Ravi Suri
Batting first, Piscataway were all out for 122. JECC chased in 25 overs for 8 wkts.
After spending an anxious evening and watching out of the bedroom window every few hours last night hoping to see no rain, the game against Piscataway eventually started on time. The ground did not show any impact of the heavy down pour the previous evening. Dilip lost the toss and PCC opted to bat first.
Bowling:
In
Venky we have a tremendous bowler who almost every game of last year and the
games this year gives us a quick break. Loss of an opener early dents the
confidence of the opponent. Venky bowled a peach of a ball to get Shailesh,
ball pitched back of a length cut back in to shatter the middle peg. It moved
from outside the off at pace and hit top of middle. It was made for Channel 9
bowling. We see how camera men feast on such balls, they show it from so many
views / angles which is a feast for the eye.
Mandar came in at #3 and as is his
mode of play tried to buy time at the wicket. The other opener was just not
able to fathom Venky or Sid and between them we kept them to 20 runs by 10th
over. Was great to see Sid getting back his rhythm. Sid chipped in with the wicket of other
opener when he had Dhanu take a catch at mid-off. Venky-Sid combo is a lethal
bowling weapon for us, we need them firing together to continue getting early
wickets. Dhanu bowled very well against Middlesex and not so well against
Indians. Chinmay is yet to hit his bowling best this season. If these two can
get their act together like last season we are on for another play-off spot
this year.
From 20 for 2, PCC went to 38 for 2 in a matter of 2 overs. Wides
and the odd loose ball cost us. More than lose ball I would say Pako hit 2
brilliant sixes off Dhanu. They were not necessarily bad balls, it was more
about terrific batting. Pako and Mandar built a partnership during which more
wides were bowled and neither Dhanu nor Chinmay were looking effective. Just as
a Deja-vu feeling was setting in Dilip rung in a double spin attack. Against
the run of play Ananth got Pako to cut to point and Bhaskar made the catch at
point look easy and child’s play. Ananth has been bowling well this season and
if we can groom and be patient with him, we will have a very good bowling arm
added. Like in batting bowling is also about confidence, in fact it is also
about building muscle memory. The more Ananth bowls the more he will build a
muscle memory and it will become routine for him. He has a classical off
spinner action, has height, good game knowledge and turns the ball. All of
these are high qualities of a good bowler. We have been struggling for a spin
combo for 2 to 3 seasons. If Ananth-Dilip and Srini who bowled leg spin for us
last game can forge a spin combo- Eagles will be a very tough team to beat.
Bhaskar
has been a great addition to our team, he stopped a few cut shots at point and
took the catch to send Pako back. All of these stops and the catch showed
Bhaskar was very cool and calm in the field, you hardly notice him till you see
him take a good catch or add crucial runs with the bat. A good cricketer talks
less and performs more which is what Bhaskar is doing. Arpit replaced Pako and
just out of intuition I asked Dilip that I continue at wide slip as against a
deeper gully. My reasoning was Ananth was getting lot of bounce from the wicket
and a new batsman will take time to adjust. Ananth has a very high arm delivery
point and being as tall as he is, on an Astro turf, he will get bounce if the
ball is flighted. That’s exactly what happened, the second ball Arpit faced
kicked off a length, Arpit went back to play and edged it to wide slip. The
ball was falling short of me, I was anticipating an edge and was able to move
forward and took a low one handed catch.
From 60 for 2 PCC went to 68 for six
as there was mayhem and confusion amongst their middle order. Yamunan ran
himself out to a brilliant effort from Venky. He swooped on the ball picked and
threw in one motion, to hit the wickets again a Channel 9 special. The one odd
partnership from there took PCC to 122. Dilip chipped in with 2 wickets, Ananth
finished with 4. All in all a terrific bowling effort. The fielding was good,
catching was good and we showed Great Spirit during partnerships and broke them
at right time.
A word
about Naga who kept brilliantly, no byes, no slip ups. When you have a regular
keeper like Naga or Vijay or Jairam it makes a huge difference. Need to see how
we can have any one of them available for all games. Can Jairam come for games
Naga is missing? How is Vijay doing? We need any one of these keepers to be
available at all games.
