Div 2/3 Play offs 2009: Pre-Quarterfinals
JECC bt Brunswick Braves by 7 wickets
Batting first, Brunswick braves put on a fight but were all out for 131 in 37 overs. We chased down the target in only 19.3 overs for the loss of 3 wickets with initial fireworks from Preetham and a classy finish by Les and Rushi.
Man of the Match: Dhanushka for taking 4 wickets in an excellent spell of 8 overs for 17 runs at a crucial stage of the game where the match tilted in the opponents favor. He could have got a couple of more wickets had we not dropped some easy catches.
Toss: We had to relocate the ground to Piscataway (provided by the league) early morning as Far hills wasn’t in playing condition.
Even Piscataway was damp and with a wet outfield, the start was delayed a bit. With such conditions, we would have opted to bowl first anyway. We lost the toss but the Braves opted to bat first as they were only playing 10 players. It was a wise decision in the end as they didn’t have to toil in the field for the entire day with our explosive batting line up.
Bowling: Suneel and Rushi opened the attack and made use of the conditions very well. They were totally unplayable and it would have taken better batsmen to even get a nick in their bowling. After a customary maiden first up, Suneel got one to swing from outside leg to get the first wicket, which brought their main batsman Ananth to the crease. He was pretty good to give due credit but not good enough to take on the swing form these two. Some couple of loose balls were duly punished but the run rate was very much in check. We couldn’t get past the initial wickets and bowling changes were on the cards. Mital and Himanshu bowled very well too, keeping a tight line, but were unlucky as we dropped a couple of easy takes in the outfield.
The Braves only lost one wicket by the first break and were looking set for a big score. Change of bowling – enter Dhanushka and he took a wicket in his first over, that too of their set batsman Ananth. A couple of overs later, another wicket came off a tame catch to point and with a stumping off my bowling, the Braves were in serious trouble. They nudged along with 3 runs per over and we kept taking wickets at regular intervals, even with the dropped chances. Rushi got a stumping in the end and Suneel wrapped up the last two wickets. He is on a hatrick for the next game.
Batting: Continuing where he left off in the previous game, Preetham was on fire launching into the attack and taking 15 runs off the first over, including a huge six that deposited the ball across the stream near the boundary. Mital gave him support but was subdued and saw off the good balls. Preetham was out for 19 trying to cut a ball that rose on him. Rajesh replaced Preetham and hit a huge six to start off but was out soon after to an attempted pull. Mital followed him too and it was left to Les and Rushi to get back things into order.
Les took the charge and played freely. With his gifted timing, Les played the ball to all parts of the ground using his repertoire of strokes. The heavy outfield stopped many boundaries but he still was in prime form and demoralized the bowlers. Rushi, after playing himself in, showed the Braves what a classy player he is. Getting into position quickly, he pounced on anything marginally short and hit some magnificent sixes. Both ran very well between the wickets and completed the chase in emphatic fashion by the 20th over. Les finished at a well made 50 and Rushi at 30, both not out.
Had it been our batting in the first innings, a score of 250+ was definitely on the cards with Les and Rushi set for huge scores.
Verdict: Glaring errors yesterday were the catches we dropped. Six to Seven ‘catchable’ ones were dropped as the fielders didn’t take a start or judged the take poorly. Time and again, we have to support the bowlers as a dropped catch or a life demoralizes the bowler and the team.
It didn’t prove too costly, but we saw how two games were lost because of dropped catches. Let us learn from the mistakes and concentrate on the field.
Fielding was OK, but we could have been more energetic. Agreed that the humid conditions didn’t help the cause, but a little more energy can save us some runs. Dhanushka was a chatterbox on the field and kept the batsmen and bowlers in check!
Amit was very good keeping wickets with 3 catches and two stumpings. He dropped a catch off Dhanu but the rest of the dismissals were very clean and there was quick glove work behind the stumps.
It was a fun day with us and some supporters cheering our batting, but we should not be complacent as the next games might have some better bowling attacks.
Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=2646
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