Houston Rattlers won the TCC Taped Ball Tournament – Fall 2012 by defeating Gladiators in a match dominated by bowling backed up by excellent fielding from both sides. It was a rematch of the Spring final 2012. The final was a unique one as Gladiators were defending the title (it does not happen often) and Rattlers were in a final for the third tournament in a row.

It was a perfect day for the finals with temperatures in late 60’s. Rattlers won the toss and elected to bat first. Gladiators got the early wicket of Ajay. Vinod (39) and Satish (6) batted sensibly to lend stability to the innings. Vinod dominated the partnership and hit a couple of boundaries. The score was 47/2 in 10 overs. Soon after the break, Rattlers lost quick wickets of Vinod (39) and Mahesh (9) trying to accelerate. Manik was run out due to pressure built by tight bowling by Gladiators backed up by excellent fielding. The run rate was hovering around 4 runs per over till the 15th over. The lower middle order showed up at the right time. Ashwin (11) kept the momentum going before getting run out. Adhi (18) batted brilliantly taking the attack to the bowlers. He was ably supported by Senthil (9) who batted intelligently and got the runs with minimum risk. Sai and R Mahesh ably supported him. The run rate improved and the score at the end of 20 overs was a competitive 106/9. Ninad (3 for 19), Vinit (2 for 17) and Ketul (2 for 14) were the pick of the bowlers for Gladiators.

Gladiators started the chase positively with Vinit hitting a boundary of the first ball, however a brilliant fielding and direct hit by Adhi in point caught non-striker Amrish short of the crease. Sai, though wicket less gave only 15 runs and finished his 4 overs in the first 10. Vinit (18) got runout attempting a risky single. After 10 overs, Gladiators were 43/3, requiring another 65 in 60 balls to win. Not a tall order, but with Rattlers sticking to plan it was not an easy task either. Adhi, Senthil, Mahesh bowled 9 phenomenal overs to suffocate the run chase. Fielding continued to be excellent; every time Gladiators tried to make a push Rattlers came back with a wicket. Ashwin’s quick reflex affected the run-out of Patel H (9) and Senthil’s well-judged catches in sweeper cover resulted in the wicket of aggressive Kartik Shah (9) and a well settled Khattu (9). Ketul (16*) and Ninad (13) tried to counter attack using power play, but were not able to gain the required momentum. With 23 required in 2 overs, Senthil (19th) gave 7 runs and Ashwin (20th) ensured there are no last minute fireworks from Gladiators and took Rattlers home with just 8 runs separating the teams. Gladiators scored 99/8. Ashwin (2 for 21) and R. Mahesh (2 for 20) were the pick of the bowlers for Rattlers. It was a fiercely competed game between two well-balanced teams. The game had high quality umpiring from two neutral umpires Trilok and Prabhakar.

The game was followed by a well-organized prize distribution ceremony arranged by TCC. The presentation party had Nanda Kumar, the president of TCC and HCL, Krishna, treasurer for TCC and member of Triggers ECC. The chief guest was Mr. Surya Saladi, board member of TCC. Jagadish Biradar, organizer for TCC Taped Ball tournament coordinated the presentation ceremony. Senthil, the captain of Rattlers was presented with the championship trophy and Ketul, the captain of Gladiators was presented with the runners up trophy. The players of the winners and runners up received individual trophies.Man of the match for the finals was Vinod from Rattlers for a wonderful batting performance – 39 runs in 41 balls.
Debasish from STYX won the Best Batsman trophy with 238 runs. Ketul from Gladiators won the Best Bowler trophy with 14 wickets. Ashwin from Rattlers won the Best All Rounder trophy with 120 runs and 12 wickets. Trophies were also given to the man of the match for Semi Finals and Quarter Finals. Ketul from Gladiators and Satish from Rattlers were the recipients of the man of the match for Semi Finals. Vinod from Rattlers, Sandeep from STYX, Amrish from Gladiators from and Thilan from SLCC were the recipients of the man of the match for Quarter Finals.