Almost there!

Three out of four is decent. Any respectable statistician would say that this was very robust though it was not something to excite. Agreed. But in an cricket league where all kinds of "influencing without authority" happens this was pretty good. But, before we get into that part let's look at the matches:

a. Vandals vs. Challengers: Vandals is a team of over confident batsmen. Each batsman behaves like a Virat Kohli and bats like a Rohit Sharma. Almost constantly failing themselves. Anyways, they made an average score. As was expected Challengers botched it up. To say that Nanu scored the highest runs for Challengers speaks volumes about their line-up. A couple of key Challengers' players - played rash shots and got out. And when the depth in batting is limited to the couple of players, it is never a good strategy for them to get out before 10 overs are up or winning the match. Alas!

b. Intimidators vs. Raptors: Initimidators, as the misguided Akash Chopra would say, is a team of smart buys. It sounds hollow when you say it midway through the tournament. But I will still go ahead and say Damru was a smart buy. He is not one who attracted the top bids but is now the leading run scorer and leading wicket taker after two matches. Intimidators again made a high score and Raptors had to play well to win it. All that they could do was to lose almost all the wickets and score only two-thirds of the target. Betaal scored the highest but he is the kind of guy who can help you in the act, but cannot do the act himself. Takla and See-na had to be there but that did not happen.

c. Challengers vs. Ravens: It was surprising to see they turn up for the match. It was even more surprising to see them bowl well. However, as it is with Challengers, it was not surprising to see them lose. Ravens were generous in gifting away their wickets led by their captain Another Bun. However, their bowling was as good as it gets. Straight wicket to wicket bowling with good all round sledging and intimidation. Nanu was again the highest scorer for Challengers which is not a good sign at all.

d. Supernova vs. Vandals: It is easy to analyze the performance of a team when the team is represented by one player. The reasons for Supernova's loss, hence, are A. Hey Ram got out quickly. In a team where batting depth is limited to himself, it was never going to be a smart move. B. During Supernova's bowling he put a lot of pressure. But it was directed on his own players rather than the opposition. Chasing a low score Vandals batting imploded in style with Kalki, Vindaloo, Dushman and Shikari Shamboo getting out before five overs were complete. However, the 'hired' batsman (did anyone hear about him) Halanth alongwith Ghav got them out of trouble. Vindaloo, people say, let out a cry and started doing a gangnam jig as soon as they won.

Okay, so this was the breakdown of the matches for you. I should be back with Round 3 predictions and some news on Friday. Until then, take care and stay tuned!