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 !!