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!
yeah mital.... you finally made it in the match report!!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteRushi, Dhanushka played really well.
ReplyDeleteDhanu you finally got to bowl your 8 overs.
Keep it going man.
Catches win matches. As simple as that. Because which ever match we have lost until in 2008 there was a missed catch or missed run out.