Ravi Kumar Suri
JECC beat SGCC Jr by 2 wickets.
Batting first, SGCC Jr. were all out for 61 in 18 overs. JECC got to the target with 2 wickets to spare.
Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8617
Man of the Match: Dhanushka for 4 wickets giving away only 7 runs.
Cricket is a
fascinating sport which unites Asians / Cricketers in general and sets up a
harmony which no other engagement does. We have seen unfortunate break-ups in
relationships; be it marriage, be it brotherhood, be it family. But when it
comes to cricket a bond once made is made for life. The brutal east coast
winter brings about a hiatus in this bond, but once spring and summer are back
in their bloom so is the bonding of cricketers. Team mates look forward to not
only playing but catching up too on weekends and have about 8 hours FUN,
notwithstanding the highs of a win and lows of a loss.
In pursuit of
2 more points and rejoin the fun we assembled at the Princeton cricket ground to
play SGCC Jr. We lost to this opponent last season and were determined to win
this time to make up for the disappointment of last year. The Princeton ground
scores a 10 on 10 from a look and feel point of view. It is a massive open area
with no disturbance of any sort. The wicket was cut from the outfield and it
was a huge square, the pitch itself was at an elevated level. At first glance
this looked the best playing surface one can ever get. Unfortunately the pitch
played double standards with the villain showing up as much on screen as the
hero. Some balls kept so low that a batsman had no chance and some took off to
the extent we were fortunate no one was injured in the game.
Dilip our
captain indicated we would field first if we won the toss. His reasoning was
sound in that he felt the opponents were not strong and if we got them out
cheaply we can force a result before the predicted rain came. As it happened we
lost the toss and were asked to field, which in any case was our preferred
option. At the huddle the captain laid down the objectives; CONTROL THE WIDES,
get the opponent out for a low a score. When a leader is crisp and clear in his
message the team finds it motivating and duty bound to follow instructions.
We
opened with the usual menace of Y’ster and Sid. These two have been phenomenal
this season, getting us early break through every game. Most often we had
opponents at about 50 for 4 which is a tremendous start to a cricket match.
This game was no different Venky got the opener out to a pearl of a delivery
which took the middle peg out cartwheeling. Sid got two wickets in one over, a
clean bowled, a caught behind and missed on a third as the umpire and bowler
dint hear a snick. We had SGCC Jr reeling at 17 for 4 of which 13 were extras
in the form of our nemesis the WIDES. Murali came in got his customary break through.
Murali has been the silent and unseen – unobserved performer this season.
Coming in behind Yster and Sid, Murali kept lid on the scoring and got wickets
when it mattered.
As has been
the case all season long Dhanu came in to put the body in the coffin and seal
it up. As usual he got a wicket in his first over of the spell. I can recollect
4 other games he has done this. Ananth took a very good catch at first slip,
this was followed by an extremely good catch by Srinath, running in from deep
gully and judging a steep one perfectly. Dhanu finished with four wickets and
continues to dominate the bowling charts at JECC. Dhanu is the quintessential
league player, he does things easily and effortlessly. He is different from
others; for starters he is a left hander, which in itself is a big plus in
cricket, he bowls and bats, when he bowls he is blessed with the knack of
taking wickets, when he bats he is blessed with knack of scoring runs. Not just
that when he bowls, he comes up with deliveries which are not in the run of
play. For example Dhanu was the only bowler from either side who could get the
ball above head high on this wicket, he in fact put fear in the batsman, was able to get the Yorker, the bouncer, the
incoming and away going ball into play in his spell. When he bats, he can get
the drive, the pull, he cut, the lofted shot into play. All these abilities
rolled into a short frame and to top it all he is a safe fielder. We had SGCC
Jr. bundled for 61 with Chinmay taking one wicket, Dilip missing on one with
the leg umpire being desperate to extend his team’s stay at the wicket.
Chasing low
scores is often sweet pill laced with poison. If one is not careful, the
glorious uncertainties of this great game of cricket kick in and KICK YOU. If
one can get onto a quick start half the battle is won in such situations.
Keeping that in mind I got the opportunity to hit the first ball I faced to six
to my favorite point region. Ananth took over from there and hit his trade mark
six to cover. That shot has Ananth written all over it, one of these days it
may well be called Ananth drive. By the 5th over we were 38 for no
loss. From there it took us 15 more overs to get to 62 and in the process we
lost 8 wickets. An additional 24 runs took us 15 overs and 8 wickets; that is
how well SGCC Jr. bowled and that’s the power of the glorious uncertainties of
the game. It’s not that we played bad cricket, in fact nobody got out to
horrendous or irresponsible shots. A combination of low wicket, terrific line
and length bowling, slow outfield, pressure of chasing, contributed to
inexplicable freeze of runs. Sid played two deliveries and remained at
non-strikers end for most of the time, Srini, Myself, Chinmay, Vijay, Dilip,
Murali, Dhanu, got out before Ananth could finish his well-earned lunch. Venky
scooped one over the third man fielder and got us the 2 runs needed for win
with just 2 wickets remaining.
End of the
day the game of cricket gave us a shock treatment before awarding us the 2
points which is the bottom line. We continue to do well and prosper this
season. Winning is a habit and we should endeavor to retain this habit. The
foundation from our opening bowlers, Murali’s back up, Dhanu and Chinmay combined
efforts in sealing the deal have helped us as a bowling unit to keep opponents
in check. Chinmay has been contributing immensely with bat and ball. He got us
crucial runs and wickets against Middlesex and Miracle. Sid and Yster got us
runs and wickets and have won us games. The bowling unit is doing a tremendous
job so many of our bowlers have more than 12 wickets in the season. We need
batsmen to score more, need to support Dhanu and Chinmay who have been
consistent. Dilip and in his absence Chinmay have led us brilliantly. Their
grasp of the game and situational analysis is extremely impressive.
The business
end of the season is on us and now is when we need to keep the momentum going
and in fact raise the bar. The wides have to stop and more runs have to come
from batsmen. Looking forward to remainder of the season. FLY HIGH EAGLES!!
Cheers!
Ravi
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