Dainik Bhaskar AMCL 2010: Jagran, Advert Communications, Outlook, MPG, Bhaskar, NewsX start on a winning note

Fog continued to disrupt play in Delhi in the second Dainik Bhaskar Agency Media and Cricket League (AMCL) 2010 tournament. Just like last week, the quota of 10 overs per side was reduced to eight, owing to delayed start due to heavy fog cover.

In the first match of the day at the Venkateswara College Cricket Ground, Interactive Avenues was up against Advert Communications. Advert won the toss and decided to field first.

After a watchful first over, Interactive Avenues' openers came into their own in the second, hitting three boundaries off left arm seamer, Ravish Lohia.

The run rate dropped after that wicket, as Interactive managed 26 runs at the end of the fourth over.

Interactive Avenues showed some aggression after the half stage, with opener Prem Kumar hitting some delectable boundaries on the off side. Prem remained not-out on 35 off 21 balls, with six hits to the fence. At the end of eight overs, Interactive Avenues set Advert Communications a target of 68 runs to win the match.

Advert Communications had an explosive start -- after 2 runs in the first over, it never looked back. Rishabh's was the only wicket to fall, scoring 16 off just 4 balls.

Anjeev remained not-out on 34, while Lokesh was unbeaten on 7, as Advert Communications achieved the target in 4.1 overs.

In the second match, Dainik Jagran faced Starcom. Starcom won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Sachin and Raghu laid a solid foundation, scoring 20 in the first two overs. Sachin used the long handle in the second over, lofting bowler Kunal over his head for a straight six.

However, Sachin was clean bowled in the next over by Daboo, as Jagran enjoyed its first success of the day. Starcom soon lost Raghu too, and the fall of wickets pulled down the scoring rate.

Faizan, in particular, bowled a tight spell, also picking up two wickets for Jagran. However, some loose fielding and 18 extras in all helped Starcom reach a total of 75 for 6 in 8 overs.

Chasing 76 to win, Jagran was helped by some wayward bowling from Gautam, who bowled five wides in the very first over. Batsman Lokesh, however, was clearly out of sorts, as he repeatedly failed to connect. He was sent back by Shishir for duck, after having consumed eight deliveries.

However, Starcom was handing out extras generously, conceding 16 in the first three overs. At 50 for 2 after five overs, the match was poised for a tight finish. Kunal picked two boundaries in the fifth over -- that left 12 runs to be scored in the last two overs.

Jagran seemed to be cruising to victory, but two run-outs, including that of Kunal, in the penultimate over somewhat stalled their pace. However, only four runs were required in the last over. Jagran managed to record that safely for a four-wicket win over Starcom.

By the time the third match started, light had started to fade and thick fog had begun to descend at the Venkateswara Cricket Grounds.

Zenith Optimedia (ZO) were put in to bat by Outlook India, and their poor batting didn't exactly charge up the dressing room.

In the second over, Outlook seamer Vijay took wickets on the fifth and sixth ball, to give his side a good start. In the very next over, Rajwant cleaned up Sanjay, which left ZO tottering at 27 for 3 after three overs.

However, the worst was yet to come for ZO, as it lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to put up any decent partnership. Vishal took three wickets in just five balls to bundle out the opposition for a paltry score of 37 in the fifth over.

Vishal had a bowling figure of 0.5-6-3, while Vijay's figures were 2-11-3.

Defending a modest total, ZO needed some tight bowling. But Outlook captain, Pankaj started with a boundary on the very first ball. Outlook garnered 15 runs in the opening over.

There was no problem whatsoever for Outlook openers Pankaj Jaiswal (19 runs, 8balls, 4x4) and Rajwant (16 runs, 10 balls, 3x4), as they guided their team to an emphatic win in the third over itself.

In the last match of the day, Dainik Bhaskar faced Interactive Avenues, which played its second match of the day. This match was stipulated for 10 overs, as it started on time.

Batting first, Interactive Avenues lost opener, Prem, in the first over itself. (Incidentally, Prem, with 35 runs, was the highest scorer in Interactive Avenues' first match against Advert.) However, Nikhil and Karan steadied the ship, taking some calculated risks. The duo took the score to 45 by the fifth over.

Though Karan fell at 9, Nikhil carried on from the other end, hitting a huge six in the sixth over. Nikhil fell trying to clear the boundary once again. He scored 38 off 20 balls, with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Abhishek took over from Nikhil and did the bulk of the scoring thereafter. His 22 off 17 balls, with three hits to the fence, took Interactive Avenues to a healthy total of 88 for 6 in 10 overs.

In response, Dainik Bhaskar had a great opening, as Lalit and Govind put up 69 runs for the first wicket, before Lalit was run-out for 29. Extras were once again Interactive's weak point, as the team conceded 21 wides and a bye.

Though Bhaskar lost Govind in the same over too, it was 'too little too late' for Interactive, and they lost their second match too. Lokesh remained not-out on 5, while Vikas was unbeaten on 11.

Another four matches were played at the Kamla Nehru College Grounds on Saturday.

In the first match, Wunderman International played against Pioneer Publicity. Batting first, Pioneer Publicity scored 98 in 10 overs. Wunderman comfortably chased the target, losing just one wicket. Tarun Khurana was the highest scorer with 45 runs.

In the second match, Mercantile won a walkover against Group M, as the latter didn't turn up on time.

In the third match, Kermatech Media scored 69, batting against MPG. However, MPG easily chased the target, losing just one wicket.

The fourth match, between NewsX and Wunderman International, was a high scoring match. Solid batting display by NewsX helped it get past Wunderman International. Helped by 61 from Kashif Iqbal and 71 from Manoj Kumar, NewsX amassed 157 in 10 overs.

Wunderman kept up the scoring rate and was in the chase with help from Vivek, who scored 45. However, in the end, the team fell short by 20 runs.

For score details, click here.

Dainik Bhaskar AMCL-2010 is being supported by associate sponsors including Open Media, STAR News and All Sports Magazine. Radio partner for the cricket tournament is Red FM and outdoor partner is Bright Outdoor Media. Online support to the AMCL-2010 has been extended by Cricketnirvana.com.