Move Over Dhoni … New Finisher Is In Town!

The weather was just perfect. Like last week, it was slightly chilly when we started, but within half an hour it warmed up, maybe it was a result of all the running and stretching that w were doing. There was no cloud cover, but it didn’t matter as the sun was not beating down on us. It was just up there enjoying itself. There was slight glare but it wasn’t too bad. As if to honor the cricket gods who had bestowed such marvelous weather we had a great turnout and befittingly was followed by a cracker of a game.

Team A: Rajesh, Venki, Siddharth, Pratik, Gunjan, Amit, Partha and Ram

Team B: Arvind, Abhijeet, Pankaj, Senthil, Dharmendra, Chandru, Rohin and Anand

We had a near-full house which implied we could play only one game and this meant we all had to come up with our A-game as there would be no second chances. Team A won the toss and elected to bat. The start was a bit slow and it was more a result of some fine bowling than lack of intentions from the batsmen. They were trying their best to break free, but the initial 3-4 overs were very tight. Picture this, the first 3 wickets in the initial 4-5 overs were all caught behind. It was not as if there were no hits in front of the wicket, but the bowlers were mixing it all up, tossing and bowling mostly on the off and the batsmen found themselves inadvertently nicking more than what they desired to the wicket-keeper. Team A was literally suffocating, they desperately needed a breakthrough. At this juncture walked in Partha. Playing brilliantly, he afforded the team a breather. He played very well in the middle overs. Before him Pratik was mainly instrumental in making some quick runs. I vividly remember him targeting the on-side. He was pulling and driving on the leg and running for quick singles and twos. He gave a good start which Partha took and ran. If I am not mistaken Partha was there nearly till the end. Giving him good company was Venki, Ram and finally Siddharth. Venki appeared a pale comparison of himself and this was quickly recognized and exploited by Dharmendra. He was outstanding in the bowling department. Towards the end, he along with Senthil, Pankaj and Abhijeet was able to stifle the batsmen. The bowlers were very disciplined not giving any room to the batsmen. At a stage where a score of 80-85 was also achievable, they were successful in keeping it down to about 70. On one particular occasion when Venki was just about to let himself lose Dharmendra's clinical precision helped keep Venki under control and final claim his wicket. The first two balls were bowled on the off, which Venki chipped sending both in the gully region. He was able to score a single (or maybe a double on one occasion) of each. The pressure was mounting and it was high time Venki scored. As you may have seen Venki has this knack of singling out the lose deliveries. On quite a few occasions in the past bowlers have maintained great line and length throughout the over only to go slightly wayward in the end and paying a heavy price, getting their average screwed in the process. But Dharmendra wasn’t going to relegate himself into being another statistic in Venki’s scheme of things. He persisted with his line and the third ball found its mark. It was a well deserved wicket. He was ecstatic. I don’t blame him, how often do you see Venki standing exasperated over shattered wickets. Team A was running a bit low on luck. First it lost Venki and then Siddharth too seemed to have an off day. A slow rising delivery which would have normally found its way to the square leg region went directly to the wicket-keeper after brushing past his wrists. Team A was not able to capitalize on the acceleration generated by Pratik and Partha in the middle and began to wilt under pressure. Finally they were bowled out for about 67-68 runs. Credit should be given to Team A’s bowlers who started and ended the innings very well. It was not as if Team A hadn’t learnt anything, it would become evident in the second innings when they would assume the ball.

