Match Report by Ravi - JECC vs Indus, 07/20/2014 @ North Brunswick

Match report by:
Ravi Kumar Suri

JECC beat Indus by 14 runs.

Batting first, JECC were all out for 155 in 39 overs. With a great bowling performance, JECC got Indus all out for 141 with 11 balls to go.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8640

Man of the Match:  Ananth for classy 38 runs and 2 crucial catches. A direct hit run out to seal the match was icing on the cake!

In competitive sport we hear the words like momentum, winning habits, being in the zone. What do these words mean, what is MOMENTUM in cricket? The past few games we played with the exception of the game against Franklyn define momentum and indicate what a winning habit is. Momentum is when teams find ways of winning a losing battle. It is about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Momentum is also about ensuring that you don’t lose from a winning position. Momentum is about not depending on one or two performers. It is about finding new heroes in victories as season rolls out. Chinmay, Sid, Y’ster, Avi, Dhanu, Vijay, Murali have all performed in the early part of the season. Dilip has led aggressively and intelligently. Ananth is getting to his best form during the business end of the season. This so called momentum has put us on top of the pile in the leagues points table.

The game against INDUS was a very crucial game and we badly wanted a win. For starters we lost to INDUS last year and wanted to end up on the winning side this time around. INDUS is a very good cricket team and plays the sport in genuine spirit, to win against such an opponent gives immense satisfaction. They have quality players and match winners like Sameer. They have highly experienced players like Vishal, Anil, Ashish, Pavan who have been playing cricket in NJ league(s) for several years. Another cricketer Nanda (former Hyd Ranji) did’nt come for this game. He was my team mate at Gladiators and I know firsthand; he is a match winner with bat and ball. In his prime he was one of the best we had in NJ.   There is no substitute for experience and you learn a lot when you play such opponents. When a game of cricket is played at a lovely venue like the North Brunswick Astro Turf ground, you don’t need additional motivation..

TOSS:

Given all this backdrop Dilip won the toss and opted to bat. It is extremely important to get to the game in the right mind set. We knew INDUS had a quality bowling attack, we knew the Astro turf wicket had bounce (played a friendly game at this venue), despite this Dilip was not worried or hesitant and opted to bat first showing lot of confidence in his team.  Dhanu and I opened for JECC and were immediately put to a test of bounce, swing and at times pace. Cricket wickets like the one at INDUS test a batsmen’s and bowler’s abilities. If you can ride the bounce and are quick on your feet you can pull, cut and play the lofted drive. If you cannot judge length you can get into all sorts of trouble. I was very keen as would Dhanu to score some quick runs. 

Batting:

Most games we got off to a flying start, but here both Dhanu and I were tied up with some quality bowling. We were both lucky with catches going down but could not capitalize. Dhanu got out and very next over I got out, Ashish taking a terrific slip catch. Vishal bowled a slower one, I read it and got greedy looking for single, but the bounce got better of me and Ashish dived in front to his left to come up with a stunning catch. Ananth replaced Dhanu and Sid replaced me. We were precariously placed at about 10 for 2. INDUS was bowling extremely well, Pavan was moving the ball at pace, Vishal mixed his slower ones well and Sameer who just came was nippy as usual. If one did’nt play Sameer earlier, he will find him difficult to read as he is very deceptive, generates lot of pace from a short run up. 

Ananth was hit on the head and the helmet saved a 911 call / trip to Hospital. After that wake up call, Ananth came into his own and counter attacked. He drove and lofted well, particularly to his favorite cover region. INDUS was caught off guard and by the time they spread the field, Ananth and Sid took us to a comfortable 60 for 2 at drinks from a shaky 10 for 2. When two competitive teams play to their potential the ebbs and flow of a game are a treat to watch. As well as Sameer, Baldeep bowled; Ananth’s counter attack and Sid’s solid technique kept the opponent at bay. The best part about that partnership was runs were coming at a fast clip. With the outfield being thick only the lofted shot had a chance to make it to the boundary. Ananth used it to good effect with a six over cover standing out for quality and gave a scare to those of us sitting at the benches, the a ball falling within a foot of where Asif’s cute son was busy in his child’s world.

Ananth’s innings ended when another lofted hit was well caught at long off. INDUS got back into the game with tight bowling. Their back up bowlers led by Giri did a marvelous job in bowling a wicket to wicket line and impeccable length. Sid was out to a dodgy LBW, hitting him high and down the leg. Dilip and Hari got involved in a re build exercise. They batted sensibly given the tight bowling, losing any more wickets at that stage would have been playing into INDUS hands. Dilip is a smart cookie and guided Hari in getting a partnership going. Dilip struck a few hefty blows after changing his bat, but was out soon as was Hari. 

They were replaced by Avi and Chinmay, the pair which laid the base for our win against Middlesex. Chinmay in particular has batted very responsibly and put a price on his wicket this season. Bombay cricket calls such a player Khadoos, means I will not give in without a fight. Without being noticed they added about 40 runs, ran very well between wickets, hit the odd boundary, converted singles to doubles and enforced some over throws. This partnership was highly critical and took us to a competitive or a par score. Murali and Srini ensured we crossed the 150 mark and finally we ended on 155 which was not a winning score but a competitive one.

Bowling:

To defend such a total we needed early wickets. All season we have been fortunate in seeing our new ball attack get us early wickets. This game was no different, if at all it looked like Christmas came early and we were getting bagful of wickets as gifts. Venky bowled a good first ball and followed that up with one which surprised the ten of us fielding and the one batting. The second ball of the innings was a slower one which was more like an off spinners stock ball. It caught Vishal totally off guard and removed his middle peg. They say you need luck in this game of cricket and you need to be getting the rub of the green. While I totally agree with that view, I will add nothing in cricket happens by chance. You need to create your luck and you need to read the game and play the situation. 

