A Good All-round Performance by Everybody

The extra hour did make me feel rested, but to tell you the truth I would rather have the gray sky with the fog and slight chill. It was nice and bright when we got to the field and we even got to see the sun this time. Despite being the second day of Diwali the faithful were there and we had a great game of cricket. And thanks to Pankaj, who got Diwali goodies (chakalis, besan laddoos and kaju katli) we had an impromptu get together right there on the field sitting crossed legged enjoying the sweets and each others' company while discussing next Sunday’s plan of action.

Team A: Rajesh, Venki, Dharmendra, Sanjib and Rohin

Team B: Chandru, Pankaj, Partha, Senthil and Anand

Sanjib left after the first match. For the second match, Chandru went over to Team A and Raja played for Team B. I hope I got the team composition right, because I don’t see Team B getting what it was promised after the first game ... a reshuffle to even things out. As you can see Team A was too strong for Team B and it was quite evident after the first match. But I don’t see much of a difference in Team B’s composition second time around, which means I either got something wrong or Team A really pulled a fast one on Team B!!

Team A won the toss and elected to bat. I think Rohin opened the innings with Venki or maybe Rajesh. They laid down a good foundation. Rohin showed some great promise hitting quite well. If I am not mistaken he hit 2 consecutive boundaries. Team A was scoring quite fast and it didn’t help when Venki decided to single out Senthil for some special treatment. As we all know they save their best for each other. As he hadn’t played for last couple of weeks and was itching to go, Venki was not going to let this opportunity pass. He appeared in sublime touch. He hit 3 consecutive boundaries forcing Sentil to rethink his strategy. Not the one to give up so easily, Senthil was already thinking of ways to redeem himself. As Pankaj later suggested, maybe he was setting Venki up, slowly drawing him in ... akin to Iqbal (remember that movie). I sat that because the fourth ball was either a full toss or slightly uppish which Venki couldn’t keep down. It ballooned in the deep forward square leg region, where Partha did the rest giving Senthil a feeling of satisfaction. It was a great come back. Team B heaved a collective sigh of relief, because the way Venki was batting another couple of overs and the game would have completely gone out of their reach. Venki’s heroics were followed by Sanjib’s theatrics. It just wasn’t Team B’s day. Returning after a gap of few weeks, Sanjib didn’t show any signs of lack of play, in fact he was anything but rusty. He took me to task hitting me for 2 consecutive boundaries. He was eying the ball well and hitting them as they were pitched. The short balls disappeared in the square leg area, the ones on the off were hit either straight down the wicket or on the off.  He must definitely be practicing at home, we should check out his backyard for a sock hanging from the ceiling with a ball in it. Team A was scoring at a  rate of 7 per per over which was causing Team B's hearts to sink. Just when they had started to give up hopes of salvaging the match, Pankaj got them a breakthrough. He got 2 wickets on consecutive deliveries. The first one got the danger man Sanjib out and the second one needed some help from behind. Rohin was doing a fine job behind the wickets. After getting Sanjb out, Pankaj’s next delivery was on the off leaving the batsman. If I am not mistaken, it wasn't too much away from the stumps, but after nicking the bat its trajectory got slightly skewed and Rohin had to jump in the air and was about a feet or so above the ground for few seconds to bring it home. It was a fine diving effort which ultimately got Pankaj his hat-trick chance. Second time in 3 weeks Dharmendra was chosen for the face-off and like last time this time too he played it with a  straight bat denying the bowler his chance at glory (later Dharmendra would be faced with a similar situation but under totally different circumstances). Venki and Sanjib were aided well by Rajesh and Dhamendra. In the end the latter saw his team through and when the innings ended Team A had set a total of 72 for Team B. Credit goes to Team A’s batsmen for not relenting and maintaining the tempo right through till the end. The only time Team B appeared to be on the top was when Pankaj got those 2 consecutive wickets.  Partha was absolutely amazing on the field. The way he was running after the ball and throwing back at the wicket-keeper or at bowler’s end was out of this world. The batsmen were left scrambling and couple of times even had a close call. He was flying Team B’s flag high in the sky, when the bowlers and batsmen couldn't do much.