Arvind and Rohin opened the innings for Team B.  They gave their team a dream start by scoring 8 runs in the first over. I think each scored a boundary. Arvind was very clinical in his approach. I liked one of his shots which he hit straight down the wicket for a four. Rohin, returning after couple of months, didn’t seem to have lost any touch. He was able to time his shots very well. In his trademark lift-cum- hit (it seems as if he is just going to toss the ball in the air and then hit it) style he played some adventurous shots. In contrast Arvind was more into placing the ball to score singles and twos. They milked the bowling very well. This brings us to an interesting detail. I witnessed it first hand, so I can comment. In the past we have all heard captains and fellow team-members advising the bowlers to maintain a line just outside the off stump and concentrate more on line and length  than pace.  It has never been on display more starkly than this past Sunday. Rajesh, Amit and Ram along with Venki were seen targeting the off-side. The ball was coming bit slowly onto the bat and this tricked many a batsman. This new found love for slower deliveries on the off was mainly instrumental in putting the brakes on the run flow. Team B lost few batsmen during this phase and while Team A had strengthened its innings in the middle overs Team B was finding it a tad difficult to stay afloat. Team B needed somebody to take control and guide the innings and the remaining batsmen to safety. It was a tailor made situation for one of finest all-rounders ... Pankaj. Nobody can deny it was his day and it didn’t matter how precise, slow or deceptive the ball was he was not going to give it up so easily. I can vouch, as I shared the space with him briefly. On one hand I was finding it difficult to time the shot he was able to sense it accurately and alter his shots to match the pace of the ball. Having tasted success the bowlers were continuing with their slower deliveries. Unfazed Pankaj picked up one so accurately that his impeccable timing resulted in a six over mid-wicket. It was an awesome shot and I think it was the turning point of the game. I say turning point because till then the bowlers seemed to have a strangle hold, but suddenly I found the runs coming at a decent pace. Not to trivialize the batsmen’s acumen but I think it definitely sent a signal to the bowling side that the batsmen were up for any challenge. Playing the role of an anchor Pankaj was responsible for successful partnerships with Senthil, Chandru and finally with Dharmendra (the last one being the most crucial). Senthil and he infused some much needed aggression increasing the run-rate. Unfortunately Senthil had to depart a bit early. Chandru tried to give him some respite but had to come back soon. Just when Team A thought that it might just be able to wrap things up Dharmendra burst onto the scene. He pulled couple of shots initially letting his intentions known. I think towards the end some 20 runs were needed of 19 balls, it then boiled down to 12 off 10 and then 10 off 8. I think in the final over some 8 runs were needed. Venki turned to Pratik to do the honors. Seeing Pratik take a run-up, I thought maybe … just maybe Team A might creep back into the game. Pratik with his nagging pace and outside the off-stump line might just be able to do the trick. He would have been successful had it not been for a pull shot by Dharmendra which helped ease the pressure. Mid-way through the over Team B had managed to score just couple of runs and the pressure was mounting. Pratik slightly erred over here and bowled one on the leg, which Dharmendra picked accurately and sent crashing into the fence. Team B leveled the score on the fourth ball and won the game with one ball to spare.

It was a match of contrasts … I have never seen such a thing … Team A failed to get a good start, flourished in the middle overs and then choked and collapsed in the end. As an antithesis, Team B soared in the initial overs, were stifled in the middle overs only to rise like a phoenix towards the end. Taking a step back and looking at the game from this angle gives me goosebumps.

Another first was a unanimous choice of ‘Star of the Day’, the most vocal being Arvind. Pankaj was simply amazing. He didn’t let the gauntlet down and saw his team through till the end. He just refused to get out and paced his innings very well playing a myriad of shots while keeping the score board chugging by running those singles and twos. At one point of time he was forced by his team-mates to take a breather and let Chandru play, as he appeared totally out of breath. He was amazing and deserves the title ‘Man of the Match’. Amongst his teammates he was ably supported by Arvind and Rohin in the initial overs, Senthil in the middle and then Dharmendra in the end. Special mention to Arvind and Dharmendra for playing a fantastic knock. On any other day their plays would have risen to the top and adjudged the best. Partha was Team A’s answer to Pankaj. He single handedly was responsible for laying the foundation of a solid innings and ensuring a fighting score for his team. He was ably supported by Pratik and Venki in his quest. Again the day belonged to the batsmen. There were some moments where bowlers gained an upper hand. There were couple of dropped chances which could have turned the game, so catching is still a matter of concern and I strongly feel we should do something about it … maybe have a small catching practice session before the game.

Comic relief was provided by Abhijeet while fielding at square leg and the best part is … we have it on tape. Taking a breather, I decided to shoot couple of deliveries and so went and stood besides him thinking he was the leg umpire. He promptly asked me to stand besides Dharmendra as he was the leggie. The very next ball landed in the backward square leg region. Shooting the whole sequence, I was thinking why am I still hearing Abhijeet talking, why isn’t he running for the ball, I don’t see anybody else making a scamper. But Abhijeet was busy passing comments and thinking why isn’t Dharmendra collecting and throwing the ball. Of course Dharmendra wasn’t going anywhere and that’s when he suddenly realized that he was the fielder (frantic cries from Pratik, Venki etc. also helped!!) and not Dharmendra. By the time he recovered and threw the ball, it was too late, the batsmen were home free.

As you saw it was an amazing game which was raised to the next level by some of our best all-rounders proving to us again that it is definitely worth getting up fighting all the urges and dirty looks. A big Thank You to the entire team for awarding us yet another memorable game. Hopefully we can all be there next Sunday to recreate the magic and raise the bar even higher.

You guys have a great rest of the week.

Bye.

Anand