Match report by Chinmay Bhat
JECC beat USCA by 8
wickets.
Batting First, USCA were
all out for 57 in 28 overs. JECC chased down the target for 2 wickets in 13
overs.
Man of the match: Sid for an outstanding opening spell, to claim 3 wickets.
Bowling:
Much to our
disappointment, USCA won the toss and elected to bat. We would have loved to
bat first in this match and give our batters a chance to put up a good score,
but that was not to be. Like a well-oiled machine, our opening bowling pair of
Venki and Sid continue to produce good performance week in and week out. They
both seem to enjoy their bowling partnership and have a contrasting, yet
complementary bowling styles. Sid getting huge in-swingers at an alarming pace
with an occasional bouncer and Venki skidding the ball while moving it off the
seam.
With the cloud cover and the
ball moving around, we knew that it was a matter of time before USCA would
loose their first wicket. Sid got us the break through in his very first over
when the batsman couldn’t cover the inswing got bowled. The next batsman, who
was left handed found himself in a very precarious position where the ball was
moving around with three slips waiting to gobble up any edge. He got beaten the
very first ball but promptly edged the second ball to the second slip. I took
my first catch of the season. Venki continued to keep it tight on the other end
and was rewarded with an LBW for a ball that was full and heading to the stumps
(More on this below). Sid bowled a beautiful ball that held its line to get the
next batsman bowled and claim his 3rd wicket in 4 overs.
After the first 8 overs,
the sun was out and it was time for some spin. Ron (our new player – left arm
spinner) came in next and got the batsman bowled in his very first over for
JECC. He bowled with good control and was unfortunate not to get another wicket
when we dropped a catch. At this point USCA were 5 down and fighting for
survival. They had lost 5 wickets at one end while the other opener showed good
defensive skills.
This match was an
emotional one for the JECC member's as it was Murali's last match before he
moves out of NJ. It was obvious that everybody was going to miss his friendship
and the affable nature. It was time for Murali to weave some magic and he did.
He got the other opener out thanks to a well-judged catch by Sid. Sid ran back
from covers and took the catch with a well-timed jump. While we were walking
back for the first break, Umpire requested us to recall the batsman who got out
to Venki, as the umpire thought there was an inside edge. This was an unusual
request as the batsman had already walked off and they had lost 4 more wickets
after that. We weren’t convinced of calling the batsman back. Due to the fact
that USCA is a team of youngsters (13-16 year Old’s), we decided to let the
batsman bat one more time but asked the umpire to bat him after they loose all
the 10 wickets.
After the second break we
wrapped up the tail quickly with Jay taking 2 wickets and Murali grabbing
another one. Manoj kept one end tidy and bowled in the channel. Penchal bowled
2 overs and was unlucky when a close LBW was turned down. Their 11th(!!!) wicket partnership hung
around for a while and scored another 15 odd runs. Dhanu polished off the last
wicket with a full ball that earned him an LBW.
Batting:
After a quick break,
Dhanu and Ananth went in to open the batting. Ananth got started on the first
ball that he carved over point for couple of runs. Dhanu played couple of beautiful
squarecuts, one of which went for four. They both were aggressive from the start
and we looked set for a 10 wicket win.
Against the run of the play, Ananth got out to a slower ball that he couldn’t
keep it down and spooned it to long off.
Very next over Dhanu got out to a ball that took the outside edge on its
way to the slips.
By popular demand, we
sent in Murali at the fall of first wicket.
As soon as Murali went in, he tried to play his trademark hoik over
midwicket and missed the ball. This resulted in everybody shouting at Murali to
play straight. After that slight misjudgment, better senses prevailed in
Murali. He played straight and played couple of good-looking cover drives. Naga
played his trademark leg glances. Naga and Murali finished the game in 13 overs
without much difficulty. We all wanted Murali to finish the match unbeaten and
it was very satisfying to see him be there until the end.
Overall it was an easy
win for us against a young opposition. More importantly, we got the 2 points we
needed. We have 3 vital and relatively difficult games coming up. As we get closer
to the playoffs, it is very important for us to maintain the winning momentum
and raise the bar. Lets Go.... EAGLES.....
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