Excellent running between the wickets and 2 scintillating matches
Hi,
As you must have grasped from the wonderful videos posted by Rajesh, we had 2 amazing matches last Sunday. The fact that we had a great turnout helped set the stage. The most wonderful thing was that everybody arrived before 8 and the game was underway almost immediately. I have made a metal note to myself, given the current level of enthusiasm and the crowd, I dare not be the odd one out and arrive late (I highly urge you to do the same too). The weather was perfect, we had a great cloud cover almost throughout the session allowing us to play without feeling the heat. It was as if we were destined to have a great game!
Team A: Abhijeet, Pankaj, Vivek, Vikram, Siddharth, Prajit, Sanjib, and Senthil.
Team B: Venkat, Partha, Rajesh, Rohin, Pratik, Ram, Chandru and Anand
I am sorry, I am missing couple of guys. Please add them if you know. The same team was maintained for both the matches. The team composition was perfect, as both the matches went down to the last over and pair. Literally everybody performed and the star of the match was .... at least according to me ... some excellent running between the wickets. I haven't witnessed such agility in any of the games that we have played till now and it was not just one of two guys, literally everybody was showing a renewed enthusiasm in this long lost way of scoring runs . My sore back and aching calves are a perfect testimony. I have been playing regularly for the past couple of years and still I was left gasping for breath on the field and holding my back at home. Honestly, I felt a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day! Team A won the toss and elected to bat. I won't say they should have done otherwise because they justified their decision by piling up a score of 107 ... yes 107 runs (I think that's a record ... but hold that thought). Everybody played superbly, contributing to the bottomline. But if you could highlight just one batsman's efforts then that would be Siddharth. He played amazingly. You just couldn't hold him down. He was hitting all over the ground. He played with great confidence and was mainly instrumental in hauling the score over the magic number of 100. He was ably supported by Pankaj who appears to be very strong on the leg. A short delivery to him is sure to disappear in the backward square leg region. Overall the entire team performed well and on the dint of some great hitting and excellent running between the wickets they were able to post a mammoth total of 107 (or maybe 106). It was definitely a daunting task. Scoring 107 in 15 overs was not going to be easy, but Team B boasted a solid line-up. They had Rajesh, Pratik, Chandru, Rohin and finally Venkat. They set out about their task in a methodical fashion. From Team B, the star performer was Venkat. He batted like a champ and proved to be Team B's answer to Siddharth's blitzkrieg in the previous innings. As Pratik quipped "technique hain boss ... technique'. He was lofting deliveries bowled straight down the stump and the off with equal ease and finesse. His favorite area seems to be the cover and point region. He not only hits ground shots in that area but also lofts to send a few over the rope. It was great to see Ram come into his own in the match. He took some time to settle down but once he got down to business he belted out a few in his own lofty style adding some quick runs in the process. Senthil and Chandu were not one to be left behind as they too played with great confidence. But it was not as if Team A was going to take things lying down. They were displaying some great fielding and bowling. Team A was losing wickets at regular intervals and even though appeared comfortable was never in full control. Abhijeet proved to be a wily bowler as usual. At one point of time Team B needed 22 runs from 3 overs and then 16 from the last 2. I think Pratik hit a six on the last delivery of the penultimate over and then just one run was needed form the last over. Team B finally won the match, but both the teams deserved a cheer and pat on the back. In the second match Team A again won the toss and elected to bat. This time around they made 63 or maybe 67 runs.
In the second match Pankaj was the start performer for Team A. He played very well hitting the ball in his favorite area. But this time around Team B was able to restrict the scoring. The slow scoring could be attributed to the fatigue that had slowly began to set in. We had already played a 15 over match and ideally should have gone back home to nurse the aching muscles, but the love of the game urged everybody to recreate the magic of the first game. In the second game too everybody from Team A contributed. Team B's players too were quite tired, but the running between the wickets was still awesome (this holds true for both the teams). The opening pair of Partha and Rohin gave them a good start. In the first match Rohin appeared a bit rusty, but in the second match he was raring to go and you could sense it from the way he was pouncing on the ball. He impressed me with his shot selection and execution. If he continues to play like this them he will give the likes of Vamshi and Venkat a run for their money. This time around too Venkat did not spare the bowlers. I especially remember the second last over. Team B needed 16 runs from 2 overs and Venkat scored 12 in the first 4 balls. He hit a boundary a six and then scored 2 runs and suddenly Team B was in sight of the finish line. He single-handedly turned the game in Team B's favor. After Venkat's departure Rajesh kept his cool and scored a single, a double and then a single again to finish the game. Along with some excellent running between the wickets, we got to see some great fielding. Special mention to Partha. I will not forget the stop that he made while standing at mid-on. He jumped to his left to stop the ball and prevented at least 2 runs. That set the tone for the rest of the match. Rohin also displayed great agility on the field diving on one occasion to get the batsman out. We had a few direct throws too. Here Rajesh deserves a pat on the back, as he showed great presence of mind by collecting the ball and throwing it at the striker's end knowing perfectly that the other batsman had already covered his ground so his best chance was to throw at the wicket-keeper's end. Partha also uprooted the stumps on a direct throw from nearly the mid-wicket region and if I am not mistaken Abhijeet too was able to take the stumps down with a direct throw. Overall we had 2 awesome games, where we got to see some great batting, fielding and running between the wickets. I hope you can join us next Sunday to partake in the fun and experience the fun first hand. You guys have a nice rest of the week.
