Chase Was The Name Of The Game

In preparation of the upcoming Battle Royale with SoCal Knights, we played three matches this past Sunday. Most of the players were already on the field when I got there at about 7:50 AM. The first game was already underway. Then few more folks joined and by the time second match began we were 11 with 5 a side and Chandru as the common player. All the three games were quite interesting where both the teams played to their potential. The weather was not bad. The sun was out in its full glory, but wasn't beating down as much, at least not in the first two games. The third game which began at 9:30 was slightly tiring but we agreed to play in the hope of preparing ourselves for some redemption next week.

Team A: Abhijeet S, Siddharth, Vamshi, Partha and Dharmendra

Team B:  Venki, Amit, Rajesh, Abhijeet J and Anand

Common player: Vamshi in the first match and Chandru in the second and third match

I am a bit hazy about the first match. I am not sure of the team composition and who finally won. The team which was batting (roughly Team B) was not doing that great, but that changed when Vamshi came in to bat. He was there only for one over, but played very well and was able to accelerate the score and take it to a respectable 25 (or maybe 29). He continued to bat when Team A began to bat (as he was the common player in the first match). Unfortunately for Team B, he did not stop after their innings got over. He carried his terrific form to the next innings and continued to score easily for the next 2 overs. If I am not mistaken he did not get out and declared his innings. Rest of the team A players gave him good company and I think they went on to win the match (I am not sure, but I think so).

For the second match we had 11 players and this meant the off-side play restrictions came off and we could not flex our muscles equally well in all the directions. Team A won the toss and elected to bat. Partha and Abhijeet opened the innings. I think Venki opened the bowling attack for Team B. I remember that distinctly based on what happened in the second over. The first over saw the batsmen stifled by Venki’s guile. They managed few singles, but then that's about it. Venki handed over the ball to Abhijeet J as his replacement. The very first ball saw Abhijeet S explode. It was a slightly rising delivery and he pulled it in the mid-wicket region for a boundary. Something had to give after the restrain enforced in the first over. But this is where the batsmen committed a mistake. They appeared a bit relaxed thinking they could take on the new bowler and score few quick runs. But unfortunately for them Abhijeet J staged a great comeback. On the fourth or fifth ball of the same over he forced Abhijeet S to go on backfoot while trying to pull. I am not sure if it was a quicker or slower one, but Abhijeet S couldn’t keep it down and it took a top edge and Chandru standing behind the wickets had to run to his wrong side to finish a good catch. The over which started with one Abhijeet on the top saw the other one see-saw to the top by the time the sixth ball was delivered. Dharmendra joined Partha in the middle. I distinctly remember noting it down that these two showed a great combination of aggression and running between the wickets to keep the score board ticking. They played very well by rotating the strike and hitting whenever possible. It took some great bowling and fielding to break the partnership .. read that as bowling and fielding by the same person … yes a caught-and-bold. Not able to read the delivery correctly Partha ended up just tapping the ball. It was a gentle tap and so it wasn't going to travel all the way to the bowler. It stayed quite low too and just when we thought it would fall on the ground, right in front of Ami, he made a dive for it and took an awesome very low catch. He finished it by rolling on the ground before picking himself up and doing some Hi-Fives. It was a great catch and that’s what it took to break the partnership. Partha’s wicket saw Vamshi take the reins from him. Dharmendra continued his partnership with Vamshi. With Vamshi in the middle the aggression quotient increased and we now saw lot more hits around the park. This saw the score board run at a  greater speed. At the end of 5 overs the score was 30. Unfortunately for Team B, this stint with the bat didn't last too long and post this 5 over mark the run rate decreased. Team B was able to stage a great comeback thanks to some spirited bowling by Abhijeet J, Amit and Venki. But towards the end when Team B’s bowlers were finding their way Cahndru and Siddharth were able to score singles and twos and keep the score board ticking. I remember Chandru frustrating me by hitting on every single delivery and scoring a single in the off region. Unfortunately they both departed in quick succession and the run rate got a bit more arrested. In fact one was responsible for the other’s departure. After Siddharth departed he kept the wickets and when Chandru tried to flick one on the off side, but ended getting a nick, the former was quick to extend his arm and take a great single handed catch. Abhijeet J’s last over which was the penultimate over of the match saw just 1 or maybe 2 runs being scored. He was bowling wicket-wicket not giving any width to the batsmen. He was just awesome. Team A finally managed 49 at the end of 12 overs.

