Match report by Chinmay - JECC vs USCA on 07/27/2014 @ Far Hills

Match report by Chinmay Bhat 

JECC beat USCA by 8 wickets.

Batting First, USCA were all out for 57 in 28 overs. JECC chased down the target for 2 wickets in 13 overs.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8661

Man of the match: Sid for an outstanding opening spell, to claim 3 wickets.

Bowling:

Much to our disappointment, USCA won the toss and elected to bat. We would have loved to bat first in this match and give our batters a chance to put up a good score, but that was not to be. Like a well-oiled machine, our opening bowling pair of Venki and Sid continue to produce good performance week in and week out. They both seem to enjoy their bowling partnership and have a contrasting, yet complementary bowling styles. Sid getting huge in-swingers at an alarming pace with an occasional bouncer and Venki skidding the ball while moving it off the seam.

With the cloud cover and the ball moving around, we knew that it was a matter of time before USCA would loose their first wicket. Sid got us the break through in his very first over when the batsman couldn’t cover the inswing got bowled. The next batsman, who was left handed found himself in a very precarious position where the ball was moving around with three slips waiting to gobble up any edge. He got beaten the very first ball but promptly edged the second ball to the second slip. I took my first catch of the season. Venki continued to keep it tight on the other end and was rewarded with an LBW for a ball that was full and heading to the stumps (More on this below). Sid bowled a beautiful ball that held its line to get the next batsman bowled and claim his 3rd wicket in 4 overs.

After the first 8 overs, the sun was out and it was time for some spin. Ron (our new player – left arm spinner) came in next and got the batsman bowled in his very first over for JECC. He bowled with good control and was unfortunate not to get another wicket when we dropped a catch. At this point USCA were 5 down and fighting for survival. They had lost 5 wickets at one end while the other opener showed good defensive skills.

This match was an emotional one for the JECC member's as it was Murali's last match before he moves out of NJ. It was obvious that everybody was going to miss his friendship and the affable nature. It was time for Murali to weave some magic and he did. He got the other opener out thanks to a well-judged catch by Sid. Sid ran back from covers and took the catch with a well-timed jump. While we were walking back for the first break, Umpire requested us to recall the batsman who got out to Venki, as the umpire thought there was an inside edge. This was an unusual request as the batsman had already walked off and they had lost 4 more wickets after that. We weren’t convinced of calling the batsman back. Due to the fact that USCA is a team of youngsters (13-16 year Old’s), we decided to let the batsman bat one more time but asked the umpire to bat him after they loose all the 10 wickets.

After the second break we wrapped up the tail quickly with Jay taking 2 wickets and Murali grabbing another one. Manoj kept one end tidy and bowled in the channel. Penchal bowled 2 overs and was unlucky when a close LBW was turned down.  Their 11th(!!!) wicket partnership hung around for a while and scored another 15 odd runs. Dhanu polished off the last wicket with a full ball that earned him an LBW.

  

Batting:

After a quick break, Dhanu and Ananth went in to open the batting. Ananth got started on the first ball that he carved over point for couple of runs. Dhanu played couple of beautiful squarecuts, one of which went for four. They both were aggressive from the start and we looked set for a 10 wicket win.  Against the run of the play, Ananth got out to a slower ball that he couldn’t keep it down and spooned it to long off.  Very next over Dhanu got out to a ball that took the outside edge on its way to the slips.

By popular demand, we sent in Murali at the fall of first wicket.  As soon as Murali went in, he tried to play his trademark hoik over midwicket and missed the ball. This resulted in everybody shouting at Murali to play straight. After that slight misjudgment, better senses prevailed in Murali. He played straight and played couple of good-looking cover drives. Naga played his trademark leg glances. Naga and Murali finished the game in 13 overs without much difficulty. We all wanted Murali to finish the match unbeaten and it was very satisfying to see him be there until the end.

Overall it was an easy win for us against a young opposition. More importantly, we got the 2 points we needed. We have 3 vital and relatively difficult games coming up. As we get closer to the playoffs, it is very important for us to maintain the winning momentum and raise the bar. Lets Go.... EAGLES.....

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

Match Report by Ravi - JECC vs SGCC Jr. 07/13/2014 @ Princeton

Match report by:
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 5^th 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

Match Report by Ravi: JECC vs Franklin @ Far Hills on 06/29/2014

Match Report by

Ravi Kumar Suri

JECC lost to Franklin CC by 24 Runs.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8596

Man of the Match: For JECC - Dhanu for 43 runs and 2 wickets and Murali for outstanding spell and 3 crucial wickets.