Bye.
Anand
As you must have grasped from the wonderful videos posted by Rajesh, we had 2 amazing matches last Sunday. The fact that we had a great turnout helped set the stage. The most wonderful thing was that everybody arrived before 8 and the game was underway almost immediately. I have made a metal note to myself, given the current level of enthusiasm and the crowd, I dare not be the odd one out and arrive late (I highly urge you to do the same too). The weather was perfect, we had a great cloud cover almost throughout the session allowing us to play without feeling the heat. It was as if we were destined to have a great game!
Team A: Abhijeet, Pankaj, Vivek, Vikram, Siddharth, Prajit, Sanjib, and Senthil.
Team B: Venkat, Partha, Rajesh, Rohin, Pratik, Ram, Chandru and Anand
I am sorry, I am missing couple of guys. Please add them if you know. The same team was maintained for both the matches. The team composition was perfect, as both the matches went down to the last over and pair. Literally everybody performed and the star of the match was .... at least according to me ... some excellent running between the wickets. I haven't witnessed such agility in any of the games that we have played till now and it was not just one of two guys, literally everybody was showing a renewed enthusiasm in this long lost way of scoring runs . My sore back and aching calves are a perfect testimony. I have been playing regularly for the past couple of years and still I was left gasping for breath on the field and holding my back at home. Honestly, I felt a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day! Team A won the toss and elected to bat. I won't say they should have done otherwise because they justified their decision by piling up a score of 107 ... yes 107 runs (I think that's a record ... but hold that thought). Everybody played superbly, contributing to the bottomline. But if you could highlight just one batsman's efforts then that would be Siddharth. He played amazingly. You just couldn't hold him down. He was hitting all over the ground. He played with great confidence and was mainly instrumental in hauling the score over the magic number of 100. He was ably supported by Pankaj who appears to be very strong on the leg. A short delivery to him is sure to disappear in the backward square leg region. Overall the entire team performed well and on the dint of some great hitting and excellent running between the wickets they were able to post a mammoth total of 107 (or maybe 106). It was definitely a daunting task. Scoring 107 in 15 overs was not going to be easy, but Team B boasted a solid line-up. They had Rajesh, Pratik, Chandru, Rohin and finally Venkat. They set out about their task in a methodical fashion. From Team B, the star performer was Venkat. He batted like a champ and proved to be Team B's answer to Siddharth's blitzkrieg in the previous innings. As Pratik quipped "technique hain boss ... technique'. He was lofting deliveries bowled straight down the stump and the off with equal ease and finesse. His favorite area seems to be the cover and point region. He not only hits ground shots in that area but also lofts to send a few over the rope. It was great to see Ram come into his own in the match. He took some time to settle down but once he got down to business he belted out a few in his own lofty style adding some quick runs in the process. Senthil and Chandu were not one to be left behind as they too played with great confidence. But it was not as if Team A was going to take things lying down. They were displaying some great fielding and bowling. Team A was losing wickets at regular intervals and even though appeared comfortable was never in full control. Abhijeet proved to be a wily bowler as usual. At one point of time Team B needed 22 runs from 3 overs and then 16 from the last 2. I think Pratik hit a six on the last delivery of the penultimate over and then just one run was needed form the last over. Team B finally won the match, but both the teams deserved a cheer and pat on the back. In the second match Team A again won the toss and elected to bat. This time around they made 63 or maybe 67 runs.
In the second match Pankaj was the start performer for Team A. He played very well hitting the ball in his favorite area. But this time around Team B was able to restrict the scoring. The slow scoring could be attributed to the fatigue that had slowly began to set in. We had already played a 15 over match and ideally should have gone back home to nurse the aching muscles, but the love of the game urged everybody to recreate the magic of the first game. In the second game too everybody from Team A contributed. Team B's players too were quite tired, but the running between the wickets was still awesome (this holds true for both the teams). The opening pair of Partha and Rohin gave them a good start. In the first match Rohin appeared a bit rusty, but in the second match he was raring to go and you could sense it from the way he was pouncing on the ball. He impressed me with his shot selection and execution. If he continues to play like this them he will give the likes of Vamshi and Venkat a run for their money. This time around too Venkat did not spare the bowlers. I especially remember the second last over. Team B needed 16 runs from 2 overs and Venkat scored 12 in the first 4 balls. He hit a boundary a six and then scored 2 runs and suddenly Team B was in sight of the finish line. He single-handedly turned the game in Team B's favor. After Venkat's departure Rajesh kept his cool and scored a single, a double and then a single again to finish the game. Along with some excellent running between the wickets, we got to see some great fielding. Special mention to Partha. I will not forget the stop that he made while standing at mid-on. He jumped to his left to stop the ball and prevented at least 2 runs. That set the tone for the rest of the match. Rohin also displayed great agility on the field diving on one occasion to get the batsman out. We had a few direct throws too. Here Rajesh deserves a pat on the back, as he showed great presence of mind by collecting the ball and throwing it at the striker's end knowing perfectly that the other batsman had already covered his ground so his best chance was to throw at the wicket-keeper's end. Partha also uprooted the stumps on a direct throw from nearly the mid-wicket region and if I am not mistaken Abhijeet too was able to take the stumps down with a direct throw. Overall we had 2 awesome games, where we got to see some great batting, fielding and running between the wickets. I hope you can join us next Sunday to partake in the fun and experience the fun first hand. You guys have a nice rest of the week.
Bye.
Anand
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