JECC beat Hightstown by 52 runs
In the allotted 35 overs, JECC scored 151/8 and got Hightstown (HCC) all out for 99 in 34.1 overs to leapfrog to the top of the points table.
Being undefeated this season, we are a good 2 points ahead of Warriors and HCC.
Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1843
Man of the Match: Rushi Amin for scoring an excellent 60 runs in a 50+ run partnership with Les, that held our innings together;and a brilliant spell of opening bowling with Suneel that left the HCC batsmen utterly helpless.
Water: We toiled for a better part of 3 hrs in the ground mopping up puddles and a smallish pond that was oozing water all along. It was a back breaking effort from the entire team to get the ground in shape so that we don’t share a point with the opponent.
This sort of attitude is what separates us from the average teams. It was easy to call off the game with the water on the ground, but the work we put in shows the heart that our guys put in..we just wouldn’t give up a point so easily.
A wet vacuum pumped out the water and everyone drained out big buckets of water..man..water is heavy! We used everything we could to cover up the remaining puddles..bits of mats, old tarp, new tarps..which turned out to be very good effort, as not even one ball in the entire game went there or was wet! Kudos to everyone!
Batting: Coming to the game, HCC won the toss and put us in on a heavy outfield and ‘damp’ conditions. The ball zipped around a bit initially but their dibbly dobbly bowlers didn’t have enough pace for us to work with. Mital and I opened the innings, giving some respite to Rajesh, who, along with everyone else was tired after a ‘yard work’. Well, the very slow bowlers did the trick as I spooned an easy catch to get out for nought. Suneel negotiated some good deliveries before getting out to a jaffa from their only pace bowler. Mital looked good for a while but was out soon after for 9 and we were in spot of bother with 3 wickets down in 7 overs.
Les and Rushi played a match winning innings together to get us back in style. Rushi started off blazing with a string of boundaries before settling down to play out the innings. Les supported him well initially but opened up when he got used to the pace and bounce of our wicket.
Together, Les and Rushi negated the slow to very slow bowling of HCC by running well and hitting only when they got to the pitch of the ball. Les hit some big shots, placing them well and was looking set for a big score. Both the batsmen played sensibly taking the singles on offer in a spread out field. They got the score to 94 in 24 overs and were looking to get aggressive in the last 10 overs.
Just when things were looking ominous for HCC, Les and Rushi got mixed up in calling resulting in Les getting run out. Rajesh and Dhanu were out without scoring. Amit played some good shots but was out soon after, but we still had some batting left and were looking for a 150+ score. It was a nice situation for Himanshu to enter and swing his bat around. He played some lusty blows to pile on the score and ran well. Meanwhile, Rushi got to his 50 with a stylish boundary and was looking good for a bigger score. He got us close to 150, but was out trying to accelerate. Murali and Himanshu got us to 151 which was plenty on our ground to defend.
Bowling: Suneel and Rushi showed the awestruck batsmen from Hightstown just how well they can use the new ball. With perfect seam position, Suneel started off brilliantly with a wicket maiden and a catch in the slips by Rushi. The 8-1 test match field with 4 slips and a gully didn’t seem enough as the batsmen weren’t that good to nick the deliveries from Suneel and Rushi and were beaten consistently. Asif leapt up into the air and caught a brilliant one handed catch in the gully to Rushi's first wicket.
Amit kept well to the swinging ball to get get Suneel's second one and it looked like we were going to wrap em up for under 50.
Mital and Himanshu bowled after the changeover from Suneel and Rushi but gave no respite to the batsmen. With their zip, bounce and movement, they amazed the Hightstown batsmen, who were looking to get settled after the first bowling change!
Mital bowled a very good spell, unchanged and was rewarded for his consistent line and length. He got their main batsman Ubaid caught behind off his second ball. Himanshu was unplayable too either beating the bat or hitting the batsman on their pads/body. Runs were very hard to come by.
The bowling change off Himanshu's end leaked some runs off Asif and Dhanushka, but our dropped catches didn’t help their cause at all. Asif got a wicket off an excellent swinging Yorker, but wasn’t himself , tired and dizzy with the heat and exhaustion from the all day. Murali bowled well at the end but it was himanshu, who put the final nail in the coffin, letting the stumps fly off a brilliant yorker. We let the innings drag on a bit but were able to finish off HCC for 99 in 34 overs.
Verdict: A win is good to rejoice and overlook the errors, but a retrospective of what we missed and where we can improve is good. Our batting needs to chip in with atleast 20 runs from everyone. Three ducks doesn’t look good on a scorecard and I am the first one to blame. A tired body with all the hard work didn’t help matters but the focus needs to be there when we step out to bat. Les and Rushi are looking very consistent every game and the rest of us need to step up .
Our bowling attack seems to be the best in the league and the expressions on the batsmen facing us said it all. Asif, Dhanushka, Murali and Myself weren’t used much inspite of which we troubled the hell out of the batting lineup. It’s a nice headache to have for a captain with so many excellent bowlers, but I do feel bad for some of the guys who wait all week to bowl and don’t get enough chances with the ball.
This kind of dragged on proceedings a bit, as I had to rotate the bowling, but we didn’t let the game out of the hand any time.
Some brilliant catches were taken, but more easy ones were dropped. Practice and concentration is the key as a spilled catch can be very costly some times.
Next game against Echelon is manageable but still important as we are looking to win everything. Please sign up and make yourselves available.
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