Result: TITANS lost by 57 runs

First game of the season. A strong bowling lineup. Batting which goes till the tail. 5 debutants filled with enthusiasm and instinct to kill. None of this could stop a major debacle of TITANS by 2002 DCL winners Temptations. Hit for a four on the very first ball. Let the opposition score 80 runs on a bowlers friendly pitch. Losing 5 wickets under 10 runs and eventually getting all-out for 23. 5 ducks and just 10 runs off bat??? Not a very auspicious start of the season. TITANS, betted as one of the team to top Pool B, didnot live upto its expectations. Well, its not that TITANS never had its moments. And few odd decisions gone against us, the game was not as bad as the score sounds.

Temptations won the toss and elected to bat. TITANS cleverly chose that ground to play since its a bowlers paradise, but forgot that batting second on that pitch against even descent bowling is sucide, which pretty much we did. Vijay opened the bowling for TITANS and started with a full toss which was duly dispatched to the boundary. 6 runs came of that over. Bhaskar opened bowling with Vijay. He tied the batsmen for a while before the opener trying to go big, hit him over long on where Bhuvan made that skier catch look so simple. Vijay immediately turned towards his reliable bowler Krishna who replace him in the 3rd over, to captalize on the situation. But it was a while before TITANS tasted the second wicket. Not until Bhuvan took over from Krishna. He produced a beauty around the stumps, inviting the batsman to play too early and shattered the furniture behind. Vinay started bowling tight from other side. The batsmen were hitting anything short or full toss. Vinay used their strategy against them bowling a low full toss on middle stump which the batsman as expected lofted towards the boundary where Shreeraj did the needful. When Temptations went for break after 13 overs, they were 59 for 4, a very good situation. After the break TITANS came back big time showing why their bowling is so fearsome. Bhuvan started the proceedings by bowling a superb delivery coming from leg and brushed past the off stump. Nobody but the wicket keeper and the scorer noticed that the batsmen was actually bowled. Bhaskar then got rid of Joy who has started looking dangerous, caught by Abhay, score 75/6. Bhaskar got another one in the same over when Nilesh was found plumped, Bhaskar's 4th, score 75/7. Krishna bowled a slower one and Madan returned the simplest of the catch back to Krishna. 76/8. Vijay cleaned up the innings in the 18th over getting last two wickets caught at gulley by Chetan, one of them was a good diving catch. Temptations all out for 80.

TITANS have always believed that if a team could score 80 against a bowling like us, we can always beat that score. It was just a matter of proving what we believe. I guess this was not the game to prove anything. Shreeraj and Sunil opened the innings for TITANS, Sunil getting a single right away. Shreeraj was caught behind on the 3rd delivery of the over. After that TITANS didnot look forward. Abhay in the next over was unfortunately given caught behind when the ball just took edge of his trousers to the keeper. Umpire thought otherwise. Apparently that was the day of unfortunate events. Score 3/2. Srinivas was caught at point in the very same over. Score 5/3 1.5 overs. Krishna was next to go when he tried to drive towards cover, but the ball took height and went too fast towards the cover fielder who dived in front to finish an amazing catch. Score 6/4. Sunil was steadily taking singles until then. Changing the batting order, Vijay took the responsibilty on his shoulders and went to bat. He actually showed rest of the TITANS how to stay at the wicket. So TITANS didnot lose any wicket for another 3 overs.. Well didnot add to much to the score either. Sunil finally lost patience and tried to slog over covers, but Francis was in no mood of letting anything pass by him and he ran towards the ball and plucked it from the air just before the boundary. Score 9/5. Chetan came in and was bowled in the same over trying to stir the ball on off which came in too fast. 5th duck of the day. Vijay was next to go when he read a full toss too late which landed on his thigh thus getting LBW. Score 15/7. Bhaskar played some sensible cricket but was caught by TITANS nemesis, Francis at covers again. Vinay came in and immediately got Abhilash run out and got bowled in the next over. So TITANS innings came to an end in 10.1 overs scoring 23 runs which included 13 extras.

Well it was one of those games where the whole team failed. Every single one of us did something wrong. Its being Vijay's first DCL game as captain, it will not add too much to his confidence, but lot of brownie points for trying with very good bowling changes and the batting effort in the middle order to get some respectable score.

As they Say, "The final result of the war is not decided on the basis of first day's battle.". So guys, the WAR is on, and losing a single battle doesnot mean that we cannot win the Final WAR. GO TITANS.


Turning Point of the match : "Abhay was given caught behind on a ball which brushed past his trousers. Umpire gave him out, and thats started the TITANS downfall."