A Wildly Entertaining Game On A Momentous Day

What an awesome day it turned out to be. We had a near-record turnout, everybody who signed-up and promised that they would come, showed up. By the time the two teams were formed there 8 players a side with one common player. We had couple of newcomers too. It was quite gratifying to see current and former superstars fight it out to claim the top spot. While nobody expected one of the newcomers to give them a run for their money, it made for a great competition ideal for vetting the talent assembled at the park. Swigging our favorite poison this easily could have been one of our fantasies, with one minor difference ... it was actually happening. You could literally see everybody on their toes trying to upend the other person. And that was good as everybody's game was taken to the next level. Unfortunately I had to leave early so couldn't enjoy the entire game, but was there long enough to verify for myself the reputation that preceded one of our new comers.

The day was gorgeous. It was bright yet not very warm. The fielders standing on the off side had to put up with some glare, but it wasn't too bad. Responding to Rajesh's plea, the old and new guard assembled at our new home ground to help select team for our upcoming contest with our arch rivals. Venki was conspicuous by his absence, hopefully he will join us in the next couple of weeks. I got to the field quite late, Abhiheet J already called me to check if I was at a temple, which by the way is euphemism for something (next time you see him, please don't forget to ask ... you just might see him blush) less scrupulous. After the kit got to the ground the more faithful started decking the outfield with orange cones and hammering the stumps in their respective slots. Amit and Senthil set about distributing the players, which I am sure must have been a daunting task ... just imagine trying to select from a bevy of players which included some of our finest and then try to balance the teams out. But they did a fabulous job and within a few minutes the game got underway. Just when we were about to start in walked one of our captains causing some Hi-Fis around the field. Amit had no problem in securing Manoj under his belt as Dharmendra walked towards his run up mark. Standing at long-on with Pratik on my left and Manoj on my right I started walking-in as Dharmendra started his run-up and took the leap when he got to the crease ... boy, this was going to be interesting!

Team A: Senthil, Ashish, Pankaj, Bala, Chandru, New Guy (don't know his name, accompanied Pankaj), Rajesh and Rishi

Team B: Amit, Pratik, Kishore, Dharmendra, Amol ( new guy), Manoj, Abhijeet J and Abhijeet  

Common player: Sumeet

I hope I accounted for everybody, if not then please pardon me.

You will have to pardon me today for missing out on some of the details. I was a bit distracted as I had to leave early. Moreover seeing our dream lineup play I was just enjoying the game rather than make mental notes.

