Match Report: JECC vs CFC @ Dudash Park - 07/26/2015

JECC beat CFC by 8 wickets. Batting first, CFC scored 159/9 in 40 overs and JECC chased it down in 34 overs losing only 2 wickets

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=9814

Man of the Match: Sid – for taking 3 wickets and scoring 43 runs opening the innings.

Bhasker also scored 51 in a great opening stand with Sid. Murali’s 8 overs 18 runs and Venkis 3 wickets were the highlight performances of the match.

Toss:  We haven’t batted first in a while, losing the toss on most occasions and chosing to field when winning the toss on other occasions when we won it. Driving to the ground, Ananth made it clear that he wanted to bat first, so I put the onus on him to go for the toss on our teams behalf and win it. Dhanu and I gave him some good pep talk and told Ananth to practice calling. Dhanu went with tails and told Ananth that it was a tails day, but after assessing the conditions, Ananth called it heads. Bottom line, we lost the toss and were fielding first :(. All Ananth's fault!

Bowling: On a hot day, our star bowlers Venki and Sid got into a good rhythm initially, but with the fast outfield, runs were leaking as the CFC openers started to time the ball well. We still attacked with catching positions as the ball was moving a bit. One such ball off Venki’s took the edge to me at second slip opening the wickets count for us. Soon Sid got a wicket as well and with two new batsmen, Sid and Venki started to look very threatening. The pressure was mounting and runs pretty much dried up from the 6^th over. We dropped a couple of catches during this time and there were a few half chances as well, but the batsmen just hung in there. CFC were 33/2 in 10 overs.

A double change with Murali and Dhanu was equally effective as both of them stuck to a wonderful line and didn’t give anything away. Murali was exceptional moving the ball in the air and off the seam as he used to about 10 yrs back: ).  He bowled unchanged for 8 overs and was unfortunate to have a few catches dropped off his bowling. Dhanu from the other end was his old self again, zipping the ball through. They took us to the second break with 57/4 in 20 overs with a wicket each.

We introduced spin at this stage with Srini, myself and Ananth and got them to 93/5 in 30 overs. After the break, with pressure mounting, the CFC batsmen started hitting and connected a few shots. A fast outfield is tough to defend, but our bowlers did very well to contain the extras. Venki and Sid took a couple of wickets in between to stop the run flow. CFC got the score to 159 in 40 overs losing 9 wickets.

Batting: Our failures in batting became a conversation for jokes if we can chase even 50 runs forget 160 or 200.. A drastic change had to be made and I had decided to send in Sid and Venki to open initially with Srini to follow, but instinctively sent Bhasker as a steady batsman to support Sid’s stroke play.

Both batsmen played off a maiden each to start with. Normally, this would trigger alarms, but we were kind of happy to not lose a wicket in the first 2 overs as was happening before. 0/0 in 2 overs meant a few taunts from the opposition, but after getting the pace of the pitch and assessing the bowling, Sid unfurled some gorgeous drives to get us going. Bhasker was content to rotate the strike initially dabbing good length balls in the gaps for ones and twos.

Sid was in his element and was timing the ball beautifully. Classy cover drives and flicks ensured runs were flowing fast and by the first 10 over break, we were 35 for no loss. Bhasker started to play some wonderful lofted shots in the gaps and with Sid’s scintillating stroke play we were happily trottering along for 80 runs in 20 over break, exactly half way. A thundering pull shot was the highlight and our bench was laughing and enjoying the fun. CFC was pretty much done at this stage and were trying out all the bowling options they had. One kid with a balle-balle bowling action was hilarious!

Against the run of play, Sid got out and I sent in Srini holding back Ananth. Taking the attacking role, Bhasker upped the run rate with some well timed shots all around the ground. and got to his first 50 for JECC. Congrats Bhasker!

Srini played a very steadying hand rotating the strike well. Bhasker got out at 116 in 27 overs trying to finish things off quickly. Ananth went in and made sure nothing dramatic happened and together with Srini, got us home with 6 overs to spare.

It was a clinical chase and made us look very ‘professional’. Although one cannot expect the same performances every time, we should strive to get this consistency in batting, atleast in the top order. 

We all knew Sid capabilities and his 43 wasn’t too surprising, but Bhasker’s composed yet authoritative half century was a revelation indeed. This man can do everything! Keeping wickets, bowling and batting, we see Bhasker pushing himself to perform well whatever he does. Thank you Sir!

