A confident innings during defeat

Last weekend we suffered loss against Amchis CC. The frequency of matches against these guys, who apparently gave us our first victory, has turned quite into a rivalry. I had a decent outing but we failed as a unit.

We were put into bat first on a damp pitch where the ball stopped after bouncing. It was difficult to judge the pace of the ball. We decided that 65 would be good target. After losing early wickets we were 32/2 in 10 overs with Sanjeev and Shrikanth hanging in there. However, a cluster of quick wickets brought me in the field.

The word from our batsmen was to go on the front foot and play the ball. I tried that and failed miserably the first ball. I realized that the best thing is to play as I see fit. That's exactly what I did. A square cut for 2 on the second delivery, a pull to square leg for a couple more and I was on song. The other shots that I pulled out of my arsenal included a flick down to fine leg and a leg sweep before the bounce off a pace bowler.

However, we kept losing wickets on the other side and I wanted to hit out the penultimate over as I had the last batman at the other end. That proved to be the black mark of my innings as most tempting outside off-stump balls ended in a swing and a miss. A maiden at that point was unwanted and I was seething with anger. We ended the innings with 57 when I was dismissed for 18 off the last ball.

The pitch seemed to come back to life when the Amchis were batting. The ball was coming on to the bat and they had no problem playing it and snatching an easy win. Another disappointment for me.

Scorecard

Blast from the past - "HitnRun edge out a thriller"

My previous post was about the victory for the Gillies. The first victory is always sweet. This post is about the first victory I had with HitnRun. Coincidentally, my dear friend Raga was with me that time too. Probably, he is the lucky charm for victories.

A nail-biting finish, a tell-tale last over, slash and misses and a neat push for a single off the last ball ensured Hitnrun their first victory of the season - a confidence booster going into Round II of cricBay. A pivotal 16-run sixth wicket partnership between Raga and I in the end following some good innings from Guna, Suresh and Karthik ensured that the HitnRunners left the field rejoicing.

The picturesque field of Evergreen High served as the perfect background for this thriller. The heat posed a threat with the sun ascending and the thermometer levels rising. After losing the toss, HitnRun bowlers Guna and Suresh had good opening spells. But the day in the field was a bad one. A lot of runs behind the wicket, a lot of shuffling and it seemed the HitnRunners had lost direction. But after the 12th over, the introduction of Karthik changed the game. His four wicket haul told the story. The pace was awesome as the balls seemed to beat the batsmen and uproot the stumps every over. And there was this huge appeal for caught behind (Karthik's third victim) when the umpire took nearly half-a-minute before giving the decision in favor of the bowler. A great support on the other end by Suresh and Guna ensured that the Pokers didn't steal the game altogether. Pokers left the field after posting a seemingly high 91 on the board.

The Hitnrun innings started with the openers showing great mettle and character. They scored 8 runs in the first and followed up with 6 more in the second over with Giri already having hit a boundary. Just when things looked promising, a tight third over from Poker's Dinesh and Giri's wicket off an excellent yorker-length ball in the fourth over seemed to set the lull in HitnRun dressing room. But a responsible knock from Suresh, who joined the skipper, kept the runs coming and well above the required rate.  There were quite a few lives for Suresh before his dismissal in the 8th over when he scooped a ball from Lokesh for a simple catch. Eight overs and the score was 40/2 when Karthik joined Guna in the run-making merry. It was difficult to hang in the middle with the scorching sun but Guna did good slowly building his innings further. At drinks, the score was 48/2, and the win seemingly within grasp.

The 50 came in the 11th over, almost the same time taken by the Pokers showing how evenly the contest was matched. Soon Guna's flawless innings came to an end followed by a dip in the scoring rate. Gopa's brief stint ended in the 15th over when he was caught at long-on. I entered the scene when 22 were required off 5 overs, just a little over 4 required every over. The top order had done their job and it was up to Karthik and me to cruise home. Karthik hit a stylish boundary to ease things but walked back to the pavilion the next ball after feeding a lollipop to long-on. The look on his face said it all - It was totally unnecessary.

Even though 16 off 4 overs looked easy with 5 wickets in hand, the unbearable heat, the fact that boundaries were difficult to come by and every run had to be worked for, the time needed for a batsman to settle under these circumstances served as obstacles. Raga was on strike. A quick ball outside off - a sharp slash and a miss. The batsman was beaten three more times in a similar fashion and the tension mounted. The last ball, a single to mid-off and the required became 15 from 3 overs. The Pokers voiced out their strategy - contain by having Raga on strike.

