JECC beat Raiders by 46 runs
Batting first, JECC scored 191/9 in 40 overs and got Raiders all out for 145 in 35 overs.
Man of the Match: Rushi Amin for scoring 54 runs, taking 3 top order wickets in an unplayable spell with the new ball and taking two excellent slip catches.
Special mention to Dhanushka who scored a breezy 35 not out and took 4 crucial wickets.
Batting: Raiders won the toss and put us in on a cold, windy day with a bit of dampness on the ground. Rajesh opened the innings with me and got going immediately with a big six. A couple of overs and a boundary later, Rajesh got out was out for 15, attempting a big hoick. Suneel joined in and started playing freely, but it ultimately caused his fall as he was caught in the deep. Les followed him soon after, in unfortunate circumstances , adjudged bowled when it looked like the keeper might have clipped the bails. We were in a spot of bother at that time with 3 down for 40 odd runs in 12 overs.
The Raiders bowling wasn’t that great although they used the initial swing to good effect but leaked wides regularly. All we had to do was take the singles and 2-3 wides were on offer every over. Rushi and myself did just that and steadied the innings for a good measure. We ran well for the singles and waited for the loose balls cutting down all risks.
The spinners came into bowl for the raiders and tightened things a bit. The run rate fell in the process but we never panicked as we knew that a surge in the last 10 overs can get us to a good score if we have wickets in hand.
The score board kept ticking and the Raiders were demoralized as the partnership started to progress. At the second drinks break, we decided to go for the shots and started to go after the bowling. After playing a composed innings, I got out attempting a big shot scoring 40 runs, with a good 50+ partnership with Rushi.
Immediately after my wicket, Ganadeep and Amit got out bowled in successive balls to the spinner Azhar Sufi, handing him a hattrick. Niladhar too fell in the following over attempting a lofted shot. With 115 on the board, somebody had to support Rushi till the end.
Dhanushka not only did that but played some delightful shots of his own. Both left handers upped the scoring rate with good cricketing shots and sharp running, getting to a 50+ partnership in the process. Rushi hit a couple of big sixes to get to a well deserved half century. He got out for 54 soon after. Meanwhile Dhanuskha, who wasn’t finished yet played his trademark cheeky shots to good effect to get us to 191.
Bowling: Rushi who opened the bowling with Suneel, got a wicket off his first ball – a swinging delivery that caught the batsman plumb in front. This dented the Raiders approach a bit and they went into a caution mode. Suneel kept things tight at one end and Rushi got some rippers past the batsmen. He got two more wickets in his next two overs effectively dismissing the Raiders top order. His third wicket was a blinder catch by Suneel at 3rd slip.
This brought two left handers for Raiders in the middle which caused us to leak some runs off extras and loose balls. Ganadeep bowled some tight overs to keep things quiet but from the other end, Murali and Asif weren’t very effective in their first spell, going for runs.
Dhanushka entered the attack and bowled a very tight line to the lefties, beating the bat consistently. He also got their only set batsman, Azhar for 52 off a brilliant catch by Rushi in the slips. This put the pressure on Raiders which left them to just play out the overs. Dhanu was unplayable at times getting two more wickets in the process, ending his spell for 4/28. Asif and Murali cleaned out the tail enders and folded the Raiders out for 145 in 35 overs.
Verdict: Partnerships were key for us in this game and Rushi was involved in both the important ones. He steadied the innings with a partnership with me and went after the bowling together with Dhanu. Our catching was excellent though some improvement is required in ground fielding. Amit was alert and neat behind the wickets taking 3 catches in the process. Mital substituted for Rajesh and took a good catch in the deep(there you go!).
Raiders was a tough nut to crack compared to the first two matches and it is a nice win to savor which takes us to 3-0.
191 is a good score, but we could have easily got out for 140 odd had it not been for Dhanu’s cameo. The middle order just crumbled against spin and we gave away a unnecessary hattrick. Temperament while batting is key rather than just trying to hit every ball out of the park.
I am sure with a couple of good games, all our batsmen would be in prime form and mindset to lead us into the play offs.
A good thing was that we did not panic and kept our cool till the end. The Raiders tail wagged for much longer than what we would have liked. Asif took a while to rip them out but it is good that he got some good bowling time to help us in the coming matches.
Score Card: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1798
We have the coming weekend off for Memorial day. The next game is against Crescent at Wood brook, which is also a very important game.
Till then take some time off this weekend!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Video: JECC vs Raiders (Middlesex)
By: Rushi Amin http://vimeo.com/5062645
Click on the above link to access video.
JECC Won - Jersey Eagles Cricket Club:191/9 in 40.0 overs Raiders Cricket Club:145/10 in 35.1 overs. It was a great team effort by JECC. Dhanushka Haputhanthri scored blazing 35 not out to make sure the team has a good total. Awesome wicket keeping by Amit Rathi and a great knock by the skipper Dilip Kovuri.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Match Report: JECC vs HRCC @ Far Hills - 05/10
JECC beat Hell Raizers by 4 wickets
Hell Raizers were all out for 119 and we managed the target with 4 wickets in hand with 12 overs to go.
It was a pretty easy chase except for some hiccups in the end with most of our batsmen drilling it out cautiously rather than going for an explosive approach.
We had a delayed start due to some puddles on our ground, which had to be drained out with a wet vacuum initially and were covered with some spare mats later on. Nagarjun stepped in for Rushi who had called out because of cramps.
Man of the Match: Suneel for taking 3 wickets in a excellent first spell of 6 overs and scoring 35 runs in the chase.