Toss: It was a beautiful summer day for cricket. Not too hot, just a mild breeze, beautiful blue sky, terrific looking green outfield with looking being operative word. All in all a perfect day for cricket. Murali spun the coin and it was correctly by Bharat and Franklyn opted to bat. 

Bowling: As has been the practice this whole season our new ball pair of Y’ster (Venkatesh) and Sid bowled magnificently and were extremely unlucky in not getting a bucket full of wickets. Time and again the ball went past the edge without catching it. At the odd occasion when the ball caught the edge it missed the umpire’s ear or the slip fielder’s hands. Either way our opening bowlers were very unlucky.

The opponents were slowly getting into a strong position. At first drink break the game was Even Steven at 42 for 1 but after that Paresh stepped on the gas and hit some lusty blows. He was timing the ball very well and Bhaskar was also prospering. The “Go To Man” Dhanu was pressed into the attack and he did what he does most often which is get a wicket in his first over. Paresh square cut a short rising ball to me at point. I held onto it which gave us a crucial break. We piled the pressure from here on and all the bowlers, Murali in particular bowled very well to bring us right back in the game. Our catching was pretty good Srinath took two, Naga kept very well and took a couple. From a safe position of 70 for one, Franklyn crumpled to 119 for 8. At this stage we had the game in our grip. A crucial 50-50 LBW went in favor of Bhaskar and this turned the game in their favor. 

Sid was brought in for his second spell and after starting off with a couple of wides he brought one in which I felt had the batsman in front. If this decision had gone in our favor we would have wrapped up the game. Unfortunately it went in favor of the batman who made most of it. Our bowlers were doing their best and were reasonably supported in the field, but Bhaskar and the tail batted very sensibly adding 40 crucial runs. That partnership set us back and the momentum shift gave a huge shot in the arm to the opponent. All our bowlers bowled quite well but we could not drive the final nail in the coffin and allowed the buried to come out of the coffin. Only observation I have to make is we are still giving away too many wides.  

It’s not about a particular bowler, all seem guilty of this. In this match too ultimately it was the wides which cost us. I would love an honest and open chat between the captain – bowlers and maybe one or two senior players who can help the bowlers devise the bowling strategy. As much as batsmen thrive in partnerships, bowlers also do so. In a partnership we notice if one batsmen is at his attacking best, the other batsman goes into a support role.

A great example of a bowler going into a support role was seen in what Bharat did when we were batting. He bowled 8 overs for 20 runs 4 of which were maidens. This put huge pressure on our batting. Hats off to Bharat as he knew his limitations and bowled within them. To the extent of being boring he repeated one good ball after another.

Batting: Dhanu and I opened the innings in pursuit of 167 which was a gettable target. I was totally out of sorts and could not time my shots. I was hitting AIR whenever I tried to hit the ball.  Dhanu was at his attacking best and belted his trade mark shots. The lofted cover drive, lofted on drive and the pull were timed sweetly and we were off to good start. If only I could get some runs, the pressure would have been complete on the opponent. After struggling for 6 overs I finally got out. I had two lives in between all this agony. Cricket is such a funny game, when you don’t need or deserve the luck you get it and when you badly need it you don’t find it. Hari replaced me and was not able to get the run rate ticking. He too fell without getting in double figures. 

Dhanu mean time was batting really well. He was joined by Naga who settled in with a calm approach. All this while Franklyn was tightening the screws and they had two very seasoned and cool heads on their side. Pradeep and Bharat bowled brilliantly and well within their limits. Bowlers in general, not necessarily from our team, can learn a lot from Bharat in particular and Pradeep too. The idea it to have a game plan and then attempt to implement it. Moment Bharat noticed Dhanu was in full flow, he focused on an off stump and good length line. This was defensive bowling at its best. But in defense lies the platform for attack. Thanks to Bharat I became frustrated and to an extent that curtailed Dhanu. Dhanu fell to Pradeep and this was a huge turning point. Any time Dhanu gets out the match tilts a bit, that is how critical a player he is for us.  