(The account hereon will be in present tense to reproduce the tense situation as it was on field).

The bowler runs up to bowl and attempts to run the non-striker, Sant, out before delivery. But he is inside and safe. So the official first ball again and Raga is beaten. The second he edges behind the keeper for a quick single. The third, a drive but the bat makes no contact with the ball - its Sant this time. A neat nudge for a single off the fourth. The last 2 deliveries and the same story - the bowler attempts to mankad the non-striker even though he is inside the crease; Raga lofts the ball to deep cover for 2.
This 'mankading' is pretty frustrating and the bowler iterates to the umpire that he's only giving a warning. Repeated attempts to run the non-striker out when in fact he is in, showed the Pokers' desperation.
Nine required off 12 balls.

Sant. A quick single from a nudge to point. 8 from 11.
Raga. Beaten outside off. 8 from 10.
Raga. A hard-hit for 2. 6 from 9.
Raga. A beautiful slow ball. No run. 6 from 8.
Raga. A slash and miss. No run. 6 from 7.
Raga. A hit to mid-off for single. 5 from 6.

The last over with 5 runs needed and Raga on strike.

Raga. Attempts to hook over cover. Misses. Called a wide. 4 from 6.
Raga. A slash and miss again. He shouldn't be going on that back foot. 4 from 5.
Raga. This time he connects. 2 runs. Beautiful. 2 from 4.
Raga. Beaten outside off. 2 from 3.
Raga. Hits to cover. No run. 2 from 2.
Raga. Fielders close in. A hard hit but there is a fielder. Batsmen scamper for a single. 1 from 1.

At least a tie is ensured. But Hitnrun sure do need a victory here coming this close in the game. Sant on strike. Wola! A tap to bisect the fielders at short-cover and point for a single. Raga jumps in joy as he runs to rejoice with his charging teammates.

A great game, well-fought and much deserved. The much needed 4 points off this game and HitnRunners enter Round II with 2 points on the cards. A positive stroke going forward, hope they complete this drive in great style.

Scorecard - http://www.cricbay.com/scoresheet.asp?matchid=1667

The first victory for the Gillies

A fresh team, rookies, underdogs... The Gillies... we go by many names. Today we became the Victors. First victory, first wine after a 5-match induction ceremony at CricBay. Felt sweet.

I started in Cricbay 3 years back with a fresh team, HitnRun. I remember waiting 6 matches before we saw the light. With the Gillies I've seen it one match early. Yes, I am referring to the sweet taste of victory. Team dynamics, thought process, illusions, madness, ethics have all been similar and am glad to discover the team-threading formula from my experiences.

The art of building a team is not easy. Its just not the vision, just not gathering a bunch of players, just not having that commitment and certainly just not having a good leader. Its all of these and much more. The Chennai Gillies were formed just 2 weeks before the CricBay season began. The first match, we were new, raw and had no strategy. We lost miserably. Batting collapse, Misfields, Dropped catches, we were met with these in the first few weeks. Then we learned to have fun. After all, being underdogs we had nothing to lose. We posted some decent scores against big teams (95 against Nemesis, 72 against Absolute XI). We knew we were good. We knew we had the potential to win matches. But we were not there until that day... the day of reckoning.

We were to play the Amchis CC in South San Jose. Most of our guys are from Union City and it was an hour's drive to the match venue. I was there at 8:15 am with a couple of guys. 8:30 and no addends. I called the toss but lost. Fielding... not bad. 8:45 and just one more. The Amchis were getting impatient and were threatening to dock 2 overs from our innings. Thankfully we had the number in 5 minutes and the Amchis were considerate to not impose it on us.

The weather seemed pleasant except for those piercing winds that paid us regular visits. We entered the field with the fading hope to see our first victory. Suri livened our spirits by striking the timber early. The ball hit the leg stump and we were pumped up. Our captain got another wicket after the Power play overs.We got 3 back-to- back wickets soon after. Sanjeev's leg break bowled Vikram round his legs. It was a joy to watch as the batsman presumed the ball would go down the leg and failed to read the spin. The quick wickets gave us a huge confidence and we planned to wrap it up quickly. However, Nagesh had other plans. He and Sharath put up a good 20-run partnership before a patient Nagesh hit a flier to Raghu at long on. But we couldn't capitalize after breaking the partnership as Vilas and Vishwas saw the Amchis to decent score of 67. Sanjeev snared 3 wickets for a miserly 4 runs - easily one of the best bowling figures in Cricbay.

