A Well Deserved Win

I could hardly sleep the previous night thinking what would happen the next day. One match ago I wasn't so nervous, we had beaten Woodbury East team 3 times in a row and were going in as the favorites. But the last match turned things around for us a bit, where we just barely crossed the halfway mark. We had a middle order collapse. If we were to play on the same pitch as last time, we could have a very tough match on our hands. But if we played on our ground with the red ball then we had a good chance to regain lost glory. With all this in mind and butterflies in my stomach I somehow managed to catch a wink. Few hours later when the alarm sounded I was so drowsy I snoozed and then woke up and immediately jumped out bed ... it was 6:18 AM … I was supposed to be in the car 5 minutes ago! The only thing that kept me from running over myself was the fact that it was still kind of dark outside. It was quite chilly when I finally reached the ground. The other team members were just walking in with their kit. We were represented by Ram (first one to arrive sharply at 6:30 AM), Rajesh, Pankaj, Dharmendra and company. The sun should've been out but was covered by clouds. The air was definitely nippy but pregnant with anticipation, anxiety and whatever that causes those knots in your stomach. The two captains got together and discussed the ground rules. Stumps were setup, crease was marked and the boundary line was adorned with cones. It was finally time for the toss and lo and behold we won it! Electing to bat, Venki called Pankaj and Rajesh to open the innings. As the opening pair started to get ready everybody found a place to sit. Thanks to Chandru all of us had a cup in our hand with piping hot coffee from Starbucks. Watching Suresh take his run-up, I settled down with the hot brown liquid sans milk and half a packet of sugar in my hand … the butterflies still intact … but now I had the company of 12 like minded folks .. I didn’t care … they kept doing their job ... flutter … flutter …  flutter.

The opening pair started very cautiously trying to gauge the bowlers. Pankaj seemed very confident but measured. One thing you could expect from the Woodbury East side was nagging line and length. The batsmen were doing the right thing. I am not sure if it was the second or the third over, but that's when we got the first blow. This one might have stayed a bit low. Bowled on the leg, the ball grazed Rajesh’s calf and came in and knocked down the stumps. Senthil came one-down.  Unfortunately he couldn’t last long and just like that we were 2 down. Afraid that we might repeat the folly of last match where we lost wickets rather quickly, Pankaj made a mental note and greeted Venki mid-way. You could see them chatting. Even though they were far away, you could imagine what they were saying to one another. Whatever they said, seemed to be working. These two were able to arrest the fall of wickets and slowly started piling runs. This pair was one of the best we had to offer. It was upto them to rebuild the innings from this point onwards. They began this task rather meticulously, one run at a time. They did not take any chances and this is where they successfully reversed the second mistake that we committed in our previous outing. They went for ground shots and concentrated on running singles and twos. It was a treat to see them bat. Just when things were starting to look up a bit we witnessed one of the freakiest overs.

I am not sure why he was handed the ball, maybe they didn’t have enough bowlers and were dependent upon part-timers to get the job done. This over lasted for 21 balls which saw 15 wides. It was like 2 wides on the off followed by 3 on the leg and then finally one in the middle. This continued for some time. To make the matters worse the ball that was bowled in the middle was so slow that the batsmen had to walk couple of steps down the pitch to meet the ball and when they did they had to whack it very hard to get it far enough to make it count. This, in fact, was the hallmark of their bowling where most of the bowlers were slow to very slow. As Abhijeet and I were discussing, we wee just praying for the over to end soon. As you might realize such overs tend to distract and when you least expect it one stays low and knocks you over. In this case, it didn’t stay low, but came very slow. Venki, while trying to impart as much force as possible to the ball got an edge and ballooned a catch to the man standing somewhere between gully and point. There was a hush (from our side) and then jubilation (from the other side). We couldn't believe at what just happened. Just a ball ago we were rejoicing the free run spree and now our captain was back in the dug-out. It was time for somebody with a  cool head to go out in the middle and give Pankaj good company, who was doing an outstanding job of staying out there in the middle and playing the role of an anchor. Time and again we have seen the same face rise up to the occasion and deliver. Rightly enough Venki chose Dharmendra for the task. We were doing good, but still not out of the woods. This pair still had some work to do and they did not disappoint. Pankaj continued to do what he does best and Dharmendra joined him in his good work. The run rate was good and we had 7 more wickets in hand. At this point of time Pankaj decided to accelerate the proceedings a bit and go for the big ones.

