Such are the vagaries of life and possibly very much so in sport, that when everything seems to be on track, a road-block is definitely waiting for you around the corner.
Well, VVIP Uttar Pradesh hit this road-block in the form of Mumbai Champions last night, who rather convincingly brought the VVIP express to a grinding halt with their eight-wicket thrashing vetted out to UP.
This after Uttar Pradesh had won their first three games on the bounce and were soaring with confidence galore.
The win by the Sehwag-led Mumbai was so comprehensive, that it not only dented VVIP but also got them thinking about getting their socks up when they encounter opponents with equal pedigree.
So, lets dive into how this scintillating game unfolded in Mumbai’s favour:
Mumbai dent VVIP early with quick wickets
Suresh Raina, the VVIP Uttar Pradesh commander, won the toss and chose to bat. In so doing, he hoped for the same mantra to pay dividends of pilling up big scores in excess of 200, which had worked for them earlier.
Alas, this time the almighty and more so Mumbai had other plans as they dented UP early reducing them to 31 for 4 in the powerplay with Peter Trego and Afroz Khan claiming two wickets apiece.
The cream of UP’s batting in Bhanu Seth, Pawan Negi and Suresh Raina were all skittled prematurely much to the healthy crowd’s dismay, that had gathered for this game of epic proportions.
Anshul Kapoor plays the rescue act well for Uttar Pradesh
Having seen atrocities in the form of Trego and Khan, the reeling Uttar Pradesh side needed a savior.
Well, Anshul Kapoor answered the call with much confidence as he not only steadied the innings initially, but also went for the charge as the game progressed with a purposeful 87 of 59 balls comprising of seven fours and four maximums.
He was ably supported by the lower order in Rohit Shrivastava and Puneet Bisht who ensured VVIP Uttar Pradesh mount a rather respectable score of 176 in their allotted 20 overs.
As the curtains drew on their innings, the question on everyone’s mind was would this be enough?
The answer was about to unfold.
The Mumbai Champions make quick work of the target courtesy Abhishek Jhunjhunwala’s heroics
From the get go, Mumbai showed much vigor in their resolve to chase this target down as captain Sehwag and the Englishman Phil Mustard got the innings off to a steady start putting on 63 together for the first wicket.
With the foundation laid, the charge was inevitable and that came from the bat of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala who the blasted the VVIP Uttar Pradesh bowling to all corners of the park, en route to mounting a scintillating 69 of just 38 deliveries with seven fours and three maximums.
He was ably supported by Peter Trego in chasing the target down, who himself scored 41 of 29 complemented by his two wickets earning him the player of the match.
Despite this setback, VVIP Uttar Pradesh, who just hours back lost by 8 wickets, still find themselves second on the league table and with the semifinal place all but guaranteed, it’s imperative they take this road-block as not a setback but a lesson to soar further with much intent, which they have demonstrated in abundance until now.
The question, can they continue with this intent as the IVPL reaches its business end?
Well, if you are a VVIP Uttar Pradesh fan, you would surely hope so.
image source– vviputtarpradesh (Instagram handle)