Gowtham and Sathish gave us the start we needed and cruised to 23/0. Sathish chased a tempting delivery from Prakash only to see it safe in the hands of a charging Nagesh at deep midwicket. Gowtham was bowled soon after. I found myself in the middle pretty soon partnering a patient Raghu at the other end. Raghu's attempt to loft Prakash got the edge and spiraled up behind the wicket. We needed 20 runs and had about 6+ overs to go. Come next over i scored a boundary bisecting Cover and Mid-off. A half-volley loft next ball in the same region fetched 2 more runs. We were inching closer. Nagesh snared my wicket by clever field placement before Venkat pulled a boundary and Sanjeev deservedly hit the winning runs.

It was a smart game of cricket. We clicked as a unit. Our bowling was phenomenal, fielding the best in 6 games and batters finished it neatly. Congrats to the team as we kick-off our fresh journey.

Scorecard: http://www.cricbay.com/scoresheet.asp?matchid=4804

Tying shoe strings again with a new team

I have been dreaming of forming a new cricket team for a long time now. Guess I realized it. I play for a new team called "Chennai Gillies" now.

I was in prime form when I got injured and was forced to the sidelines. I used to play for 'HitnRun', a team formed by my good friends. However two years hence, most of the original players were involved no more and, bias, politics interfered often. If I could start a new team, my injury time could be the break I needed. Once I was able to move and jog, a friend and I started discussing the options. A common friend was able to get the strength and I had the motivation and determination to get the team rolling. Thus was formed the "Gillies". (I am not responsible for the name. Blame it on democracy).

The first day I was back in the field, I was nervous. I had no idea if my ankle would hold up. However, my ankle was much better than I had expected. What more, I was as good as before. I bowled five overs, batted for some time and there was no strain. My first true match was a friendly with another team. My batting was pretty good. Made 16 runs that included a stylish pull to the boundary. My bowling was not as good as I would've liked but I can improve.

Finally, the day of reckoning. My first league match on return. Being rookies, the team did pretty good. Though our batting folded meekly (scoring a lackluster 38) , we fought back on the field taking 4 wickets before the opponents completed the formalities. For me, I had a bad day. I went to bat at the end. Probably, my benevolence to let others bat masked my enthusiasm. And the few balls I faced, I wasn't seeing the ball properly. When I thought I had enough dose of bad luck for the day, my ankle gave up when fielding. Wrong footing and I felt a semi-twist. I was horrified. Luckily, it was not a bad one. My ankle was alright in a while.

I see all the new team traits that I observed in the previous team. An enthusiastic bunch, everyone wants to have a go with both the bat and ball. Everyone has something to say whenever a discussion arises. Even though these things are not good in the long run, I guess things will even out after a while. I am confident on leading this talented set of people to the place we all want to be. But for now, I would like to nurse my leg back to strength and also concentrate on my own game.

The devastating injury - a 'twist' in tale

While batting in the short practice session before the match, I knew I was in good touch. I was able to hit the ball all around the field with great ease. I knew that this was going to be my day, and what more the hard surface would definitely aid my bowling style too. But what I didn't know that how special the day was going to be and in what sense... and I found that out an hour later.

We were playing a friendly match with the Hammers. It was a pseudo-360 degree ground and playing in such a ground was a definite plus for players like me. There are less fielders in front of the bat, more gaps to relish and gives room to play those delicate yet sneaky taps behind the wicket for runs. We lost the first wicket pretty early when an unlucky Amar found the bails dislodged by a ball that kept at ankle-height. Urged by team mates to take up the opportunity at number three, I went in beaming with confidence.

I had a ball in the field. An upper cut over the slip region for a couple, a paddle sweep behind the keeper... I was scoring a run every ball. Then came my proudest moment - an off drive bisecting the fielders to the boundary. It was my first boundary with HitNRun and it was exciting, even if it was just a practice match.

During break, the boys were all excited and I was confident of making this innings a big one. But I guess Lady Luck had left the field to enjoy the view elsewhere. I was tormented for an over by a spinner. I kept misreading the line. I felt that I was losing the momentum and the mind-game to the bowler. The next delivery I walked down a couple of steps and hoicked him in the mid-on region for a single. But four paces in, my right foot landed awkwardly and I felt it twist. I felt instant pain and fell down to the ground. A few bruises yes, but the misery was emanating from my ankle. I got up,  limped to the non-strikers and and sat down.

