A Bad Day At The Office

1 out of 3 for the week is, admittedly, pretty poor. So in addition to the regular match highlights, I'm going to provide insightful analysis on what I missed in my predictions.

Vindaloos defeated Merchants
Two important factors swung this thrilling game away from the Merchants - HeyRam's absence (my sources had indicated that he might be available for this one), and good away support for the Vindaloos. The schedule change meant that the Village was nowhere near as intimidating as the Merchants have been able to make it so far - but more on that later. I now have only 1 out of 4 right for matches involving the Merchants. Decent consistency, but I need to work on my direction.
On the field, HeyRam2 continued to shine for the Merchants. For the Vindaloos, AnotherBun and Daffy both failed, relatively speaking, but the match was eventually won by the so-far-quiet ScoobyDooby. The man who's also called Scoobo by his FFF (Family, Friends, and Fans) stayed at the crease to guide the wobbling Vindaloos to a thrilling win. An honorable mention to Frustoo Madrasi who became the first fielder to take a catch against his own side - with sportsmanship like that, he's clearly a misfit in the Vindaloos.
So the Vindaloos remain unbeaten, and are already looking to the finals. News from FakeIPLPlayer is that the Kolkata KnightRiders are trying to secure the services of their Bangla Brigade - AnotherBun, Daffy, Scoobo and Kaddoo. All 4, however, have told Shah Rukh Khan that they will join only if Souravda is made captain. More to follow here ...
The Merchants are clearly crushed. The fact that they pretty much snatched defeat from the jaws of victory will hurt. That the Vindaloos, in spite of being the away team, still had more support also carries a message. Psychat has responded the only way he can - printing more arbitrary comments on this blog. I'd delete them, but they're funnier than my posts! The Merchants can look to the positive side though - they play the Crayditors next, and that should help them warm up for the semis nicely
On a side note - I was surprised to see yet another Radio Bharati note, in spite of the loss. I thought it was nice of her to send it. However, the opening few words - "sporting spirit of the Merchants" - almost had me fall of my chair in laughter! And going by the buzz on the floor(s), I'm not the only one. Talk about faking it! For a detailed analysis on the word "fake" and it's harmful effects on mankind, please see Saikat's comment to my last post at http://fakeaclplayer.blogspot.com/2009/07/round-4-predictions.html. It quotes someone called Encarta (new Merchant team member at the Village?)

Blackbucks defeated Taliban
This was a competitive match for the most part, but eventually ended with a comfortable Blackbucks win. My error here is pretty embarassing - I was fooled by the Taliban performance from last week, against the Anda-Bondas. Turns out it was an outlier.
On the field, RRC batted brilliantly for the Blackbucks, scoring half their total. He was well supported by B-Shoe, and this partnership pretty much won the game. While fielding too, B-Shoe was a livewire, and his sharp reflexes clearly put the Taliban under pressure. The Taliban, for their part, got themselves into trouble with their poor fielding - several catches went down, which, for them now qualifies as "meeting expectations". They then made things worse with their poor running - 2 batsman were run out in the first 2 overs. From that point on, the Blackbucks never looked back.
The match was especially noteworthy for on and off the field incidents involving the Taliban's MARshmallow. He threw quite a few tantrums while batting, fielding, and even off the pitch. I think he was just pretending to be upset, just like he (and some of the other Taliban players) have been pretending to know how to play cricket.
The Blackbucks are through, and I'm really happy for them. They're the only team that plays in the spirit of the game (for the most part, anyway), and would be deserving winners of a fair-play award, if it existed (the fact that their isn't one says something for the ACL, don't you think?). Unfortunately, it is exactly this that is going to hinder their progress in the semis.
The Taliban are, well, pretty much out of the semis. Mathematically, they can still make it - all they need is a huge win over the unbeaten Vindaloos, coupled with other results going their way. Practically, I think an ice cube would have a better chance of surviving a hot day in hell.

Anda-Bondas defeated Crayditors
My only correct prediction for the week, and as you'll all agree, the easiest one of the three.
On the field, Supari Gupta succumbed to the menacing Crayditor bowling - hahaha, that would be funny if it were true, wouldn't it? Well, but he didn't do much today. Instead, KaaliZabaan held the innings together, and outscored the entire Crayditors batting line-up himself. It seems KZ now has a new motto - KZ ka bas ek hi vaada, sledging kam cricket zyaada.
Craydit surprised everyone by playing this do-or-die encounter himself. Not like he had a choice - both Peda and Dushman refused to play today. They have realised that the Crayditors are a lost cause, and have started focusing on "leadership" items - endless meetings, "strategic" discussions, statuses, templates, presentations etc.
The match itself was pretty boring to watch - hardly any big hitting, no exciting finish, nothing. It would have helped if the Crayditors had followed my advice and not wasted people's time on a foregone result.
The Anda-Bondas have now all but sewn up second place, and will feel good going into the finals. Make no mistake though - today's performance highlighted their weaknesses for any opponents who were watching. The fact that they still won says a lot for the inability of their opponents to capitalize.
The Crayditors are now out of the ACL semis. On the positive side, they are the first side to qualify to watch the semis from the sidelines. Bravo! They now face the tough task of picking themselves up and heading to the Village to play their last match, knowing that they have nothing to play for, not even pride.