Sameer we knew was an attacking batsman who likes to dictate to the bowlers. Sameer hammered us last season and was the difference between the two teams when we lost. This year we knew our only chance of winning was to get Sameer cheaply. Dilip set a smart field and Murali took a very good running catch under pressure. Batsmen like Sameer or Dhanu in our team need to be controlled in the first 3 to 4 balls and should not be given boundary balls or HIT ME deliveries. If a bowler can ensure to string 3 to 4 dot balls, the next one is most likely to be hit in the air. That’s how it played out and we got Sameer out cheaply. Ashish came in at #3 and played some delightful shots, one in particular was a terrific pull shot to the mid-wicket region. The beauty of playing on a bouncy wicket is you can play the full blooded pull, hook, cut as well as the on rise shots. Ashish would have known this wicket really well being their home ground. You could make that from his pull shot as the ball was not all that short. He picked it early and rocked on his back foot and played one of the shots of the day. We were fortunate to get him out soon to an LBW, as he was looking in great nick. The next three wickets fell in a heap, a good slip catch by Ananth, a good catch in the gully by myself, were indicating we were in the grove.

Anil came in next and showed what experience and quality is all about. He played as if his team was 30 for no loss and not 30 for 5. He wrested the initiative and laid the base for something none at the ground was prepared for or anticipated. It was not desperate heaves to cow corner, rather Anil played classy shots and packed so much power that even the thick outfield on which most found boundary making impossible, did’nt stop Anil from going well past the boundary. Dhanu who normally gets us at least 3 to 4 wickets a game was not in his elements, Chinmay was disciplined as usual but the penetration was not there. Anil’s burst laid us flat for a while, Pavan skied one to long off, our “safe hands” of Venky was getting under the skier and I remember saying Thank you as I saw the ball in air and Venky under it. Y’ster would take this catch 9 out of 10 times, but this time he misread the skier and the wind played its part taking the ball away from him. 

Hereabouts the game changed, Baldeep and Pavan frustrated us with quality batting. They both defended stoutly and played on our impatience to seal the deal. Baldeep in particular played one of the finest innings I have seen under immense pressure. What he showed was when chasing a modest 150 score what you need to do is to stay at the wicket. Run rate does not matter, what matters is getting under the skin of the opposition. What also matters is for the batters to keep cool. COOL is what Baldeep was all about. At drinks we were quite uneasy and wanted to break the partnership between Baldeep and Pavan. Venky is a go to guy in such situations and he did’nt disappoint. He got Pavan out to one which kept low but was bowled with genuine pace. We were thinking the game is wrapped up as INDUS needed 47 more with 2 wickets standing. Hari was asking us if we knew how Giri bats. I had not seen Giri, but commented the way INDUS lower order is batting we can’t take anyone lightly. But what unfolded was Cricket at its best. The next 6 overs Giri and Baldeep batted brilliantly and brought the required target down to 19 of 3 overs. During this phase there was no signs of desperation or tension on the batsmen. 

Baldeep was brilliant I can only use the word COOL for him and we were getting hot under the collar. A loss from there meant JECC team would not sleep for next few weeks and who knows the word MOMENTUM would have made a shift in a southward journey.

A word of praise and genuine respect for INDUS as a team. At such a juncture of the game any other opponent would have been screaming their heads off, put undue pressure on umpire, use language to get under the fielders skin and in general heat up the environment. To all their credit INDUS played this game in true spirit and not a word in anger was used by their supporters.

To get back to the game, we were in a precarious position. We had to win and losing was not an option. INDUS was snatching a win from jaws of defeat and we were letting a prey whose arms, legs and body were all damaged get away. At such situations you look to the captain and you need a guy tough as nails to take the right decision. Dilip took the responsibility to bowl and delivered a knockout punch. He bowled 3 dot balls and Giri was forced to play against the spin, got out LBW. Think about the captain’s nerve and guts to come in and bowl at this stage. If he failed one would say why was spin an option, if he clicks one would say what a move. It is a gamble and I have always opined that unless a captain gambles he will not get results in his favor. The other thing a captain needs to do is trust his instincts, a good example is all this season Dilip fielded me at point or cover point. Just out of instinct he moved me to gully a position I have not fielded for JECC. The batsman guided one to gully and I took it without any discomfort as I fielded a lot at slip for Piscataway and Gladiators. Dilip went by instinct and it paid off. I am not saying all gambles or instincts pay off, but the game of cricket has a way of rewarding captains who are willing to be on their toes and think out of the box.

Dilip bowled a brilliant 38^th over and left INDUS to get 16 of 39^th and 40^th over with just one wicket in hand. Baldeep the ICE was still not melting, Giri the enforcer was gone. Dhanu was brought to bowl the 39^th over. Ananth was asked to be at slip to begin with and then cricketing sense prevailed and he was moved to third man. Dhanu bowled a Yorker, Baldeep ticked it to fine leg, Ananth ran from thirdman to fine leg like a hare (Yes that’s an oxymoron but when the game is on the edge, you see camels turn to hares) and threw one back which hit the stumps-direct hit. Baldeep had no option but to go for a second one and I can vouch that was the only way Baldeep would get out- a run out. We know Ananth’s arm is weak and he can hardly throw, but did say something about MOMENTUM in the beginning of this report. Yes, Momentum makes the team deliver what it takes, be it catches by me who has not been a safe fielder historically, be it throws by a weak arm, be it lower order getting us runs almost every game, it is the winning habit which makes these this happen.

We won another game in the season, two more points. This game had two winners for me. The spirit displayed by INDUS and the well-mannered cricketers in their team deserve our applause. When cricket is played in such spirit, both teams win. Baldeep hats off to you!

Cheers!! See you all at next game.

Ravi