Till now the balls bowled on the leg-side were met with a push, but this one was pulled with great force. Unfortunately it got the top edge and went up high in the air. This meant it traversed height more than distance. The fielder standing on the boundary line took a very well-judged catch. It nearly slipped from his hand, when it bounced, but he quickly caught it back. Pankaj had to depart. This was kind of sad as he had done all the hard work and just about when he was getting ready to cash out, he got struck. Had he been on the crease for coupe of more overs the score would have been drastically different. I think we were nearly at the half way mark (i terms of overs), and our score was about 54 runs. It wasn't too bad but still miles to go. Gour came in as Pankaj's replacement.  Now Dharmendra played the role of the anchor and Gour started to let himself lose. He was very good on the off. His placement was impeccable which helped fetch at least 2 runs per shot. Their running between was also good. They were doing something which had been sorely missing till ow … running the first one fast and putting pressure on the fielder. This continued for few overs. We were cruising. If I am not mistaken Gour departed first and was replaced by Siddharth. As Chandru later retorted Siddharth did a great job of adding runs quickly. He was there was for a short period of time, but was very effective as he quickly added 7 to 9 runs in a short span of time. After this we started losing wickets a bit quickly. While trying to add runs we started to lose wickets. The lower order could not replicate the work done by the middle order and we had a mini collapse. Till about 17^th over where a score of 120-125 was seen achievable, suddenly in the 19^th over a score of 110 seemed like luxury. In the end Amit and Abhijeet held the fort and ensured that we set a score of 110 as target. Over all it was a good batting performance, where after an initial scare, the middle order came through only to be slightly let down by the lower order. A score of 110 wasn’t bad, but could have been better. A lesson for next time.

Venki took charge with the ball and bowled the first over. I was expecting to see stumps go flying, but I guess it was the extended pitch length which was causing the balls to appear short instead of being good length or yorkers. The batsmen seemed to be handling the first couple of deliveries well. But adapting himself well to the situation Venki made some changes and if I am not mistaken claimed the first wicket. The wicket belonged to Dharmendra as much as it did to the bowler. I was standing in the lips, Sal was batting. He couldn't properly negotiate the quicker delivery and very awkwardly played it on the leg. Standing at mid-off (quite close) Dharmendra had to dive slightly to his right in the air to complete a very well judged catch. It was a good reflex action on Dharmendra’s part which helped us put pressure on the opposite team right in the beginning. I think the next over was bowled by Dharmendra. As I said the pitch was longer by about 3 yards (we normally have a 22 yard pitch, but now it was nearly 25 yards. Venki had suggested that the pitch length be decreases, as we were playing with a tennis ball, but they didn’t heed) and this resulted in some learning curve for the bowlers. Just like Venki, Dharmendra too learned quickly and made a good comeback after letting some runs initially. He nearly bagged a wicket on his last delivery when one bounced from his palm. It was a rather low catch, he did well to bend down but couldn’t hold on to it. I think the next wicket came in the third over, when Venki was bowling, in the form of a run-out when there was some misunderstanding between the two batsmen. A direct hit made the difference and the leg umpire had no problem in agreeing with the shout from the fielders. At this point one of their most consistent batsmen, Vasu, walked in. Venki brought in Gour and Pankaj as a change. Both were spot on. Their respective first overs were awesome and troubled the batsmen very much.  Pankaj was able to maintain a good line and length which was slightly outside the off stump and got rewarded when the batsman nicked one to the wicketkeeper. We were getting wickets at regular intervals, which meant their score was not picking up and as a new batsmen was coming to the middle every few balls they were not getting time to settle down. But this suddenly changed when their second most consistent batsman, Nooman, came to the middle. He paired very well with Vasu to post a great fight. They started very slowly and then began attacking quite viciously. Nooman played the role of an attacker. You could see him dance down the pitch. He was effective on either side. They both were playing very well and looked as if would take away the game from us. The bowlers for first time appeared  a bit under pressure. To add to our woes, the umpire too decided to get into the thick of things by arbitrating some bad decisions. The first came in the form of a plump run-out. Nooman was running at the danger end, towards the bowler. The fielder made a great save and threw back at Pankaj. The ball hit Pankaj on the hand and ricocheted onto the stumps knocking them over. Nooman was shy of the crease by couple of yards, but the umpire decided to rule in his favor by claiming that Pankaj hit the stumps with his hand and not the ball. In the end the ball was declared dead as it was a leg-bye. So, which basically started out as a very bad decision was given credence when the batting team suddenly realized that it was a leg-bye and since we don't consider them valid, the run was non-existent and hence the batsman was safe. We didn’t want any untoward incident and so agreed. I am pretty sure they also knew that it was wrong but on the basis of technicality they won the argument and the match resumed. You might wonder how come the two were hitting without any consequences. The problem was that we were not upto the mark on the field. We dropped a few key catches. The fielders appeared a bit under pressure otherwise how do you explain fielders like Partha, Pankaj and Siddharth dropping catches. These are the guys who jump in the air to catch the ball in one hand, but today thee were finding it difficult first to judge and then hold onto the ball. In their defense quite a few of our players seemed to have butter fingers.

