Ravi Kumar Suri
JECC lost to NJ Barons by 13 runs
ScoreCard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8687
A tough defeat to swallow, went to the pub to drown in some
beer. We won a few games we had no business to win and lost this one we had no
business to lose. That’s the way the game goes. This report is not meant to be
critical of any individual or the team, please treat this report as sharing of
observations meant at improving us as a unit and as individuals.
Toss:
Dilip won a good toss and we bowled first.
Bowling:
Got the first wicket in quick time but struggled to break
the next partnership. Our opening bowlers have been fantastic all season and
this wicket was just not conducive to their bowling style. Batting or bowling
on a slow wicket is a different challenge all together and unless the cricketer
be it batsman or bowler is playing to the situation he would not do well enough
on this sort of a wicket. Neither Sid nor Venky could bowl to their strengths
as there was no bounce or pace off the track. Dilip a street smart cookie and observed this
problem and rung in the changes soon. Chinmay I felt was well suited to this
wicket and as expected bowled well. Barons were well placed at 60 for one when
Ron was brought in.
We have been searching for a spinner like water in a desert
all season. Finally towards the end of the season we found Ron who bowled superbly
to bring us right back in the game. I loved the loop the flight and turn he was
able to get. Being literally his first or second game Ron will take some time
to gain control and not bowl the odd short ball, but what we saw in his spell just
lifted the spirits. A spinner is such an important cog and we din’t have one
till now. Ron’s impressive bowling helped Dilip who bowled brilliantly and took
4 wickets to hasten the fall of Barons from 60 for one to 102 for nine. The
spin bowling partnership was terrific and as good as put us in a winning
situation.
We let the game slip and maybe complacency set in. We could not
finish off the 10th wicket and they added 26 crucial runs. A lot of
wides were bowled during this phase. If there is one complaint or frustration
we all genuinely have it is the wides. It is no one particular bowler, every
bowler seems guilty of this. I can see the captain tearing his hair out. I
don’t know what we can do to control this. It is tragic that such a good and
balanced attack is giving free runs. I urge the team to think of some way of
curtailing these wides. Is a one $ penalty per wide an option, just as a
deterrent, or a lap of the ground If any bowler gives more than 5 wides an
option. Whatever it is the team should come up with an innovative deterrent. We
dropped the odd catch and took some good ones, not much to complain about the
fielding. All said and done 129 was a chase able score. I agree with Chinmay’s
comment “if we were asked at the toss would we like to chase 129, all 11 of us
would said a big YES”.
Batting:
Dhanu and I opened the innings. I played out a quiet over
and Dhanu started with a bang. He belted the ball out of the park and were 28
for none in no time. Dhanu scored 20 of these two sixes and a four and had the
fielding team at his feet. On the slow wicket Dhanu was the only batsman to
play on the rise and given his exceptional talent he was able to hit good balls
for fours and sixes. Exceptional talent is a double edged sword, the adrenalin
at times gets the better of you.
I would like to talk about playing the
situation here. I saw an interview of Sachin sometime back and he was asked “what
is the difference between a match winner and a normal player”? Sachin said
something interesting he said, match winners play the situation and focus on
game awareness. If we look back at the game, some of the dismissals of our
batsmen showed we were not aware of the goal of the chase. The game awareness
was missing. Ravi Shastri is a big proponent of % cricket. A percentage shot in
cricket parlous means you will not get out 9 out of times playing that shot. Some
of our batsmen missed out the point of % cricket specifically on the last ball
of the over. Last ball of an over is statistically proven to be the most potent
wicket taking ball. Particularly if you have smashed 10 to 14 runs in an over
watch out for the last ball. So also watch out for the ball before a break.
This is what cricketers who have played at the highest level and for long
period’s advice. Game awareness is also about fact we were chasing 129 and not
179. Situational Analysis or Game awareness is highly critical ingredient in
differentiating the MEN from the boys! Winning and losing cricket games is part
of the learning process. What we learn from loses ensures we lose less.
Anyway moving on Dilip replaced Dhanu and dint last long, he
went to loft over cover and the slowness of the wicket again did him in. Jayram
replaced Dilip and he too dint last long, again it was the slowness of the
wicket which was not permitting his timing or stroke play. Avi came in next and
was facing the same problem. Meantime I was struggling to time as well and just
as I was getting a grip on the timing, was run out to a brilliant piece of
fielding. It was a touch and go decision by the umpire I felt 50-50 about being
in. I was not out by yards for sure. Avi and Sid did a good job of repairing.
Sid was looking extremely good. Dhanu apart Sid was the other batsman to time
and adjust well. He in fact understood the wicket and played the situation.
Just as we were gaining the upper hand, against the run of play Avi played a
very reckless shot to be caught. Like Dhanu Avi too made the same mistake. In
fact Avi’s role was to see what Sid was doing and take the team to a safer
score.
Naga replaced Avi and hit a six and a four to get the game
back in our favor. Both Naga and Sid were batting well and taking the singles
to rotate strike and get bowlers to provide the odd wide ball. Sid hit two beautiful cover drives and showed
lot of determination in waiting for the lose ball and treat the bowling on
merit. The cover drive is possibly the rose flower amongst the shots a batsman
can play. It has romance about it, it has beauty about it, has crassness about
it. The cover drive is one shot which is either played well or just not
played. I just loved the two cover
drives from Sid. Just as the game was again swinging our way, the low bounce
and slow wicket did Naga in and he was out LBW. We were dealt with a body blow
to see Sid also go for another LBW. Out of nowhere we were 100 for 7 and
staring down the barrel. We had match winners in Venki and Chinmay still at the
wicket. But we had left things to the last too many times. This was not meant
to be our day. Venki got out to a soft shot, on a normal day that would have
been whacked for a six. Pavan was out to a freak catch which itself showed this
was not our day. Chinmay was left to do too much and he perished too and with
that the game ended in a bitter loss.
Losing and winning is part of the game. It is important to
hurt when we lose so that we learn from the mistakes which cost us the game.
Every member was hurting which is a good sign. Don’t take defeats lightly and
don’t let victories go your head. High points of the day for me and which augur
well for the rest of the season are Dilip’s bowling and Ron’s spell. This is
second consecutive game Dilip is bowling a match winning spell. A leg spinner
is a special breed, very difficult to pick if the line and length is on the
money. Ron’s spell bodes very well and this combination of Ron-Dilip is
extremely exciting.
Every individual who played this game would do well to think
what better he could have been done to ensure team wins. Losing to a strong
opponent is no problem. Losing to an equal opponent is ok, but losing to a
weaker opponent should HURT!! The good part is this loss is better now than at
play off’s.
Cheers
Ravi
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