Marching Ahead - 4th Game

Eight thirty in the morning i get a call from Mr.Koushik and in my deep sleep i heard him saying "macha nethu enaku oru accident aachu da...kaalla adi...naan pad katti odi paathen da veetla, but ennala oda mudila da...so naan varala da match ku inniku" nu sonnan... so i called up srikumar to inform him to arrange for a back up player and immediately he arranged for one in the form of leggie Alex, and i thought of arranging Harish (girish's bro) and he confirmed his availability too... when i called appu he cried in support of Alex and said "dai dai...he left his badminton session in between and he is ready to come with us da" nu ivan azhudhaan... now i got into a tangle between appu and girish!! As usual i fell on to my colleagues feet and apologised him and told him to inform his bro to take rest at home and play with his newly born kid !!!

When i was on my way to the ground, i get a call from Koushik again asking me to buy a sponge for him, i was thinking why the hell i should buy... then go and give it to him whos at his residence!!! but i heard params voice next to him and i asked him where the hell he was??? to my surprise this bugger was at the ground and all set to play!! now confusion started again...we were 12 of us at the venue(A.M Jain College) and so the confusion of whom to be left out arouse!!! all our eyes turned towards one player as soon as this confusion came up... The Man, The Machine... Nithi.

Toss, well this time not between the players to choose who is in and who is out!!! cos Nithi as generous as he has been ever, opted to sit out considering the importance of the game. koushik was in, but not without a promise from the management end to Nithi that he will feature in our following matches !! And he did believe!! :)

We had couple of changes in the side, Alex came in place of Ranga and Krishna in place of Bala.

3rd time Lucky at the toss for our skipper and we chose to field first considering a fast outfield and the failure of defending the score in the last match, since this is a crucial match in the teams standing on the Table we wanted to be normal and not take any chances. CTS having won 4 of their 5 encounters are on top and the team we were up against, Elite Stars had won 3 of their 4 games who was actually in the 2nd spot in the table. If we win this match we will move on to the 2nd position by pushing our opponents down to three... Our fingers were crossed to win this encounter to retain our hopes of topping the table.

The start was fantastic as usual, with me and appu( a surprise package ) opened with the new ball, and the pitch seems to be in perfect length finally. We made sure to make life bitter for the batsmen in the middle with outswingers from one end and inswinging deliveries from the other. Eventually we bagged a wicket in the very 2nd over. Appu ticking his wicket column. Bowlers were literally on the batters toes and nailed them right till the 10th over where their Runrate was less than 4 an over.

Girish having missed out to bowl in the previous encounter at Teachers B, got a chance to bowl his full quota of 4 overs who showed grit and fitness levels by completing his spell with 4.5 an over. In a 20-20 game its a splendid performance from the old warhorse, which includes a freehit in which the opponents failed to make their mark.

To everyones surprise our skipper Srikumar threw the ball to the bigman Rajesh, who stunned everyone with couple of wickets in his very first over, which paid much dividends for the team and credits to the Skipper. He ended up with two wickets and an economy rate of 6 per over.

As usual param was fantastic from one end, with a gr8 support behind the stumps from shivram, the overs flew past where the ball were exchanged only between the bowler and the keeper. 3rd over from Param saw couple of boundries being hit on to the leg side with a sloggish sweep and neatly played shot on to the midwicket boundary from the opponent Captain who got himself runout. For us he was the only threat who could have taken the score past 120.

The bowling options were handled well by the skipper and infact it looked like he had ample choices to throw the ball at to have a go in the last four overs, but he had it covered with a simple and a better choice and not being extravagant by bringing back the fast bowlers which might have taken more time in running through the final overs.

Till the 14th over they had a runrate of only 4/over which eventually increased to 5 an over, which is bound to happen in any 20-20 game irrespective of the quality in the batting line-up. Runrate of 5 an over will be happily accepted with both hands by any fielding side and so did we. They ended up scoring 111/6 in their full quota of 20 overs. Rajesh being the pick of the bowlers. Fielding efforts of Nithi who came in as a substitute has to be appreciated.

Abhi and appu went into bat and started scoring 5 an over right from the word go, bulk of scoring having done by Abhi and appu playing a secondary role. the latter got out to a rank shot delivery by trying to hook it but he found himself caught at deep fine leg boundary and made him to feel for the shot he played right till the end of the game !! thanks to me for reminding him again and again.. :)

The big man Rajesh went in next with lots of expectations from his team mates, since he failed to show his fireworks in the previous encounter. This time he made sure of displaying his regained strength by hitting a " FLAT " six to the square leg boundary which flew off from the bottom of his bat and a straight six off a full toss. After those two hits he shut shop for his greedy viewers by scooping a dolly to the bowler.