Sid joined Naga and started to build a partnership. Pradeep got Sid to drive a bit early and spoon a catch. With wickets falling the pressure was building. Runs were coming only in singles and doubles. Boundaries were scarce given the tight bowling. Chinmay joined Naga and gave us some confidence of a re build. Naga was solid and rotating the strike. Chinmay looked very good till Pradeep got the better of him. Flight is always a teaser and makes you commit mistakes. Flight with control is a deadly combination. Pradeep excels at this combination. He was making our batsmen commit errors. Avi joined the battle and hit some lusty blows, just as we thought we will pull one from chest nut out of the fire, Avi mistimed a pull to be caught. Naga was his cool self and kept us in the hunt. 

Vijay reminds me of a Rajanikanth movie, it’s all ACTION with him at the batting crease. There is never a dull moment. He took some unbelievable singles and converted non-existent singles to doubles due to panic by fielders who could not believe what Vijay was doing. One who lives by the word dies by the same. That’s what happened to Vijay, he took off on a miracle which dint materialize, though but for the direct hit he would have made it. Naga meantime got out caught mistiming a pull. Y’ster was there and we had hope till he was at the wicket. However he too perished pulling to mid wicket. Murali remained not out and without support.

All in all a good game played in Great Spirit. We should have won this game, as we could not close the deal while bowling and also slipped while batting. The positives are our new ball bowlers continue to be a huge threat, Murali has settled down into a new role of support and play to situation, Dhanu is the back bone which is solid as always, much like Dilip,  Chinmay was very impressive with field placements and bowling changes, the batting unit has done well but for this game. We must use this wakeup call to good effect and ensure we get back to winning ways. A downhill can be very steep and we need to guard ourselves and ensure we don’t head towards the downhill.

Have a great long week end all. Look forward to catching up soon.

Cheers

Ravi

Match Report by Sid - JECC vs HBCC 06/22 @ Far Hills.

Report by 
Siddharth Jayakumar (Sid)

JECC beat HBCC by 5 wickets, winning 6 games in a row (excluding the called-off game against Cavaliers).

Scorecard:http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8573

Man of the Match: Our war-horse(not old though!) Vijay for a match-winning 50, converting a middle-order batting collapse to a convincing victory.

TOSS: We won the toss on a cloudy day and our stand-in captain Chinmay chose to bowl expecting some movement for our medium pacers and hoping the outfield would get faster as the day progressed.

Bowling: Venky and I opened the bowling for us. The ball was doing a bit but after seeing off the first few balls, their opener Ibrahim started with a well-timed straight six off Venky. Both their openers played positive cricket and they were off to a good start.
I went for 12 runs in my third over as both the batsmen had enough time to play good-length balls off the back foot. We realized that while the pitch offered good bounce, 
the ball was stopping for Venky and me as we tried to hit the deck hard. Chinmay brought in Murali and Dhanu after 6 overs. They bowled well in tandem but the batsmen were still going at 5 runs anover. 

Realizing the need for a wicket, Chinmay came in and immediately struck forcing Ibrahim to sky a catch towards long-off. We had the momentum as got the next couple of wickets within the first break with the score reading 70/3 in 14 overs.

Their no.5 batsmen and opener Anand applied themselves well and went about getting ones and twos without much diffculty aided by our generous offering of extras. Chinmay brought in Jay to slow their scoringas the pair put on a 50-run partnership. Jay bowled very well beating the batsmen with flight and turn consistently and soon got rid of their other opener Anand plumb in front with an off-spinner.

At the second break, they were 140/4 in 28 overs still going at 5 an over. Murali then joined the party and got rid off their set no.5 and the new batsmen with an accurate yorker right after a slow off-spinner.
Jay at other end was lucky to get an lbw off a ball that was short/low and almost pitched twice before reaching the batsman. After 3 wickets, they were below 150 for 7 with 9-10 overs remaining. 

Chinmay and Dhanu picked a wicket each a couple of overs later but allowed their lower order to score another 40+ runs thanks to a few dropped catches and wides. Notably, their last pair played >5 overs managing to remain unbeaten while we bowled 30+ wides in total.

Batting: Chasing 191, Dhanushka and Hari opened the innings for us cautiously. Dhanu looked in great touch and unleashed some classy pulls, cover drives to get us to 22 after just 3 overs. Hari at the other end was just getting set when he was bowled trying to whack a good length delivery. Ananth joined Dhanu and looked confident. We got going as Ananth played some of his trademark cover drives. His 2 consecutive straight boundaries off their opening bowler Sameer stood out. 

We were 73/1 in 14 overs at the first break with Dhanu at 44. After the break, HBCC got their spinners in. Dhanu was getting tired and offered a couple of chances before reaching a well-constructed 50.

