A picture is worth a 1000 words !!

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words (not sure why only thousand words, why not a million or a even more. Does one get tired after 1000 words? What if its a very high resolution picture? Is it still worth only 1000 words? I believe that they have to revise the proportion of the words against the picture in today's world of high quality/resolution digital cameras).

Anyways, here is a picture that I believe is worth a lot more than that. This is Shobhit sending the ball for a six over long-off in the match against Achanak.

Check out the Redbirds 2009 CICA tournament gallery by clicking here.

ISU Redbirds Cricket website in the works.

A new website for the ISU Redbirds cricket team is in the works. Check back here for more details !!

The journey so far in the 2009 season !!

ISU Redbirds have made it to the Super 12 stage of the 2009 CICA tournament. For the most part, the Redbirds had a good outing in the first stage and have taken a lot of positives going into the more competitive Super 12 stage. They will face off with Victors, Takatak, Yodhas, Mustangs and Chanakya during this round over a course of five week period.

It was mixed bag for the Redbirds throughout the Super 12 stage. While the Redbirds completely dominated during a few matches, they found themselves in a perilous situation in one match and were challenged by a couple of teams in back-to-back losing encounters.

Redbirds started this season with a thumping victory over Jugaad during which they piled up a massive 116 runs from the allotted 16 overs. Redbirds' new opener, Aditya Shahi played a patient and skilled knock to get to his 48 from 44 balls and provide a solid foundation for the Redbirds. The middle order pithced in and along with hard hitting from Talha Ashraf, the Redbirds were able to set an imposing target. They dominated with the bowling as well and were able to clean up Jugaad for a small score, there by earning the Redbirds the first victory and also securing the much needed run-rate.

In their next outing against Sloggers, Redbirds posted a modest 73 from their 16 overs owing to runs from Aditya and Venu. The Redbirds bowled with great skill and had the Sloggers in trouble. Redbirds continued to have their strong hold on Sloggers until the final stages of the match, during which one of the batsmen turned out to be a "slogger". However, with some deft field placement and execution by Mayank Saraswat, Redbirds won by 6 runs to earn 2 more point taking their tally to 4 points from 2 matches.

Redbirds were to play Brahmos in their third match. Redbirds won the toss and decided to bowl, and that is when the match took a bizarre turn. The opposition captain refused to play the game after the Redbirds won the toss and chose to bowl. The reason cited was bad weather and soggy outfield. After much deliberation and argument, the captain of Brahmos, Chetan Dashora, agreed to play the match if the decision of the toss win was reversed and the Redbirds agreed to bat first instead of Brahmos. Redbirds sportively agreed to this and the game was on.

Redbirds scored a competitive 88 from their 16 overs and started taking wickets from the first over itself. Every bowler contributed and captain Imran Khan took wickets off the first two deliveries of his season aided by some brilliant catching behind the stumps by Piyush Agarwal. Redbirds won the match comfortably agaisnt all odds with a 47 run margin, thereby earning 2 more points and enhancing the run-rate as well. After this game the Redbirds has 6 points from 3 games.

Redbirds faced off against the talented Bloomboys and scored a modest 83 from their 16 overs while batting first. With only a couple of contributions with the bat, the Redbrids found themselves defending a relatively smaller total against a good batting side. Redbirds' bowlers came to the party again and started taking wickets at regular intervals. Mayank Saraswat stood out with his performance taking 4 wickets for 24 runs from his 4 overs. Vinnu Arige of Bloomboys played a captain's knock and saw them home in the final with a mighty six, handing the Redbirds their first loss of the season. At this stage the Redbrids had 6 points from 4 games.

In their fifth game of the season, Redbirds were meeting the might Achanak, a team that had not remained unbeaten in the tournament so far, but had also won every game in a comprehensive manner. After losing Aditya and Venu early on, Shobhit Kasliwal and Mayank dug in their heels for a terrific 55 run partnership off of 50 balls. However, a middle order collapse and a match turning over by Dushyant Singh (during which he claimed 3 wickets), meant the redbirds were restricted to only 83 from their 16 overs. Redbirds bowled well again with Sanjay Shrivastava taking out opener Parag Pawar in the first over itself. Even though the Redbirds kept taking wicket consistently, they gave away quite a few extras and Debashish Pal played with an unparalleled dynamism, making 44 runs from 32 balls and saw Achanak home in the final over.

After 2 back-to-back losses, Redbirds were at the dangerof not being able to make it to Super 12 stage. However a very healthy run-rate and Waves losing their match agaisnt Bloomboys shifted the balance in the favor of Redbirds.

