More With Less

The day began on a slightly sour note, but Chandru’s email turned it around for the better. Seeing his email I decided to put on my shoes and knew where I wanted to be in the next 15 minutes. When I got to the field I saw Bala locking his bike. I was thinking, he too must have read the email. Chaitanya also did an about turn and was already on the field along with Rajesh, Partha, Pankaj, Chandru and Gaur, the new guy. We decided to go with Chandru’s gut and play a match with 4 per team. We had to share the ground with the soccer team, which in fact added to the fun quotient. Given the number of players and with an eye to prepare and train ourselves we decided to keep leg-side off limits and play only on the off. Chandru went a step ahead and even cordoned off the area by placing cones straight down the field till the boundary line. Honestly I didn’t think I would enjoy the game as much but after 2 hours I was left wanting for more.

Team A: Bala, Pankaj, Rajesh and Chandru

Team B: Chaitanya, Gaur, Partha and Anand

Team B won the toss and decided to bat first. The innings belonged to the new guy Gaur. Partha and Chaitanya played well, but Gaur proved to be a great find. He single handedly got his team on track and gave it a fighting total. He hit some great shots … mind you … on the off. He sent few cashing into the fence scoring two runs in the process. Bala and Pankaj were all charged up, they were not making it any easier. In fact only 2 runs were scored in the first couple of overs. It was not like they were bowling on the leg thus making it difficult for the batsmen to play on the off. They maintained a good line and length not giving the batsmen much room to play the shots. The rising deliveries were leaving them in a hurry not affording them enough time to gauge the ball and execute a shot. But Gaur was making it look all too easy. I was thinking to myself, if I get a chance to bat again I exactly know where to play and how to play. It's  a different story that I did get a chance and Bala quickly made me realize my folly. Chaitanya matched him quite well and ran with the mantle after Gaur declared his innings. Chaitanya, as we all know, is a natural on the off-side, so this was a tailor-made situation for him. He played all his trademark shots slicing few between point and third man and hitting couple directly into the fence. Between the two of them they were able to put up a defendable score of 38. They were ably supported y Partha in their quest.

Team A tried its best but was not quite up to the mark. Team B was able to maintain its stranglehold right from the beginning not availing any breathing room. Perfect example was a contest between Chaitanya and Bala. It was argued that maybe Chaitanya bowled on the leg and so Bala did not have an option. Coming into bat last Bala had a humongous task. There were lot of overs, but the conditions didn’t seem to bode well. Bala started off cautiously but found himself trapped and forced to play the ball which ballooned to Chaitanya. Fortunately for him, it was out of Chaitanya's reach. He tried valiantly to hold onto it, but fell a bit short. It was always going to be difficult. The very next ball was slightly on the leg, which Bala tried to flick and unfortunately found the lone fielder on the leg. Earlier Rajesh, Chandru and Pankaj too tried their best but could not stop the juggernaut. Team B won the match handsomely.

The second match began almost immediately with Bala continuing to bat and Chaitanya going up against him. This time around Team A was in a different mindset. They had a score to settle and they knew what they had to do. In this innings Rajesh played a crucial role where he frustrated the bowlers. Earlier in the innings he hurt himself while trying to play Chaitanya. He hit his ankle and had to sit out for some time. He returned later on and gave his team a fighting target. One particular play stands out when I was bowling.  Taking my short run-up when I reached the crease I suddenly saw Rajesh move over to the off-side. I wasn't sure what was happening and thought that maybe something was wrong and so stopped only to realize that Rajesh was positioning himself for a reverse sweep. I realized my folly, apologized and got back to my run-up. All sort of thoughts were going through my mind and I was thinking whether he would go for it again and how should I try to counter it. Well, as you know reverse sweeps are pre-determined shots, you cannot do much except hope that the ball lands in the right place. I thought the best strategy would be to bowl a faster one not giving him much time to think. From the corner of my eye I did not see him shift, but that changed the moment the ball left my hand. He again moved and was able to see ball and time his shot very well. He sent it over the fence in the third man area for a six. He followed it up with some crafty singles, just pushing and running. Earlier bowling in tandem Chaitanya and Gaur had done well to stymie Bala, Chandru and Pankaj. Partha was my partner and he was doing very well. While Rajesh was able to push and run during my over he found Partha’s deliveries a bit difficult to handle. Partha was not giving him any room. He was bowling slightly faster too, causing the ball to reach the fielders quickly not allowing Rajesh enough time to run.  In the end Team A scored 30 runs.

Partha opened the innings for Team B and gave them good start. He made 5 runs scoring singles and twos. Chandru took a fine high riser to get rid of him. He followed that act with another running catch to remove me. Gaur continued where he left off in the first innings. But this time around Bala and Pankaj were a bit more prepared for him. They did not make it easy for him. He chipped in with about 8-10 runs. The rest was left upto Chaitanya and he played very well. Chandru relied on Pankaj and Bala’s services which meant Chaitanya had to be on his toes. I remember there were about 10 balls remaining and Team B needed about 7-8  more runs. Each ball and run was being counted. The game could go either way. But in the end Chaitanya’s batting prevailed and the crowning glory came when he hit one directly into the fence tying the score. Team B finally won the game, but this time around it wasn't a one sided affair, Team A put up a great fight.

Overall it was very nice. The highlight of the game were catches taken behind the wickets. If I am not mistaken most (if not all) were taken by Chandru. He did a great job and displayed some awesome reflex action. I think he took at least 3 catches behind the wickets which prompted praises all around the field especially from Pankaj who was gushing about our improving keeping abilities. We  saw some great thought out stroke play. You will be surprised but not many shots were played on the leg-side, everybody was trying their best to play on the off and were quite successful. You could see Bala, Gaur and others try to use their wrist to angle the bat to send the ball in the point or slightly finer. Rising deliveries were sent crashing into the fence with disdain and we also got to see some cheeky running. Partha tried to do his bit and took a shy at the stumps few times. Couple of calls were very close causing the batsmen to run that much faster. In the bowling department the attack was lead by Bala who was sending one scorcher after another. He was dead on the money. Pankaj as usual was mixing it all up. Chaintanya, Partha and Gaur were great. Special mention to Pankaj for showing great sportsmanship when he declared himself out after nicking one to the keeper. It was a very fine nick which maybe only the keeper heard. Nobody appealed, but Pankaj soon found that he could not live with himself if he continued and and walked out. I liked what he said when somebody asked him if there was a nick, he said "The problem is, I heard it". That's awesome! Overall it was a great game. Next time we have a smaller turnout we know what to do ... hopefully that call doesn't get answered and we will see you next Sunday.

You guys have a nice rest of the week.

Bye.

Anand