But he was dismissed soon by their off-spinner Anand off a leading edge. Naga joined Ananth but their partnerhsip was brief as Ananth got out leg before trying to work the ball on the leg side. I joined Naga and we decided to steady the boat but that was not to be. Naga was out stumped coming down to a delivery from their leg spinner bowling around the wicket. 

Vijay joined me in the middle - we looked comfortable against spinners taking ones and twos. Just when it looked like we were cruising, I got out stumped off their leg spinner coming down the ground. Chinmay joined Vijay and we needed around 70 runs at this stage.

They applied themselves well and played sensibly picking ones and twos with ease. At the second break, we needed 58 off 12 overs with 5 wkts in hand. Chinmay and Vijay carried the momentum forward, playing along the ground cutting out any risk while Vijay started timing the ball better. They made sure our required rate was under 5 an over and the equation came down to 30 off 6 overs. They both started finding the gaps easily and Vijay unlaeashed a well-timed six off a short ball getting us to close to a victory with the required rate dropping to 3 an over. They finished the task with 2 overs to spare with Vijay getting to a match-winning 50 in the process.

It was a great win for us chasing a big score. It was great to see another batsmen finding form and scoring valuable runs. Lets keep winning and win them all ! Go Eagles !

Match Report: JECC vs Miracle 06/08/2014 @ Thomas Jefferson, Edison NJ

JECC beat Miracle by 3 wickets to make it 5 wins in a row!

Batting first, Miracle were all out for 151 in 34 overs. JECC chased down the target for 7 wkts in 35 overs.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8532

Man of the match: Our  very own young'star' - Venkatesh for a superb allround performance. He took 2 wkts in a tight spell but more importantly scored a match winnings of 47 not out that rescued us from a terrible batting collapse and got us home comfortably.

Bowling: Miracle won the toss and opted to bat first on their peculiar home ground. With short off-side boundaries and bumpy outfield, our task was to stick to a tight line and length. Sid and Venky did just that in their first spell. Generating considerable swing, both bowlers were almost unplayable.

Venky got us the first breakthrough with an excellent short pitched ball that was brilliantly caught, running backwards by Jay at short square leg. Sid kept the pressure on from the other end and got us another breakthrough but was unlucky to have a couple of more wickets, courtesy of some bad umpiring.

Dhanu came in to bowl after a 3 week break and got stuck immediately as if he never left . He got two quick wickets in his second over and was on a hat-trick. With impeccable line and control as usual, Dhanu played the main threat to the batsmen. With a change of pace at the other end, Jay bowled spin at the other end and I stepped in later on. A few good balls of mine were blocked and a short pitched ball got us another wicket with Jay's good catch in the deep.

With about 80/6 at the half way stage, we had the match in our bag, but a couple of their batsman hung along and started to attack..with the score past 100, I got Dhanu again to get a important breakthrough. Sid got us another wicket with his short run up and Venky finished his spell with a wicket too..Chinmay, and Murali later on came up to bowl some tight overs and cleaned up the tail, which stretched their total to 151. Dhanu was the main wicket taker with 4 wickets and Venky, Sid shared two each.

Special mention to our truest all rounder Sid, who kept wickets too after Vijay hurt his back. With 3 dismissals his keeping was a great asset to the team.

Batting: Ravi and Dhanu opened the batting with the short boundary in both of their favorite area - point/square leg. Ravi didn't require any special invitation and launched into the opening bowlers. With flashing cuts he signalled his arrival with two huge sixes over point. After getting a look in, Dhanu joined the fun too with a towering six and a four and we were running away by the 8th over and about 45 runs on board.

A panicked miracle team introduced spinners and a dubious lbw decision got Ravi's wicket. Ananth set himself in with a cracking cover driven 4 but got out tamely to a loose ball. I went in after the break and was out duck 2nd ball. From 45/0, we were 65/4 when Dhanu was adjudged lbw to a ball that pitched way outside leg...this caused a mini panic attack, but Sid and Avi cooled things down a bit, but it wasnt enough as both got out cheaply.

With 73/6 by the 20th over, Chinmay and Venky blocked out a lot of loose balls and got their eye in. Running ones and twos, they slowly started the recovery. Venky displayed lot of determination and picked up singles and doubles. After settling in, Venky picked up a loose full toss and dispatched it way outside the playing area for a towering six. Chinmay struck a few boundaries as well and we looked in good shape.
Both of them got us past 100 and we only needed 3-4 runs an over now.

