Robin Uthappa c Katti b Aiyappa 0, Deepak Chougule c Jain b Jagadeesh 23, Nishant Shekhawat c Naidu b Akhil 6, Steve Lazarus c Akhil b Katti 70, M Vinod b Katti 22, Vinu Prasad (not out) 17, David Mathias (not out) 1. Extras (B-2, LB-4, W-6) 12. Total (for 7 wkts, 19.2 overs) 166.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-17, 3-18, 4-36, 5-88, 6-132, 7-152.
Bowling: NC Aiyappa 3.2-0-26-3, Sunil Kumar DH 4-0-27-0, L Jagadeesh 2-0-22-1, B Akhil 4-0-20-1, Sarfaraz Ashraf 1-0-8-0, Anand Katti 3-0-33-2, Aniruddha Joshi 2-0-24-0.