A score of 72 was not going to be easy and with bowlers like Sanjib, Venki and Dharmendra, it was going to be a rather uphill task. Partha opened the innings. He did a great job of giving his team a good start. He mixed it all up very well. Senthil replaced him and tried to accelerate the run rate. He too joined the list of players to hit 2 consecutive boundaries. He was going great, but unfortunately was not able to keep it going long enough. His campaign was brutally cut short. Chandru tried to do his bit, but wasn't successful in overhauling Team B’s attack. With more than half the team back in the dugout Pakaj came in to bat. He, very valiantly, tried to fend off Venki. As Chandru commented, Venki was saving Dharmendra and himself for the end, a well thought out strategy which paid oodles of dividend. He didn’t afford Pankaj any room, in fact Pankaj was content with just either leaving the ball and let it go down the leg side or just play the ones which were in the block hole, which was not a bad decision, given the number of players left. The overs were fast diminishing and run rate was piling. I remember checking with Venki sometime after 6 overs and Team B’s score was a paltry 32. They needed 40 odd runs in about 4 overs. After Pankaj’s departure Partha came back and nearly rechristened himself ‘Faulkner’. He single handedly tried to resurrect the flailing innings. He hit couple of beautiful shots and got Team B’s hopes high. But the required run rate was too high and getting out of hand very quickly. Finally Team B lost with a huge margin. Full marks to Team A for showing an all round performance, they batted aggressively and then followed it up with some fine bowling. I was pleasantly surprised by Rajesh’s accuracy. I am not sure why he has been shying way. He should bowl more often. I faced him and found it quite difficult to dispatch some of the deliveries beyond the non-striker’s end. On few occasions we actually appeared to be practicing, where no matter how much I tried I could not get the ball past him. He repeated the feat in the second match too. Sanjib was the other bowler who was on the money. Just like his batting, he bowled very accurately. Veki and Dharmendra were lethal as usual. In fact Dharmendra was on a hat-trick and Partha had the unenviable task of defending Team B’s honor and deny Dharmendra his shot at glory which he had so brilliantly done in the first innings. Venki got everybody from the boundary and setup an attacking field. Dharmendra’s third delivery was on the off and going away (very similar to Pakaj’s second delivery which fetched him a wicket in the first match). Partha tried to play it, but nicked it and was successful in bisecting the keeper and the first slip (where Venki was standing). He was able to save the day for his team and Dharmendra suddenly felt Pankaj’s pain first hand (talk about sweet justice … not me … that’s what Pankaj was thinking … he he he!!) Nobody could excel Partha in the fielding department, he was a treat to watch. In the end the better team won. I haven't seen so many players hit so many consecutive boundaries in a single match. Earlier it used to be just one or two, but in this game Venki, Rohin, Sanjib and Senthil were in no mood to oblige and went after the bowlers.

I guess Team A won the toss again as they went on to wield the bat. Team A again played a fine collective knock and if I am not mistaken Venki was the chief architect this time around too. He was ably supported by Dharmendra and Rajesh in his quest. At the end of 8 overs they setup a score of 52. For Team B Raja (I think Raja opened the innings, if not then Partha did and was replaced by Raja after an over) and Pankaj. This time around it was a different Team B, they showed some spine and were standing up against Team A. Given that Venki was trying his spin bowling, but it was still difficult to dispatch. Pankaj was successful though, he was able to get to the pitch of the ball and dispatch couple of them in the mid-wicket region. He scored a boundary or two in that over. Raja was also upto the mark and was successful in pushing and placing the ball and score quick singles and twos. They finally declared their innings after the 3^rd or 4^th over. They had given Team B a solid start. Partha followed up his first game act and scored quickly continuing the good work. Unfortunately he could not last long and then it was left to Senthil and Pankaj to do the honors. To tell you the truth, I was afraid the second game would also meet with the same fate as the first one, but my fears were baseless as Senthil and Pankaj appeared all charged up. In the last over 9 runs were needed and dharmendra was given the charge of containing the two. The first ball yielded one run, the next ball was a dot ball. The ball appeared to be winning the battle. One big shot was needed and that’s what Pankaj delivered on the third delivery by scoring a boundary in the mid-wicket region. The next ball went for a single and Senthil came to bat. Not to be left behind Senthil danced down the wicket and hit the next ball for a huge four somewhere between mid-wicket and long on. Team B won the match. Team A played very well, but Team B’s batsmen had the fire burning in them to go home with a victory under their belt and that’s exactly what they did.

As you can see, both the games were quite interesting. It could have been better, as we were lacking few players, but entertaining none-the-less.

You guys have a nice rest of the week.

Bye.

Anand