This caused Miracle's team some worries and they started misbehaving...They used chatter, sledge, chucking whatever they could to try and get a wicket. A couple of close calls didn't go their way and this aggravated them further...Chinmay got out at this stage to a good catch with the score at 117 and only 3 wickets to go.

Things started to get tense for us as well when Venky got irritated by a blatant chucking ball and spooned an easy catch which was fortunately dropped by miracle. Vijay was there and together with Venky got things moving on and got us into striking distance.
Venky then decided that it was time and launched into the bowlers for a couple of sixes and well timed shots. Vijay finished off the match in style with a huge six and we finished the match with 5 overs to go.

Five wins a row guys..lets keep the winning streak on!

Match Report: JECC vs Middlesex - 06/01/2014 @ Weston Rd

JECC bt Middlesex by 20 runs.

Batting first after winning the toss, JECC were all out for 183 in 39 overs, thanks to superb batting efforts by Sid, Abhi and Chinmay. We got Middlesex all out for 164 in 36 overs in a tense finish.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8488

Man of the Match: Chinmay for a great batting effort of 53* that revived yet another batting collapse. His bowling of 4 crucial wickets turned the match in our favor. 

Special mentions to Abhi's(50 runs) and Sid's (31 runs) batting that kept us in the match and saved us from a huge batting collapse.

Batting: On a fast bouncy pitch and fast outfield, Ravi and I went to open the innings and got a idea of the outfield and things to expect when my cover drive went to four all along the ground. I was out in the second over trying a lofted shot over cover. Ravi looked set when a cracking square cut sped to the boundary and with Ananth looking to get set, we thought we were in good shape. Unfortunately, both Ananth and Ravi got out quickly and Naga was run out soon after in a mix up.

Things weren't looking so good as we lost our top order within the first 10 overs and only about 30 runs on board. A tactical change - to send in Srinath at this juncture to hold one end up worked very well. His job was to just block the bowling and he did it very well with Sid on the other end ticking along the scoreboard. The lull in scoring kind of worked as a stabilizing mode for us and after Srinath's departure, we sent in Venki to do the same. He was out soon and it was left to Abhi (Avi) and Sid to start the repairs.

Inspired by his wife's presence on the sidelines, Sid unleashed some stylish strokes to up the ante...He hit  3 consecutive fours in a 15 run over to get our momentum going on, but was out unfortunately to a brilliant catch by their keeper. With the score reading 81/7 in 25 overs, Chinmay and Abhi set out to just play out the 40 overs quota.

Well..that was the plan :)..but Abhi in his typical attacking style went after the bowling to treat us to a run fest. With some brilliant counter-attacking shots, he demoralized their bowling and hit some huge sixes. 

Chinmay joined the fun and went after the bowling with some powerful shots all around the park. He ran well for twos and threes and picked up the boundaries with some intelligent batting. With the sudden attack from Chinmay and Avi, the middlesex bowlers were left speechless and we were chugging along nicely at 150/7 with 6 overs to go, aiming for 200. We took the batting poweplay when Abhi got out trying a big shot. 

With only Penchal and later Murali as company, Chinmay farmed the strike well and hit some big shots. He went past his 50 with a powerful boundary and remained not out at 53 getting us to a very defendable 183.

Bowling:  With the momentum shifting in our favor, Middlesex went on the offensive and started hitting from the first ball that Venki bowled and went for 12 runs. Sid cut down the pace and tried to bowl to a tight line. We weren't used to such a fast outfield and it took us a little bit to understand the length and the field placings right , but middlesex raced to 20 odd runs in quick time. 

With a gut feeling that pace will not work, I got in Murali to replace Venki after just one over. Murali's experience worked like a charm when he got rid off the hitter off his first ball, brilliantly caught at long off by Abhi. Murali got another wicket off the very next ball with a beautiful inswinger and suddenly he was on a hatrick. We were pumped up to get two quick wickets but the batsmen negotiated the bowling well and were content to block and prod for ones and twos..Sid and murali kept up the pressure but the  pair stuck around and got the score board moving.

After the first break, I came on and was lucky to get the breakthrough with one that kept low. Penchal was bowling well from the other end to keep up the pressure, but I kept leaking runs..Chinmay came on to replace me and got us a important wicket off their set batsman. With some accurate line and cheeky change of pace, Chinmay was able to get two more wickets and we were able to sniff victory now..Sid came on to replace Penchal and got a set batsman out off a short pitched ball.