Our catching woes briefly took a backseat when Siddharth took a blinder to dismiss danger man Nooman. It was a fabulous catch ad he caught it nearly at the boundary line. It was so close, that the umpire asked Siddharh to stay put and he ran over to see if he had crossed the line. Siddharth did a great job of balancing himself and standing his ground. He even did a mini jig while waiting for the umpire to come over to take a look. It was awesome and you can say a mini turning point of the game. With Nooman back into the dug-out we now had to get rid of Vasu to keep the balance in our favor. But that was not going to be that easy. Vasu continued his terrific form and pummeled the lose ball to extract maximum outcome. He scored a few boundaries. I remember one particular Venki delivery. You could see Venki trying different things. When he realized that the best way to get Vasu out was to entice him to hit, he bowled a short one. Vasu fell for the bait and pulled in the square leg region, but was fortunate enough to clear the fielder. He was definitely aided by luck which kept him in the middle. But as they say luck favors the brave, he was taking chances and was able to keep his team in the reckoning. This is when our man Gour made the difference. While Vasu was active at one end Gour and Dhamendra slowly started chipping away at the other end. The initial teen overs saw a barrage of runs being scored which brought the opposition within reach of the total. In the last 4 overs they needed 36 runs. It was slightly difficult but not impossible. Venki had the tough choice of selecting the right bowler. He gave the ball to Gour. Till then the batsmen were playing very confidently. That over by Gour can be said was the main turning point in the game. I think he gave away only run and if I am not mistaken even took a wicket. That over literally changed the tide in our favor. The batsmen suddenly found it difficult to score runs. They kind of hit a mental barrier. Three more overs were left, Gour had finished his quota. Venki had one over left and Dharmendra 2. In 18^th over Dharmendra struck twice. He carried on the good work started by Gour and was able to contain the batsmen. And then on the fifth ball he struck to get his man. I remember jumping into the air thinking, this not only gives us a wicket but also a dot ball. Even though the wickets had begun to fall at regular intervals now, the danger man was still at the crease. Then Dharmendra struck once again to be on hat-trick. Venki bowled the 19^th over. 22 runs were needed off final two overs. Venki conceded only 3. Finally 19 runs were needed from the last over. The umpire was shouting proclaiming how Vasu had hit 4 maximums in a single over in one of their matches, but he failed to mention the credentials of the blower. In this case it was Dharmendra and as far as I knew him, he was not ready to give any quarter. The first three balls didn’t fetch anything which sealed the fate and then it was just a matter of going through the motions. We had done it … after a mid-match scare the bowlers had brought us back into the game and finished off in style. We won the match!!

As I said earlier it was a superlative effort from the entire team. There were some hiccups, but they were overcome. Here I will point out just one thing, which wasn't necessarily bad given the situation we were in, but just a  point which was the hallmark of our innings ... we never really put any pressure on the fielders. We ran the first one slowly and so didn’t have time to run for the second … something to remember for the next match. But this also meant, we were very cautious and were not throwing our wickets. Our fielding was a bit wanting. We dropped a few catches. There were some misfields too. This gave the opposite team some breather otherwise it would have been more difficult for them and the umpire would not have dared to tell Venki that we were saved by the extras.

As far as batting is concerned kudos to Pankaj, Dharmendra and Gour. The former played a very patient innings and was mainly instrumental in stemming the fall of wickets along with Venki. He was ably supported by Dharmendra who then took it upon himself to carry the mantle. That was the most beautiful thing that happened in the middle. Our middle order really came through. There was always someone playing the role of an anchor while the other was free to make some runs. Special mention to Gour and Siddharth for making some quick runs. I especially remember rejoicing and commenting to Abhijeet and Chandru that Gour is very powerful on the off. Unfortunately the lower order failed, otherwise we could have put up a formidable total. Again something to remember for next time. The bowling scene was ruled by Gour. He single handedly got us back into the game and ensured a win. I was thinking if that over hadn't happened then we would have been in dire straits. He literally blew away their confidence to smithereens and sealed the deal. We kind of won the match in that over itself. He was ably supported by Dharmendra, Venki and Pankaj. Dharmendra made up for the missed caught and bowl in the second over by getting even in the 18^th over. It was again a low catch but this time he did not commit any mistake and took a very well judged catch. Pankaj was very lethal bowling accurately on the off. His work came a bit undone in his penultimate over, but he was able to make a good comeback later. Standing in the slips I could overhear the other team commenting on Venki’s line and length. They even called out to the batsmen to just play him out as he ‘bowls wicket-to-wicket’. That’s some complement to come from the other team. If I am not mistaken Abhijeet bowled only one over, but was very effective He came in at a time when the batsmen appeared  very set and were taking chances, but his flighted deliveries caught them off guard and kept them guessing.

Overall we had  fantastic game and we were able to win the match only because of team performance. A big pat on the back to the entire team! A job well done!!