We celebrated a surprise 40^th birthday for Murali after the match with his family, some old friends and kids. A wonderful end to the day and we didn’t let Ravi’s biryani lunch go waste..We also disproved the biryani-loss jinx as well…Coming few games are very crucial for us in making a playoff spot. Let’s stay focused and get into this habit of winning!

Match Report: JECC vs Majestic@ Lowes field - 07/12/2015

Match Report

by

Ravi Suri

JECC beat Majestic by 1wicket. Batting first Majestic were all out for 140 in 36 overs.
JECC chased down the target with the last wicket remaining .

Wins like these give you such a HIGH!!! For past few games, rather most of the season we have had the rough end of the stick. We lost too many close games, let slip from our grip many games which were in our control. Not this one though. We lost the toss on a hot day and were put in the field first up.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=9763

Man of the Match: Srinivas for electrifying 27* in a tense chase and Dhanushka for 4 wkts bowling, an astounding catch and 19 runs batting.

Bowling: By and large this season we bowled well but missed one ingredient. The UNIT as a whole dint hunt as a pack. By that I mean if Venki bowled well in a game, Sid was not in full support or if Sid was firing on all cylinders then Venki was off the boil. So also with Dhanu and Chinmay. But this game the 4 of them bowled in tandem and put so much pressure on the top order. I was commenting to Ananth at slip saying our previous season we had opponents 4 down by about 15^th over in almost every game. That was missing this season till now. But this game brought the Eagles bowling combo back. Venki brought one in sharply to clean bowl the opener after he got off to a very decent start. Other end Sid was bowling very fast and had the batsman in trouble with his pace. The ball was thudding into Bhanu’s gloves. 

Dhanu came in first change after Venki and Sid bowled a tight spell of 4 overs each. At 9 over stage Majestic were 36 for one. The next 11 overs changed the game completely as Dhanu and Chinmay bowled a brilliant spell. Chinmay in particular bowled as well I have ever seen him. He dint bowl a wide in his entire spell and such accuracy puts tremendous pressure on the batsmen. Ananth took an outstanding catch at slip, I was at second slip, Ananth at first. Sidharth edged one which was coming straight to my face at second slip. Last minute Ananth dove to his right and plucked the fruit so to say from my mouth. Later when I saw where I was at second slip, I realized how much ground Ananth covered to take that catch. Chinmay’s bowling helped Dhanu as the batsmen felt strangulated at the other end. Relentless in his line and length and with ZERO experimentation Chinmay was a BIG factor in the game turning around. 

From 36 for one in 9 overs Majestic slipped to 54 for 4 by 20th over. From there on the odd dropped catch and two leg spinners bowling in tandem, with the wides coming as can be the case with leg spinners Majestic started to get back in the game. Dilip was smart to realize the pacers could the nail the deal, brought them back. Sid got 2 wickets with Dhanu taking one catch a long on and another one which was a stunner at cover. The second catch was a terrific effort with the ball going way high and Dhanu covered a lot of ground, tumbled and took a brilliant catch 99% effort with 1% DRAMA. We got Majestic all out for 140 which was a very easy target on a good batting wicket with reasonable outfield.

Batting: As a team we have been quite jinxed with the batting. Something or the other is going wrong and we are not able to bat to potential. Dhanu and I opened the innings with our captain laying the instructions to bat time and build a partnership. My troubled season continued and despite defending well for 10 balls and seeing the ball well and doing most things right I was out played on. The rub of the green is just not going our way. That said I will share some thoughts later in this report about how this great game balances the ends of a spectrum between good and bad times. Ananth replaced me and played an UN- ANANTH like innings. By that I mean normally Ananth is 0-1 mode either he is batting brilliantly or is out, have hardly seen him not time the ball or play airy fairy shots. This innings dint have the typical flow. 

Dhanu on other hand was grinding it out. He defended stoutly and took some well-placed singles and doubles. Ananth ran very well between the wickets and called particularly well. With his timing not being at its best Ananth pulled one to mid-wicket a soft shot which lobbed to mid-wicket, the fielder put down a SITTER. As Ananth was anxiously looking at result of the catch he was not prepared for next action point which is to ensure he is not run out. The fielder who dropped a sitter made up with a good throw. The bowler dint collect the ball but broke the stumps with his hand. Umpire was probably un sighted and gave Ananth out. Sid replaced Ananth, all this while the chase was not getting the right flow. We were getting our runs but the calm in the tent was missing. Dhanu’s determination was re assuring. Sid too was not in his elements and like Ananth was not timing as well as he usually does. Sid perished to his favorite shot, the pull. 