The middlesex batting line up went on our lines and kept some important guys to the end. With the target closing on and runs flowing off edges interlaced with some big hits, we started to get concerned. A easy caught behind off Sid's bowling was turned down by the umpire and we were left fuming...The target was now 40 odd runs with 2 wickets to go. 

Chinmay got us another important breakthrough of Mustafa with a good catch by Ananth at short third man and we thought we had it in the bag..the last pair added some 20 runs off a few loose balls but Penchal ensured that they didn't get away and finished the match by getting them all out with 4 overs to go.

Match Report: JECC vs Punjab XI at Far hills - 05/18/2014

JECC beat Punjab XI by 3 wkts. 

Batting first after winning the toss, Punjab were all out for 130. JECC chased the target in 36 overs with 3 wkts remaining. 

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8408

Man of the Match: Chinmay for taking 3 crucial wickets and scoring 26 runs.

Bowling: We had a great first session with both Sid and Venky bowling some accurate and sharp bowling. Sid got us the first breakthrough courtesy of a sharp catch at gully by our debutant Hari.  Venky followed it by bowling the other opener off a ripper. Sid was looking in great rythm and bowled unchanged taking two more wickets in the process. We were very well positioned at 35/4 by the first break. It could have been even great had we not dropped a couple of tough catches.

Sensing that the classical batting method wasn't working, their main batsmen - the bawa brothers attacked our bowlers after the break. Penchal, Murali, Sid and especially me got some rough treatment and they added on to 45 runs in a quick 5 over span. 

Chinmay came at this crucial juncture and got a wicket in his first over. He was successful in applying the brakes and together with Murali built up pressure on their batsmen. Chinmay got two more important wickets with his accurate and economical bowling. Murali chipped in with another wicket to go into the second break. Their tail-enders hung around a bit to play off 40 overs, but Penchal came in to rip off two quick wickets and wrap up their innings at 130.

Batting: Hari and I opened the innings and we got off to a decent start. The youngster -Hari, playing his first match for us opted to open the batting bravely in the absence of out star player Dhanushka. He displayed the left handers stylishness and hit a couple of delightful pulls for boundaries. With some quick ones and twos, we built up a 25 runs partnership when Hari was out caught. Ananth came in and immediately stuck his favorite lofted cover drive for a boundary but got bowled off the very next ball. 

Ronak got out soon after and Sid and I went into the break with their spinners about to bowl. Against the huge anticipation and probably over cautiousness, I chipped a tame catch off Ricky bawa's first ball. Avi joined Sid and both played sensibly rotating the strike and got the score board ticking. Sid was very patient only taking ones and twos. Avi got out trying a big shot and it was left to Chinmay and Sid to get us out of the hole. 

With almost 75 runs to go, both Chinmay and Sid curbed their aggressive strokeplay and played to the teams requirement. It takes great mental strength for strokeplayers like them to do so and they have become our big middle order batsmen. Both played very sensibly and barely lofted the ball. With the partnership building, we got close to 100 when a change of bowling and the second break caused Sid to lose his wicket after a 35 run  partnership.

Penchal was the saving grace at this point. He mixed caution with some aggressive shots and stepped up the tempo along with Chinmay at the other end.  They both saw off the main bowlers and were involved in a 40 run partnership that got us in striking distance of the target. Chinmay got out attempting a six with 2 needed and Penchal remained not out hitting the winning runs.

It was a relatively easy win for us barring a couple of hiccups. 

Match Report - JECC vs Princeton at Far Hills, 05/11/14 - by Murali

Match Report by Murali

JECC won the game by 40 runs. 

ScoreCard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=8339

Princeton CC won the toss and chose to field first. JECC scored 183/10 in 39.4 overs. Princeton CC all out for 144 in 34.5 overs

Man of the Match: Dhanushka for a classy 62 runs and excellent bowling.

Batting: Dilip and Dhanu opened the innings, they gave us a great start putting up a 50 run partnership in just 12 overs. Ananth joined Dhanu after Dilip was caught-behind trying to negotiate an excellent delivery. Both of them continued the bat and had another good partnership of 61 runs. We lost our 2^nd wicket (Ananth) at 111, he got out on another good ball while he tried to make room to cut the ball. Sid and Naga got out early while Dhanu hung around with Shivam and kept the score card moving. 