Batting:
Chasing
small totals is a captain’s nightmare. He is tempted rather compelled to try
new batting combinations to test everyone’s’ mettle. At times he needs to
change batting order to provide everyone an equal opportunity. Dhanu and I
opened the innings and as has been the case this season, we were unable to
provide a base again. Either Dhanu or I are getting out early, this time it was
my turn as I hit a full toss to short
mid-wicket, Shailesh took a catch and I later heard dislocated his finger and
may not play this season. That ball should have been in the woods at mid-wicket
and not in Shailesh’s hands. In any case, we again failed the team and did not
provide the required start.
Pavan replaced me and played a very impressive
innings. One shot in particular will be remembered rest of the season, Jatin
pitched one short of a length, Pavan rode the bounced and caressed it to the
cover boundary. It was sheer brilliance, the opponents too clapped that shot.
Dhanu at other end was shifting gears and getting into top drive mode. He
drove, pulled and cut well, he was just about getting into his best frame. PCC
rang in the change and brought Yamunan their trump card.
With Yamunan there are
2 ways to play. Either you bash him from ball one and take him out of the frame
or you play the Block-Block French cricket. If you are in two minds, he will be
all over you like a rash. In a matter of two overs rash it was all over us. We
lost Pavan first ball to Yamunan, we lost Dhanu, Ananth, Manoj before we could
blink an eyelid. Pako supported Yamunan and there was panic in our camp. 58 for
six was looking very bad.
Dilip
is a cool cucumber while batting and a cat on hot tin roof at all other times. To
keep Dilip calm; give him a bat, put his pads on and send him in a crisis
situation. All this mayhem and pressure seemed to have no effect on him. The
ideal man joined Dilip, it was Chinmay with the bat. These two played very well
together against Middlesex and did it again here. They handled the pressure so
well, rebuilt our run chase one run at a time. They added 56 runs, the first 25
of which were singles, doubles and the odd boundary. Once Dilip set his eye in
he opened up and one particular pull shot seemed to kiss the top of the trees
at mid-wicket. Those familiar with PCC ground would know about the tall trees
at mid-wicket, square leg region. The trees are very tall and to hit the top of
one of those trees it has to be a huge hit. Dilip and Chinmay almost got us
home, with 12 more needed Dilip got out and to make it an action thriller,
Bhaskar got out immediately thereafter. Sid joined Chinmay who by then was in
total control.
Chinmay
has been batting wonderfully this season. As long as Dilip was there Chinmay
took singles and soaked the pressure in. He just dint allow the dibly dobly
stuff from Yamunan bother him. The winning target on mind, Chinmay smoothly
moved towards it. Sid was smart and played out time. Chinmay pounced on some
lose stuff from Nainil and brought us home. 12 runs can look like 120 runs with
just 2 wickets left. It can look a mountain or a lovely walking trail depending
on who is handling the chase. Chinmay and Sid made it look easy and dint let
pressure bother them. Chinmay hit the winning runs a boundary to square leg to
end the match on a happy note.
Comments:
There are two ways to look at this win. One is to say we should have won this
with about 7 wickets in hand. Other is to say good thing we experienced a
situation of pressure and saw what Dilip, Chinmay etc are capable of. It’s a
good thing they went thru this because in bigger chases like the one against
Crescent the lower order has a huge role to play and this experience will give
the team confidences to handle any situation.
The
big plus point for me from this game was emergence of Ananth as a potential
spin option. He continues to impress and is a huge gain. Dhanu is getting back
to form, is always a big –big plus for us. Chinmay continues to bat brilliantly
and doing justice to his batting abilities, I have great confidence in his
batting. Sid was showing signs of his bowling rhythm and he is a devastating
bowler. PCC guys were telling me they found him very hot and quick. Pavan
looked very good and can be very handy batsman. Venky is in tremendous nick, bowling
at his best.
Opening
batsmen as a unit need to put up a much better show. Dhanu-Chinmay bowling
combination is not as effective as it can be.
Continue
the good work on our warm up drills, looks and feels good. Go Eagles!!
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