Redbirds took on Waves in their final match of the first stage. Redbirds started their domination from the first over itself, with Imran getting rid of opener Vishal in the first over itself. Rohan Jaion produced some amazing moments, claiming 3 wickets in one over and Venu cleaned up the tail in the 12th over, thereby restricting Waves to only 50 runs. Redbirds started their chase by losing their openers, Shobhit and Talha in quick succession and losing Venu very soon thereafter. However, Aditya stood his ground and scored a swift 31 from 31 balls along with Imran on the other end and fell just before they reached the targer. Mayank and Imran saw the Redbirds through, earning them the much needed 2 points and also a spot in the Super 12 stage.

With 8 points from 6 matches and a solid run-rate, the Redbirds are positioned at A2 and will encounter the new team from Bradley University, Victors. Victors have performed exceedingly well in the first stage of the tournament and topped the group B, losing only one match and tying another close fought contest.

The Redbirds are fired up and are looking forward to some competitive cricket and more wins !!

GO REDBIRDS !!

A video recap of 2008 !!

A video recap of some awesome Redbirds Moments from the 2008 CICA season !!

A recap of 2008 !

The Redbirds started their second CICA campaign in 2008, after a forgettable exit in the 2007 edition. The Redbirds were a new looking side with only five players from the year before in the line-up. Several new faces showed up in the playing XI and brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the group.

Redbirds started their 2008 tournament by taking on their peers from the other side of 74 - the Bradley Braves. Redbirds won the match in a clinical manner by beating Braves in a low scoring affair. Some of the new faces made a mark for themselves. Sandeep, Sanjay, Venu and Shobhit bowled extremely well on this windy morning to restrict the Braves. Piyush batted well with last year's veteran Varun to provide and excellent start to the Redbirds on their way to win the game.

The next match however was pretty much a one-sided affair. Redbrids took on Peoria XI and Peoria XI advantage of the slightly nervous Redbirds lineup. Peoria XI avenged their last ball defeat against Redbirds in 2007 by amassing hundred plus runs. The Redbirds batting line up fell apart rather cheaply scoring only about half of the required runs.

After that Redbirds took on Kalinga Warriors and clinically wiped them out in a low scoring affair once again. The bowler took on the Kalinga batsmen getting them bundled up for a little over forty runs. Venu, Sandeep, and Mayank performed well with the ball and the batsmen didnt take too long to chase that down.

Redbirds took on Dozers, in what turned out to be an unexpectedly close encounter. Dozers were pretty much out of the tournament at this stage and were playing the game withouth their full strength. Redbirds batted first and Venu went on a run fest, scoring a quick fire seventy plus runs. Redbirds posted 123 in their 16 overs. Dozers got off to a good start and aided by a couple of dropped catches, Dozers were on a rampage. It appeared that Dozers would chase down theit highest target of the tournament, but the Redbirds bowlers struck at regular intervals and won the match by a mere 12 runs.

Next came the most memorable of matches of both the seasons. Redbirds faced off against DCC in the following match. Being a very strong outfit, DCC were one of the favorites to win the tournament (and so they did). However, that particular match against Redbirds, was a blemish on DCC's otherwise impeccable performance. Sandeep ruined the DCC party by taking seven wickets and restricting DCC to their lowest total of the tournament. The Redbirds batsmen, Mayank and Shobhit reached the target in only seven overs, thereby comprehensively beating one of the best teams in the tournament. Everyone took notice of the Redbirds after this win and there was a lot of build up leading up to the final match of the first stage against Veterans.

Redbirds were sent in to bat first by Veterans. Redbirds posted a modest 68 against a disciplined bowling line up. Venu and Neeraj provided a strong middle-order partnership for the Redbirds. The chase by Veterans started out on a shaky note with Sanjay getting rid of the opener off the first ball. Imran got his best figures of the tournament taking three wickets of Dinesh, Vishnu and Sushil for 15 runs. Inspite of their best efforts, the target wasnt big enough for the Redbirds to defend, as Krishna played a stable knock once again and got the Veterans over the line for the umpteenth time.

Redbrids were out of the tournament after this loss on the basis of lower run-rate. Peoria XI inched ahead of the Redbirds to the Super 12 stage.

Even though this was a disappointing time to end the campaign, Redbirds took a lot of heart from their performances and also learned a lot of valuable lessons. The new players showed a lot of promise and everyone stepped up to the challenge and performed. Venu showed the CICA participants how to play the reverse switch shot on more than one occasion and caugh everyone flabbergasted. Sandeep ruined DCC's batting line up with the immaculate line and length. Mayank, Shobhit and Piyush have shown immense promise for the 2009 version. Sanjay targeted the batsmen with his short pitch balls and lead the bowling attack from the front. Rohan, Balwant, Prejil also chipped in with their performances throughout the season.