Dhanu fell for 62, Vijay and Shivam played some good strokes as we entered into the last 8 overs. We took the batting power-play giving an opportunity to our stroke players a chance to go after the bowlers during the last overs. Well ! Power-play overs are very tricky, sometimes they work and othertimes it gets our batsmen. Both Shivam and Vijay displayed good stroke play. Venky and I did not last long, Manoj and Srinath batted really well putting up a 20 run partnership for the last wicket and got us to a decent total 183.

Overall 183 was a pretty good total to defend at our ground.

Bowling: Going into the field with great confidence, Venky and Sid gave us an excellent start. Sid continued his bowling form from the previous game, he was spot on and got us a breakthrough in his very 1^st over, an unplayable delivery with good bounce…forcing the batsman to play the ball and edge it to the keeper. Looked like Venky thought...hey !..it’s my turn now and gets his man right away…again getting a caught-behind.  Good take by Vijay behind the wickets moving to his leg-side. 

I was introduced in the 1^st spell, was rewarded immediately in my 2^nd over and another one in my 3^rd over. Both these wickets were a result of tight bowling and perfect fielding set-up by Dilip based on the batting style of their big scorer (Mohammad). 

Shivam and Manoj took good catches. Dilip and Dhanu came on to bowl next. Dilip got his 1^st wicket, catch at point by shivam. Dhanu continued to bowl tight on the other end. After that there was a long pause in getting the wickets as their #6 and #7 batsmen played very sensibly just rotating the strike and seeing off good balls. Srinath bowled well, but was unlucky to get a wicket. They kept it simple, played well except for the two chances they gave us..one in Srinath’s over and another in Dilip’s over. 

Dilip brought back Sid and then Vijay in an effort to break the partnership, but things still were going their way. I came back on, tried hard…bowled well…but couldn’t break their partnership. Dhanu too bowled really well, they couldn’t score on him ..but at the same time they didn’t give away their wicket. Though it looked like the game was slipping away, we all knew that all we need is to break this partnership and we are back ON. We were very confident on winning the game and the fighting spirit was still ON.  

After the 2^nd break in the innings (30^th over), Dilip took the challenge upon himself ..came back and bowled an excellent over getting us the wicket we had been waiting for past 15 overs. Rightly so …got in our speedster Venky to bowl the next over to wrap up things. He was deadly….even better than his first spell…they could not even touch his deliveries. He bowled a maiden over with 2 wickets. Amazing comeback spell. Dilip cleaned up their last batsman and won the game for us !!

With Dilip taking 4 wickets, Venky: 3 wickets, Myself: 2 wickets and Sid : 1 wicket pushed Princeton to the losing side.

Over all ! Great performance, Excellent fight back by Eagles. Enjoyed the game thoroughly. This is the kind of start we need for the season and we got it now. Let’s continue this winning habit and go all the way.

Cheers !!

Match Report by Ravi : JECCvs Piscataway - CLNJ on May 4, 2014

Match Report: Eagles vs Piscataway CLNJ game on May 4, 2014

by Ravi Kumar Suri

Used to write these reports from 2000 to 2007 after which I took a back seat, enjoying other’s reporting abilities. Our official reporter for the season was off today, I am filling in.

When we reached the ground this morning the wretched winter seem to have come back in all its freeze. Players with thick jackets and hoods at a cricket ground is never a pretty sight. The bright whites of players, the glowing green of the outfield, 2 sets of 3 stumps with bails on them, the 22 yard strip, and boundary cones laid, the 30 yard circle laid is what gets the adrenalin pumping. Most of this was missing as we assembled for start of the match.

Chinmay standing in for Dilip won the toss and after some due diligence opted to field. There is a proven mathematical equation between the Sun being out and the number of runs being scored. Almost every time the sun is not in its bloom, the batsmen seem to be playing with their feet in cement. The batsmen’s eyes seem uncertain and therefore the timing is awry. In contrast the bowler looks sharper, hungrier and meaner. And if the bowler is a mart cookie like Sid who read the conditions and adapted his bowling to suit the conditions, he comes out a winner and the batsmen come out a cropper.

