Contribution by :Anirudh Sareen
Player T.R.A.
Div A (2014-16)
Ten days into the In”D”ependence Cup the picture was clear; pool stage was over, the teams were settled, the stage was set for the semifinals. After a lot been said and done on and off the field it was time for showdown; the second semifinal between the Heavy weights Div- D and the Gutsy T.R.A (The Rampant Assassins) – Div A the most hyped match. T.R.A captain Nikhil Nambiar after winning the toss, elected to bat first putting both the teams in their favorable positions. SJ and Sareen once again set the tone for a complacent total and were forced to not take any risks as the runs were flowing in form of extras. The ground was ready for Sachin to hit the ball out of the park once Sareen left the crease in the seventh over. Two mighty blows to the lead bowler Tandon saw some energy exchange happening and T.R.A reaching to a respectable total.
Nikhil as always started the attack from bowling end and gave the first blow to Div D in form of KK. Much to the astonishment of the crowd Div A was completely quiet on the field as they decided to let their skills do the talking and their major weapon (known as sledging) took a side seat. Even the opposition were amazed and confused with this kind of a tactic from always passionate T.R.A. The star batsman for Div D Gaganjot showed some flair by hitting an impressive six before perishing to the heroics of Maula who’s direct hit saw Gagan walk back without contributing much. Five overs ten runs scored and in the next five more than 11 runs per over required it was a tough task ahead. To add to their woes Ashu took a beautifully judged catch and sent Tandon packing. Rachit who was quiet up till now suddenly switched on the Bahubali mode and hit some balls out of the park but a superb decision by captain marvel Nikhil, to bring himself on for the 9th over, made the contest interesting leaving Div D with 20 runs to get in the last over. Even the two boundaries of the first two balls of SJ’s over could not dampen the spirits and it was T.R.A all around the ground. True sportsman spirit and a display of team play was demonstrated gracefully by the finalists and were ready to assassin and roar in the final.