All in all, the Redbirds outfit had a memorable (or atleast DCC will remember their encounter with Redbirds) outing in the 2008 season.

Here's to looking forward to the 2009 season.

GO REDBIRDS !!

Turning the next page !!

I hate cliches and I dont like articles or thoughts that are too corny. However, its been almost two years since I have updated this blog and there is a lot to talk about or rather write about.
I will recap the 2008 Redbirds' season in my next post, but for now I am just very excited to share that the Redbirds will be a part of the CICA tournament in 2009 again. Stay tuned !!

THIS IS SPARTA...: Redbirds vs. Spartans

Detailed scorecard and videos coming soon...

On a rainy and overcast day Spartans turned in an emphatic performance to spank and thrash the Redbirds by 108 runs, the biggest margin the Redbirds have lost by and probably the biggest margin any team has lost by in the Super 12 stage this year. Sateesh and Madhu Reddy set up the victory for Spartans with rambunctious half centuries and a partnership of 119 runs for the 3rd wicket. This partnership helped Spartans amass a score of 205 from their allocated 20 overs. Kiran and Madhu wiped out any opportunities that the Redbirds might have had of chasing such a mammoth score by claiming 3 wickets each during the Spartans bowling spell.

After having moved the game to the following day, Spartans and the Redbirds took the field on Sunday morning. The Redbirds loss the toss again and Spartans elected to bat under overcast conditions. Dheeraj and Imran opened the bowling for Redbirds and failed to control the batsmen from scoring runs. The bowling was not consistent and the batsmen took advantage of this from the first over itself. Saravanan and Vijay put together an opening partnership of 46 runs for the first wicket. Imran broke the partnership again with a slower full-toss delivery that bowled Saravanan.

Sudheer was brought into the attack in the 8th over and he had Vijay caught behind as Dheeraj took a brilliant low catch moving quickly to his left. Madhu and Satheesh were at the crease after that and what happened next can only be described as the worst spanking any team could have received. They both put together a partnership 119 runs for the third wicket in 9 overs. None of the Redbirds were able to trouble these two batsmen and they scored at will hitting power shots all over the ground. Sudheer was able to break the partnership as he had Satheesh bowled on 56.

Ashish, who was playing his first game of the year for Redbirds, was brought in to bowl in the 19th over. This was the most entertaining and productive over for the Redbirds. It almost made it appear as if Ashish should have been brough on to bowl in the 9th over rather than the 19th over. He picked a wicket right off the first ball of his spell and kept doing so pretty much for the rest of the over. He picked up 4 wickets in his over and gave away only seven runs. He sent the dangaerous Madhu Reddy back by bowling him out with a slower delivery and earned the wickets of Kiran, Desigan and Joel.

However, the damage had already been done at this stage. Kedar bowled the final over in which two more batsmen were out, one to a run out and the other caught brilliantly by Imran who took the catch sprinting from wide long-on to deep mid-wicket. Deepesh closed the innings for Spartans by hitting the final ball for a six deep square leg as the Spartans raced past the 200 mark, scoring 205 from their 20 overs.

Facing a ginormous target of 206, the Redbirds lost a couple of quick wickets as both the openers, Neeraj and Kedar were out in quick succession. Dheeraj and Mani (new batsman) provided a sense of decency to the Redbirds batting with a 51 run stand for the third wicket. Except for Mani (scoring 29 from 23 balls) and Dheeraj who scored 13 runs, none of the Redbirds were able to even reach the double figures. Madhu Reddy continued his excellent form and picked up 3 wickets and was declared Man of the Match. The redbirds were bundled up for 97 runs in the 20th over and consequently lost by 108 runs, their largest margin to have ever lost by. The Redbirds were outdone by Spartans in every department on the field and the Redbirds had no answer for the attack of the Spartans !

With this loss, the Redbirds made a hurried exit from the tournament, while Spartans earned the much deserved 2 points and also the critical run-rate. This victory that the Spartans have earned by such a huge marging poses problems for Beetles now, who have to do their best in order to qualify for the semi-finals ahead of Spartans.

A few weeks ago, the Redbirds thrashed Spirit and scored 203 runs in 16 overs to storm into the Super 12 stage and now the Redbirds were thrashed by Spartans who scored 205 runs in 20 overs to storm into the semi-finals. Oh the irony...