At the huddle Chinmay laid the objectives for us the fielding unit crystal clear. He asked the bowlers to bowl stump to stump and short of a length. The operative word being short of length, which is hugely different from short. Venky and Sid opened the bowling. Venky bowled a good first over and Sid followed up with telling spell. A cricketer who sums up the match situation, weather conditions, wicket behavior, outfield behavior as in quick / slow etc. is always a huge plus for the team. I saw Chinmay lead for the first time and was hugely impressed with his handling of various cricketing aspects. The first thing I look for in a captain is his field set. Is the field set in tune with the outfield, in tune with who is bowling, in tune with weather and wicket conditions. 

For Venky and Sid Chinmay had a slip, a wide gully, a point, a cover point, cover and mid-off on the off side. The on side had mid-on, midwicket and a square leg. Why this field impressed me was the captain dint get carried away with over cast conditions and have 2 slips and a gully, a third man or fine leg all of which were avoidable because the idea was to build run less pressure on the batsman. Equally important was that one of the openers Yamunan is known for his ability to stick at the wicket as against his ability to go hell for leather. Role of the captain is to weigh in all these parameters; who is bowling, who is batting, how the wicket is behaving. Not only weigh in the parameters but also keep a close eye on how well is the bowler responding on that given day.

To get back to the game, after a good first over from Venky, Sid pitched one up and Pakaji thumped it to wide mid-on. Sid’s cricketing awareness kicked in and he pitched short of a length and was immediately rewarded. He bowled Pakaji with a beauty which came in sharply and uprooted the off peg. There is no better sight for the bowler than seeing a cart wheeling stump. Having smelt blood and realizing what length to bowl Sid dint let up the pressure and kept attacking to regularly disturb the timber. He performed the Double Pressure act, don’t give runs and take wickets!!

Cricket matches turn on small acts of the captain, a good field change, a smart bowling change a promotion in batting etc. One such smart act was getting Dhanu to bowl in the 5th over after Venk found his line going out of sync. In low scoring games every run and rhythm of the bowler literally every ball matters big time. It is therefore important for captain to be on his toes on a ball by ball basis. The slightest of let up and things can go out of control. Dhanu responded with a wicket immediately and we had Piscataway at 30 for 4. The pressure was building, Arpit and Shilp counter attached, the odd catch was dropped and would normally happen in a close game a partnership built. 

Chinmay tried all bowling combinations at hand, Venk was brought back, Murali bowled very well and kept things tight. Chinmay came to bowl but dint bowl in the right areas. As the partnership kept mounting, Sid was brought back and he struck a telling blow. He got the danger man Arpit bowled to a beauty. From there on it was a matter of time. Jay contributed by taking a spectacular catch. He ran from square to deep square leg a 12 to 15 yard sprint and took the catch. Dhanu plucked a catch out of my unsure hands, Srinath held a catch and played with the ball raising the captain Blood Pressure!! All in good fun as we had Piscataway bundled for 79.

Dhani and I opened the innings and as we stepped out talked to each other saying if we can lay a foundation of about 30 we will be well on the road. That’s exactly what we did, running well between wickets, the left right combination helped as well. Dhanu is a team mate’s delight, a captain’s delight and a MUST have for any team. Most often he delivers with bat and ball, at worst he will deliver with either bat or ball. End of the day he is a delivery man. (If he were a woman, he would have an easy time at DELIVERY!!!)

Dhanu gave us a flying start and put us on the road. Jay came in after me, dint last long. We lost 3 wickets at the same score of 30, but Vijay and Shivam started playing well and re building. Vijay was given out to a doubtful decision as it appeared the ball swung prodigiously and seemed to miss everything. Shivam also got out to a tricky decision lbw. Chinmay and Murali saw us through. Chinmay more than made up for his bowling and batted extremely well. Smart cricket was needed to see off Benny and that is exactly what Chinmay and Murali played. Running sharp dingles converting ones to two’s running the odd three all the while bringing the target down. Chinmay played some lovely pull shots, good sweep shots and the odd chip shot. There was no panic, no mad rush it was a cool chase from former and stand in captain.

Congrats Eagles, job well done. Sid you have made a dream start to the season. Your broad bat and broad shoulders can take a lot of load. I wish you a very successful season. I remember mentioning to you that I have great hope from your bowling and if you can start the ball from outside the off and leave the rest to your natural talent you will be a match winner. If we can get a pitch map of your bowling yesterday it will show 90% of your bowling was on or outside off. If you can replicate the line every game, you will provide Eagles break through’ game after game put tremendous pressure on any batting lineup.

Thank you Eagles!! I enjoyed this game thoroughly as all 11 players brought something to the table. A perfect team game.