Super positive attitude and infectious enthusiasm were the secret ingredients
Hi,
Yesterday we had a near record turn-out, in fact I think it equaled our last record turnout, which was 17 (or maybe 18). Most of the new guys who signed up via their proxies showed up and our most of our regular folks were there to show them how we play the game. It started off a bit cloudy but very quickly it became bright and sunny. Some of us were already reaping benefits of having a full house, as now we could afford to sit around and bask in the sun and let our friends entertain us. Team B: Abhijeet, Pratik, Vamshi, Rohin, Ravi (new), Mallesh, Amol (new), Kireeti and Anand
The new players impressed all of us very well. But it was not the new players who had us applauding, it was two of our regular guys. I guess now you must have understood the title. Nandkishore and Ganesh were in their element yesterday as they both displayed great enthusiasm. They followed it up with some great batting and, I should say, awesome fielding. Their attitude was infectious which was slowly rubbing off on all of us.
Having won the toss Team A decided to bat. Their campaign began rather meekly. As we were recounting later, they were going at a rate of about 4-4.5 runs per over till 8th or maybe even 9th over. In the later overs they suddenly found their mojo and started scoring briskly. I don't particularly remember all the details as I was one of those 'basking in the sun on the sidelines', during the first half of the game. I liked what I saw of Chinmay. He was playing quite a few of those 'opened the face of the bat' shots. He was playing equally well on either side and at times was giving the bowler a charge. But it came a bit undone when Abhijeet came to bowl. The latter's flighted deliveries got the better of him. Trying to get to the pitch of the ball he stepped out and missed one. As I said earlier Nandkishore and Ganesh were in great form and played fabulously. If I am not mistaken they were mainly responsible for adding runs to the board quickly and effectively. They were ably supported by Sanjib and Chandru. At the end of 15 overs they had put up nearly 88 (I think it was 88, if not then somewhere around 83) runs.
Team B appeared quite confident and took the challenge head-on. From Team A Abhijeet and Ravi were mainly responsible in scoring most of the runs pretty quickly. They wee playing beautifully. Just like Chinmaya, Ravi too appears to be a fine batsman. He was playing very confidently and was not afraid to spank the wide off the off stump deliveries. They were giving Team A's bowlers a run for their money. After scoring prolifically they retired allowing their team-mates to play. The rest of the players couldn't add much to the total. It wasn't necessarily their bad batting but Team A had upped the ante and their fielders were all over the place. I remember one particular play where there were two over throws and then finally Ganesh dived to stop the ball, while standing at short mid-on. Without wasting any time he just threw the ball to the wicket-keeper without bothering to get up. That presence of mind helped get the ball to the keeper on time. That was some superb fielding on his part. I had one of the best seats in the house and I literally saw him in the air for a few microseconds and then land on the ground with ball in one hand. Unfortunately for Naga, he was running at the danger end. If Ganesh had not dived and stopped the ball he would have been safe. In fact from the looks of it that's how we all thought it would end. Ganesh's superlative attempt made Naga pay for running on an overthrow. Sanjib who was having an off day also returned i the later overs and got a well deserved wicket (clean bowled). Team A's bowlers were successful in applying the brakes in the middle and death overs. Pratik and Vamshi departed early which meant Abhijeet and Ravi, who had retired, came back to bat. Earlier Amol stuck it out in the middle and played sensibly to add to the bottom-line. He played some good shots on the leg. But then it was finally left to the opening pair to try and do the honors, and it appeared as if they would make good on their promise. With Ravi taking a stance Senthil came to bowl. He sent one down the off-stump. It was slightly wide off the off stump. Ravi tried to take advantage of this and attempted a square drive. But unfortunately for him, he could only manage to get an inside edge and drag the ball onto the sumps. Sitting on the sidelines, Team B's players were dumbstruck, suddenly defeat was staring them in the face. Their last batsman was facing a charged up Team A and Senthil. Literally anything could happen. Abhijeeet was in great form and Senthil knew how to bowl in the block-hole. I honestly thought Abhiheet would be able to push one on the leg and run for a quick 2 and then score another two (maybe in a similar fashion). But I was sadly mistaken when I saw the very next delivery uproot his stumps. Senthil had done the unthinkable, he had taken wickets on two consecutive deliveries. Team A was ecstatic. Their super positive attitude, infectious enthusiasm and hard work had paid off. It was sweet ... sweet victory for them.
The game belonged to Ganesh and Nandkishore. With their super positive outlook, they helped their team win the game. They were not only top notch in their batting and fielding but their whole body language was different. Honestly speaking none of us felt bad at losing, because as Pratik said, Team A was the better team and they deserved to win!
You guys have a great week ahead.
Bye.
Anand
Bye.
Anand
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