Team B had their work cut out, they had to emulate Team A’s first half and not repeat the mistakes of the second half. I think Rajesh and Amit opened the inning and Chandru came one down. Both the openers played sensibly. They did not go for big shots, they just rotated strike and kept running those singles and twos which we always tell ourselves to do. Siddharth was spewing venom at the batsmen in the form of one quickie after another. This was making their task that much tougher. If I am  not mistaken Partha was able to provide a breakthrough where I think he was even on a hattrick. He got Rajesh and I think Amit out on consecutive deliveries and I think at least one of them was caught behind. At this critical juncture Venky walked in. He had to stay in the middle, steady the innings and not lose sight of the target. All I can say is the only thing that stands out from the match this point onwards is his power-play. Within a mater of 3 to 4 balls he reduced the target from more than 20 runs to a mere 6 runs from 2 overs. Earleir during the over he pulled one on the leg, but it went very fine and so didn’t fetch him any runs (we were playing with only 8 fielders and one bowler so some leg side restrictions were in place). It didn’t matter as he dispatched the very next ball in the mid-wicket region for a six. The following ball met with the same fate. Suddenly where 18 runs were needed now only 6 were needed. At this point he declared his innings and I came to bat. Earleir Abhijeet J gave him good company and was able to score well. I found it a bit difficult to dispatch Vamshi and after wasting couple of deliveries I beckoned to Abhijeet J to take a start. I wanted to get a run and get Abhijeet to the striker’s end as he appeared in fine form. In my haste to flick the ball so that it lands sufficiently away from the fielder I dropped one just short of Partha who was standing at silly mid-on. Seeing the ball drop short of Partha I started to run and as I left my crease I saw Partha dive for the catch. It was sufficiently away but that did not deter him and he went for it. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me he fell a bit short, but he immediately picked himself up and threw the ball in a jiffy. Had I stopped even for split second to see whether he completed the catch, he would have got me run-out. It was an amazing effort, which saw his finger get a minor cut. The amazing thing about this effort was that while the rest of the players were lauding his effort Venki did not waste any time to remind him that he should have timed it properly or should have been bit more agile. If I interpreted the situation and the language correctly Siddharth reprimanded Venki for this, chiding him that he shouldn’t be such a puss and should pat Partha’s back. But Venki had his reasons and the reason that he gave was a big pat (for Partha) in itself … he said that if it would have anybody else then he would have been the first one to cheer him, but it's Partha and we are all aware of his capability. I am sure after this explanation Partha did not mind Venki’s comment! In the end it was just a matter of time and Team B won the match rather convincingly.