My ankle was twisted and it started swelling up. I was escorted out of the field and hope was that I would still be able to bowl. However, the way my ankle was puffing up, it wasn't to be. I called my friends over who took me to emergency care. The bitter truth was revealed. I had sustained ligament tears in my ankle and would be out for a some time.

And a long time it turned out to be. I am writing this post 9 months since my injury and am still not confident of getting back into the field. I miss cricket. I do other things in weekends but the game I grew with, pricks a memory cell once in a while to inject that enthusiasm to return.

A bad outing with the ball - save the final rebound

A few weeks back I tried my hand at bowling in a practice match after a long time. And man was that an outing to forget. I've had my ups and downs with the ball like anyone else. I have had my share of 2 wicket overs and getting thrashed for 9 runs in the next match. But this frankly, is the deepest trench I've hit in my bowling career.

We were playing with a team called Hawkes, not that it matters, and I was handed the ball to bowl the sixth over of the innings. It was a cold morning and it had been raining until 10 am. A delayed start followed by our dull batting display in the damp conditions and finally I found myself gripping the yellow ball in my stiff cold hands. The moment I delivered the first ball I winced holding my right wrist. I felt a piercing pain as if an electric pulse ran around my wrist.

I was bowling after a very long period including no form of exercise in the past 5 weeks. To add to my miseries, I believe my hands were still cold and were being rudely shoved and awoken during the delivery of the ball. The pain continued after every delivery and I was not quite concentrating on how I was bowling. But I managed to get in some wide balls outside the off-stump that were edged to no-man's land. It was an escape considering that I conceded just one wide and 3 runs in the over - an over consisting of wide and over-pitched deliveries.

I wanted to make amends in my second over. I had removed the wrist band, artificially turned up the temperature on my hands and more importantly allowed them to get used to the ball. Faced no pain this time around, but the bowling display was a farce. I followed a full toss with a short one and a no ball. And next, I attempted to repeat the pattern. Quite frankly nothing was running in my head and I was merely pressurizing myself to bowl better without a strategy or concentration. The fifth delivery, the best of my deliveries that beat the bat was wrongly called a wide. That annoyed me. Manipulated by anger I dug the next one too short to be hooked for two. With the same tempo, I bowled the final delivery and man... was that a beauty. The ball was a yorker - one that would've even impressed Waqar Younis. A fast one that literally squeezed past the bat and took down the leg stump. A final rebound, a bewildered batsman and an inanimate me summed it all up.

After all... what is a cherry on a burned cake?

Team India lacks the killer instinct

This write-up is in reference to the 5th Tri-Nation tournament in Bangladesh between India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka batted first and were restricted to 213. India chased it quite comfortably with 8 wickets and 104 balls to spare. However, the Indians lacked the killer instinct and displayed lack-lustre efforts in the field.

Articles on Cricinfo praised the improved fielding performance of the Indian team. I do agree that some of the fielding efforts were spectacular - the low catch by Gambhir at fine gully to dismiss the wonderful Dilshan, the diving catch at wide long-on by Yuvraj to dismiss Perera, the run out by Karthik to remove Kandamby to name a few. But at the same time, the Indian fielding was once again put to shame by some of the worse misfields - A wide yet slow throw by Yuvraj from fine leg to the keeper and a lethargic Dhoni signaling an absent cover point to collect the ball, when he could've moved a few inches to collect it thereby preventing an extra run; A charging Karthik at point failing to pick the ball and conceding a non-existent single; Tyagi conceding a second run at deep point. And I thought that this young team had the potential to steal the 2011 World Cup?

It is a known fact that the Indian team is a strong batting team. But should that strength let over-confidence sink in? The Lankans were limping at 84 for 6. Understandably Zaheer had bowled 7 continuous overs and was tired. I was hoping that Dhoni will bring his other speedsters Tyagi (bowled 5 overs) and Sreesanth (bowled 6 overs) into attack to ensure the Sri Lankan tail doesn't wag. But No. Dhoni did not go for the kill and instead tried to quickly finish his overs by bowling his spinners and part-time slow bowlers. The result... Suraj Randiv, SL's #8, bettered his previous ODI high score of 5 and ambled to 56. No doubt, a low target of 213 was a cake walk to the strong Indian batting side. But there was no display of a killer instinct, no attempt to restrict the opponents to possibly a two digit total. Traits like these make Team Australia more dominant in the field.

I wonder when the team will learn that however strong they are in batting, a strong show in all sectors is required to snap the pole position.

The scorecard for this match can be found here http://www.cricinfo.com/tri-bdesh2010/engine/current/match/434262.html