Venkat the Majestic captain sent the mid-wicket slightly deeper and Sid pulled one to his hands. On any other day he would have cleared the mid-wicket fence. Dilip replaced Sid and looked the best of the men who went to the crease. This year Dilip has been batting extremely well and one can sense his confidence and assuredness at the crease. Ananth apart Dilip and Sid are giving the rest of the team a sense of confidence while batting. While Dilip was digging in we lost Dhanu and Chinmay in quick succession. This put a huge shadow of doubt. Chinmay is a very good batsman with a sense of the game situation. He has always played the game with a lot of match awareness which is such a MUST to win games. Chinmay like the rest of us is having a rough time with luck. One bad shot, or one bad judgment or just that little lapse in concentration is getting him out. This game hinges so much on luck factor or rub of the green as they say.

Dilip followed Chinmay and got out as we lost wickets in a heap, we were struggling at 98 for 7. While all this happened somewhere in between Srini slipped in and played himself in calmly without being noticed. All eyes were on our earlier match winners like Dilip, Chinmay, who won games for us earlier. We were disappointed and worried when we lost them. Bhaskar and Srini started to re build and were looking good. Bhaskar is a calm customer and has shown us in earlier games he is a tough out and will not give his wicket easily. Just as Bhaskar and Srini we were giving us the re assurance Bhaskar got out to a freak catch, left handed diving effort at gully. Shekar looked good till he got run out, Shekar played one of the shots of the day a drive to cover point which was caressed more than hit to the boundary. It never looked like reaching the boundary when hit, but sped past the boundary on a heavy outfield, such was the timing on that stroke it left the fielders and the watchers wondering how did the ball travel so fast.

The ebbs and flow of this game were not for the faint hearted. Every time we felt safe in the chase we lost a wicket. Every time Majestic gave up the game we lost a wicket. Every time we felt now there is no chance, Srini came up with a MAJESTIC stroke. Srini’s timing during his innings was pure brilliance. A flick to mid-wicket and a cover drive were the highlights of his innings. The calmness he showed was un believable. Despite losing wickets at the other end, Srini dint play one rash shot or a shot in desperation to reach the target soon. With 17 more to get we lost our most dependable ice man Venky. Normally Venky is reliable and very able in such situations. He too is having a bad run of luck, one false shot and he was gone. Bhanu replaced Venky and to be honest some of us gave up the game. 

Unable to watch the tension we started to pack up the bags, bring the tent down. During this time Bhanu defended stoutly and Srini never ever gave up. The wides from bowlers helped; Bhanu gave Srini the confidence that he would finally get a partner who will stay with him.

I referred to the balancing act this great game provides; just a few weeks back Srini dropped a sitter against Indians and I could see how much he hurt that day. It was a like night which never ends for Srini, that’s the feeling when you have a bad day in the field. You feel so low and down (as I am feeling with my batting these days) and wonder when will you turn the corner. The game of cricket is fascinating because you can be the HERO one day even if you have been a villain on earlier occasions. The game provides opportunities as it did for Srini; he controlled the chase and was the MAN OF THE MOMENT. 

Under extreme pressure the calm approach shown by Srini was admirable. The best part was he never played a false shot, his defense was assured, his run making shots were precise and his control over temperament was an example for rest of us to take away from. A terrific win which I hope and expect will motivate us to more wins this season. Let’s fight our way to # 8 spot which is still in our grasp. THANK YOU SRINI for an inspiring knock. Dhanu well bowled and brilliantly caught!! WELL DONE Eagles!!

I love the spirit in our team, win or lose we stand and stick be each other. Even in our worst phase I never noticed any finger pointing or lack of coordination in the field. Yesterday it was embarrassing to see opponent team so ill coordinated. A lot of this spirit in Eagles is thanks to team management; the captain- vice captain seniors like Dhanu-Ananath-Sid-Venky-Naga. Great to be part of this team. A word on Bhanu who kept for the first time ever and did a tremendous job.

RS