Bowling: With the moisture around, we opted to bowl first and Suneel justified that with some excellent bowling first up. Himanshu paired with Suneel, but looked rusty.
Mital replaced him and bowled beautifully, with some vicious deliveries. He beat the bat consistently and should have been rewarded with more wickets but ended up with 2 to his name.
Suneel and Mital were totally unplayable and dismissed half the side between them.
The follow up act wasn’t that good though. Rajesh and Dilip leaked some runs in a couple of overs. Ganadeep and Murali got us back on track later on. Both bowled economically, with Ganadeep getting 3 wickets, bowling brilliantly against the left handers. Murali supported him well and got a wicket. The last wicket scratched around a bit and scored 20 runs in the process, mostly extras. Preetham put the final nail in the coffin with HRCC folding out for 119.
Batting: With a previous loss against this team, chasing a similar total, our batting had to be circumspect. Rajesh and Preetham were just that initially and watched their new ball bowlers carefully taking the odd ones and twos. After the initial spell and 25 runs later, Rajesh got going with a couple of big hits but was out bowled off his pads, attempting a big shot. Preetham joined him soon after patting a return catch to the bowler.
Suneel and Mital were left to repair the damage and get us back on track and they did just that. Batting straight with caution, they built up a good platform leading us into the break. They took the runs on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking along. When the secondary bowlers came along, Suneel latched on to the loose balls on offer and made sure they were dispatched – to the boundary. Mital kept a steady head and showed us how he has grown as a batsman, playing according to the situation and supported Suneel well. Both got out with the target in sight. Les scored a couple of big hits to reduce the target even further.
A brief flutter with 20 odd runs to go at the end had Dilip, Ganadeep and Sekhar scratch around to finish the job.
Verdict: With our bowling, HRCC should have been all out for 60-70, which we obviously did not. We gave some freebies after the initial spell with a nice helping of extras (30+). Batting started off well but the set batsmen should have finished the game. Nagarjun's keeping was very good as usual. Fielding was OK, we didn’t drop any catches but could have been a bit more energetic on the field.
Overall, it was a easy going game. A win is good any day and with our NRR, we should be on top of the points table. Lets keep the momentum going for the next round of important games.
Next game against Raiders is an crucial one as they are one of the Div 1 teams that were relegated. A win against them would help us in the play off situation if we were to enter a tied points table.
We should be looking to win every game and I am sure if we play to our potential, we can beat any of the Div 2 teams.
Score card : http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1776
Hell Raizers were all out for 119 and we managed the target with 4 wickets in hand with 12 overs to go.
It was a pretty easy chase except for some hiccups in the end with most of our batsmen drilling it out cautiously rather than going for an explosive approach.
We had a delayed start due to some puddles on our ground, which had to be drained out with a wet vacuum initially and were covered with some spare mats later on. Nagarjun stepped in for Rushi who had called out because of cramps.
Man of the Match: Suneel for taking 3 wickets in a excellent first spell of 6 overs and scoring 35 runs in the chase.
Bowling: With the moisture around, we opted to bowl first and Suneel justified that with some excellent bowling first up. Himanshu paired with Suneel, but looked rusty.
Mital replaced him and bowled beautifully, with some vicious deliveries. He beat the bat consistently and should have been rewarded with more wickets but ended up with 2 to his name.
Suneel and Mital were totally unplayable and dismissed half the side between them.
The follow up act wasn’t that good though. Rajesh and Dilip leaked some runs in a couple of overs. Ganadeep and Murali got us back on track later on. Both bowled economically, with Ganadeep getting 3 wickets, bowling brilliantly against the left handers. Murali supported him well and got a wicket. The last wicket scratched around a bit and scored 20 runs in the process, mostly extras. Preetham put the final nail in the coffin with HRCC folding out for 119.
Batting: With a previous loss against this team, chasing a similar total, our batting had to be circumspect. Rajesh and Preetham were just that initially and watched their new ball bowlers carefully taking the odd ones and twos. After the initial spell and 25 runs later, Rajesh got going with a couple of big hits but was out bowled off his pads, attempting a big shot. Preetham joined him soon after patting a return catch to the bowler.
Suneel and Mital were left to repair the damage and get us back on track and they did just that. Batting straight with caution, they built up a good platform leading us into the break. They took the runs on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking along. When the secondary bowlers came along, Suneel latched on to the loose balls on offer and made sure they were dispatched – to the boundary. Mital kept a steady head and showed us how he has grown as a batsman, playing according to the situation and supported Suneel well. Both got out with the target in sight. Les scored a couple of big hits to reduce the target even further.
A brief flutter with 20 odd runs to go at the end had Dilip, Ganadeep and Sekhar scratch around to finish the job.
Verdict: With our bowling, HRCC should have been all out for 60-70, which we obviously did not. We gave some freebies after the initial spell with a nice helping of extras (30+). Batting started off well but the set batsmen should have finished the game. Nagarjun's keeping was very good as usual. Fielding was OK, we didn’t drop any catches but could have been a bit more energetic on the field.
Overall, it was a easy going game. A win is good any day and with our NRR, we should be on top of the points table. Lets keep the momentum going for the next round of important games.
Next game against Raiders is an crucial one as they are one of the Div 1 teams that were relegated. A win against them would help us in the play off situation if we were to enter a tied points table.
We should be looking to win every game and I am sure if we play to our potential, we can beat any of the Div 2 teams.
Score card : http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1776
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