By the time second match was done it was 9:30. There was  a clamor for a third contest, albeit a condensed version. After much haggling it was decided that we would play a 6 over match. Team B won the toss and elected to bat. Venki opened the innings and immediately started his power play. He was very aggressive and started hitting right from the word go. Unfortunately he could not stay for too long and he holed out to either Vamshi or Siddhart standing in the mid-wicket region but not before he had set his team on a firm track. He was ably supported by Abhijeet J who again played very well. He mostly drove and pulled to get 8-12 runs in the leg region. Finally Team B made a healthy 31 in 6 overs. After witnessing Team  B run all over them in the second match and then again display great power play in the first innings Team A was raring to go. And  believe me they made Team B nearly repent their decision to bat first. But what’s a game of cricket without some drama. I am not sure who opened the innings for Team A, but I remember Vamshi and Siddharth took it upon themselves to take Team B to task. They did what Vamshi and Dharmendra had done in the first match. They concentrated on punishing the leg side and short deliveries. Vamshi was especially brutal where he scored a huge 6 in the mid-wicket region. It was a great shot. I was standing in the gully and I could see his bat swing and hit the ball on the low. He timed it perfectly and the ball just soared happily over the boundary line. They were going great and were proving unstoppable. Suddenly a score of 31 didn't appear daunting at all. But things were about to change ... change fast. Venky came in to bowl which I thinl was the 4^th over. It completely changed the face of the game. It didn’t start out that way though and I am not sure what transpired in Venky's mind, but after couple of deliveries he scrapped his game plan and went with a new one which I swear worked like a charm! On the the second ball Siddharth in an attempt to hit the ball in the covers unsuccessfully tried to angle his bat. It was slightly comical, but Venky read it very differently, he immediaely set a very attacking field. Of the 8 fielders, 5 were within few yards of Siddharth. He bowled a similar delivery which was rising but I think this one was slightly quicker. With his team-ates urging Siddharth to hit the ball over the heads of the close-in fielders Siddharth tried to nick it very fine but ended up giving a sitter to Abhijeet who took a fine catch under pressure. He didn’t have to move an inch. It went straight to him, such was Venky’s precision. Abhijeet replaced Siddharth. Venky maintained the same field and attacked Abhijeet. You could bet that he would send quick ones at him and that’s exactly what he did and it yielded desired result when Abhijeet could not negotiate a quick one bowled in the block hole which saw his stumps shattered. Suddenly Team A found itself on the backfoot and was afraid of a repeat of the second match. But Vamshi held ground. He did not wilt under pressure and continued his fine stroke play thus infusing some confidence in his team-mate standing at the other end. He targeted the next bowler, Abhijeet J. He wanted to score as many runs in this over as possible and while doing that he got a very big scare which nearly derailed his team's campaign. In an effort to get some quick runs Vamshi and Chandru  tried to steal a few singles. On one such occasion Chandru pushed the ball on the off and ran. Vamshi had already taken a start, but in their hurry their overlooked the fact that Venky was standing at silly mid-off. He ran along side Vamshi, bent down, picked up the ball and took a shy at the stumps. Unfortunately for him, he missed and Vamshi sailed through safely. Vamshi quickly turned around and cautioned Chandru against taking such dangerous singles. In the end Vamshi and Chandru managed to get all the runs in the same over and after a second min-scare won the match. But all said and done the match belonged to Team A. They batted really well and never looked under any pressure except for that one over where they lost 2 quick wickets.

Overall it was a great game. The best part was we got to pay 3 matches and were in the parking lot by 10. We got some good practice and experienced some great batting, bowling and fielding. Partha was awesome on the field where he nearly took a great diving catch and was instrumental in a run-out and I think he took a catch at mid-on .. seems to be his favorite on-field position. He lead by example and showed us why Venky felt he could do better (has a different set of standards for Partha). Amit took an awesome diving catch on his bowling. Vamshi was outstanding with the bat in all the 3 matches and was instrumental in his team winning the third match. Venky was right there with him and was equally splendid with the ball and on the field. Abhijeet J was equally great in both bowling and batting departments. His stint with the ball earned him an extra over and his captain gave him the ball the third time taking himself out and asking him to bowl the crucial over of the second match. Venky continued his faith in him in third match and asked him to bowl 2 overs. Abhijeet J hit some great shots especially in the third match where he scored couple of boundaries on the leg. Siddharth was great with the ball and played a defining knock in the last match. He along with Vamshi stole Team A’s thunder. Dharmendra and Partha played sensibly, especially in the second match, where they were responsible in their team putting a defend-able total. Both the teams seemed to do well while chasing, which is quite different from our strategy these past few matches (with Woodbury East and Real OC Stars).

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was left craving for more. I hope you will be there next Sunday and the one after that to experience what we all did. We have a match with SoCal Knights (hopefully) next Sunday. I think given our performance these past couple of Sunday we should be able to give a good fight and maybe even pull a ‘Team A’ on them!! Here’s wishing to some success!!!

Have a nice rest of the week.

Bye.

Anand