I am not sure who opened the innings, but I remember Bala and Pankaj at the crease at the beginning of the innings. Coming after a brief hiatus Bala took some time to settle down. Playing from the other end Pankaj too was playing it a bit safe. Both Dharmendra and Pratik were bowling pretty well. You could see (and hear as well) that Pratik was really putting his back into the bowling by the grunts he made while releasing the ball. Manoj replaced Dharmendra and Amol replaced Pratik. I was very keen to see what Manoj would conjure up for his first delivery. You guys might remember, like Sehwag during the last world cup, Manoj has this uncanny habit of getting wicket on the first ball. This time it didn’t happen in the first over, but he didn’t disappoint us as he claimed his wicket on the first ball of the second over. He got the prized wicket of Pankaj when he forced an inside edge onto the stumps. Amol was right there with him claiming his first wicket. His was a silent killer which left Bala completely baffled. I am not sure if it grazed his off or the middle stump, but that it definitely did is what a convinced Amol was shouting about. There was a slight discussion between the keeper, the close-in fielders and the leg umpire and finally everybody sided with Amol and Bala had to go. The latter was a good sport about it. I had a heard a lot about Amol from Sumeet, when I had asked him if he knew anybody who could bowl well after we lost to Cisco for the second time. Then again few weeks back Pankaj recounted how they both played for the Pasadena league and how he played for division 1, when I told him that I had invited Amol to join us on sundays. He has a curious runup, where he seems to rush to the cease in short steps and then as he approaches the crease he suddenly swings into action and you can see his arm go around his ear in a rapid motion. He seems to derive most of his pace by a swift arm action aided by some back. He took couple of deliveries to settle down and then started sending one quickie after another. I remember Chandru trying play him on his backfoot going away from the stumps. I guess that availed him few extra moments to see and gauge the ball and then play a shot accordingly. To Chandru's credit he was able to dispatch couple to the offside for couple of runs. Amol seems to be an equally good fielder. He was responsible for two direct hits. I was quite surprised when he took a shot at the stumps so confidently and hit it. That speaks volumes about his skill and confidence. I am not sure what kind of respite the batsmen could hope for when Manoj was bowling from end while Amol from the other. But they were able to chug along and score singles and twos. I think after about 7-8 overs the score board read 35 runs. Amit turned to his slower bowlers and spinner after the express round. But that didn't mean the batsmen were going to be let off easily. Special mention to Abhijeet for some very very wily bowling where he had the batsmen totally wrapped round his finger. The batsmen were totally confused and kept missing the ball. The only way you could play a shot was to get it onto the bat before it bounced on the ground. And that's exactly what Ashish did couple of times and succeeded in scoring couple of runs in the mid-wicket region. Senthil and Sumeet combined very well in the middle overs. I vividly remember making mental note that Senthil was indeed playing with a lot of confidence. He hit couple of great shots in the  deep fine leg region. They both were beauties which were hit effortlessly using the pace of the ball just guiding them on their way giving them slightly more speed and some direction. Unfortunately for him and his team since they were behind the fence (behind the stumps) they fetched him only one run per shot. But everybody applauded his stroke play. Sumeet on the other hand was very quick on the short ball, quickly getting into the position to send them down the square leg region. They both displayed some great understanding and running which transformed into excellent running between the wickets. I think they were largely responsible for acceleration in the middle overs. Sumeet got out while trying to steal a single. I think it was on a fumble or maybe a drop, but the fielder was on the ball in a jiffy throwing it back to the bowler who did the rest. Abhijeet J claimed the last two wickets within a span of 3-4 balls. First he got Senthil out when the latter returned after declaring his innings earlier. He mistimed the shot which ballooned into the air and then came down to hit the stumps. Senthil was caught completely unawares. He didn’t know the ball’s whereabouts and that did him in. Ashish was the last batsman who got out after nicking one to the wicketkeeper. Earlier Ashish played a very useful knock and was able to decode Abhijeet’s deliveries and hit them in the square leg and mid-wicket region to get singles and twos. I personally laud Team A's effort for putting up a great fight (given Team B's bowling prowess) and staying in the middle almost till the end while not losing sight of the score-board. They made 75 runs in 15 (or maybe 13) overs.

Team B started their campaign on a disastrous note when they nearly lost one of the the openers on the first ball of the innings. I opened the innings with Kishore and got out by nicking one back to the keeper. After swearing couple of times Team B obliged and they allowed me to bat. I am thankful to them as I desperately wanted to play and register some sweet memories on this momentous outing. Unfortunately Kishore got out early. Amit replaced him and he too nearly lost his wicket in the fourth over bowled by Senthil. But Abhijeet dismissed it as a ‘No ball’ and so he was able to continue. I left immediately after this. For the record I was not 'not out' … that one is for Pankaj, who standing at short mid-off did not fail to remind me that I was out on the first ball and that if they appealed against me (which he and Sumeet did) I had no right to contest it and that I should just give in!!

I think the star of the day was ‘Cricket’. It has to be, otherwise how do you explain such a great turnout. Team B’s bowlers were awesome. They were able to keep Team A’s batsmen under wraps. They slackened a little bit in the middle, but again got back onto the proverbial horse towards the end. All of them  ... Dharmendra, Pratik, Manoj, Amol and both the Abhijeets were terrific. I really liked Senthil's power play. Sumeet was very aggressive pouncing on short deliveries with great ferocity. Ashish unfortunately hurt himself when he went down crashing while trying to cover his ground and stay safe. It was a great effort ... Here's to you buddy ... hope you feel better soon and are back on the field next Sunday. I cannot end this write-up without mentioning one beauty that I faced from Bala. It was the first over, I think 5 or maybe the last ball. It was a perfect yorker, where the ball landed right under my bat. I thought I was out, but fortunately for me the ball turned and went away from the stumps. It was an awesome delivery. As Abhijeet put it very succinctly, Amol is a great asset, I hope he continues to join us every Sunday.

It was a momentous day. I hope we continue to have many more such days. If we continue to play like this for the next couple of weeks we should be able to come up with our best eleven to field against the Cisco team. Here's to all of us and our beloved 'Irvine Willows'!!

You guys have a great rest of the week.

Bye.

Anand