Wicky Shivram went in to join Abhi who was maintaining the runrate at the other end. The pair scored twos and odd boundaries every other over which gave us a thought the match will be a cake walk for us. In the middle overs we infact had a runrate of upper 5 an over with just 2 wickets down.

But we witnessed two quick wickets in the form of shivram and abhi with koushik and me in the middle, we had another 25 odd runs to claim victory with 5 overs remaining. When we needed 2 runs for a win, I got out trying to cut the ball which was bowled too close to the body which disturbed the timber.

When i came in i saw param all set to leave, in his shorts and slippers with his bag assuming the match wouldnt require his batting skills. Krishna went in next and lack of match practice was visible from the way he was searching the ball and he got caught in front of the wickets the very second delivery he faced. Suddenly the fall of wickets gave a thought to the opponents that they could pull this off with 2 runs remaining, but they never knew that we had a an opening batsman intact who is yet to show his cover driving abilities, which eventually was the shot from srikumars willow which brought home a victory for us. With an over to spare, We won by scoring the same runs which we scored in our previous game "114".

Abhi our team's overseas player was adjudged Man of the match for his match winning 36 and gr8 fielding abilities.

So now we stand closer to CTS's throat and on Elite Stars head by having 3 victories under our belt out of 4 encounters with three crucial matches to be played. Victory in those would take this amateur team to win its first maiden title of 2008-2009 season. I know its too early to say, but predicting and aiming goes hand in hand!!

HAIL CRIC CRUISERS !!


Blog By

Rajiv. M

3rd match - Postmortem

It was an exciting match which went down to the last minute. We had almost pulled it out before dishing out the victory to the opponent. I feel we did ‘most’ of the things correctly. But that’s how the game goes. A very few tit-bits here and there, that was what has cost the match for us. The larger picture might easily point the finger at that crucial over bowled by Rajesh, but not really that’s the only reason for the failure. Many other things could have been done correctly. We have a lot of things to be carried from this match. The first of the real good match, where we had been encountered by a real decent team which knew a few things about playing the game, who had a good bowling attack backed up by an agile and athletic fielding. We can’t expect the entire tournament to be a cake-walk just like how the first two matches turned out to be. These are the kind of teams whom we should be able to tackle and come out unscathed.

Rather than doing the blame game lets first try and look at the positives that can be carried from the match. The first striking positive aspect is the efforts of our strike bowlers. The kind of start which we got from Rajiv, Param, Bala and Koushik proves how vital it is to stick to the spread-out field and one side attack. The strategy was almost perfectly executed. Every over after the first four balls were restricted for a run or two, we immediately spread ourselves in a bid to ensure that the over does not get spoiled by a boundary of the last deliveries. The line was perfect with nothing given on their legs. The fact that we gave 48 runs in three overs (15+15+18) and only 68 from the rest 17 overs (at just 4 per over) necessitates the importance of sticking to the ploy of 6:3 field with the off-side packed and bowling outside off stump. More often than not, the strategy will work because not many people have the ability to barge down the track or try and convert an out-side off-stump ball to the leg side. Even if they are going to do it they will be doing it at a risk of playing across. That gives us a chance of a LBW, bowled or even a leading edge. It also emphasizes the significance of bowling one side and not giving anything whatsoever down the legs. ‘Very easily said than done’ you might argue, but that’s what we should try and do if we are to restrict teams from building huge score. The first two overs from Rajiv, Bala, me and the entire spell from Param, if anyone would have noticed them, there was not a single ball that was to their legs. We were helped by the fact that the umpires didn’t call a few balls as wide. Still the line was such that they had no option but to split the off-side (which not many people can successfully do unless they take the aerial route). So guys, lets stick to this strategy throughout the tournament. I feel this is the best available option. An off-spinner like Koushik can probably resort to the 5:4 with the short-mid wicket coming in place. I have tried drawing a picture of how the field should be for bowlers like Bala, Param, Me and Rajiv. Other bowlers including Koushik can remove the deep extra-cover and put him as a short-mid

One more positive aspect is definitely our ‘stand-in’ wicket keeper. He has really been doing a great job for us. If not for his agile work behind the stumps we would have really had a horrendous time in saving the byes. So remember that in case Shivaram is not present for a match we might straightaway add 10 to 15 runs to the opponent’s total.

Now, coming to the area of improvement or rather concern. Batting is definitely not upto the potential. We definitely have it in us to score 140 plus runs on a consistent basis. People like Rajiv, Bala, me or Appu can provide the stability to the innings or holding one end, but to boost the runs we still depend on the likes of Rajesh, Koushik or Shivaram. If Rajesh clicks then we can definitely look at a projected score of 160 plus, but till he strikes form we somehow have to find a way on the top who can go after the bowling. Probably we can look at Shivaram opening the innings (in the absence of Faizal) along with Appu. On the bowling department as already said Rajiv, Bala, Param and Koushik are our main strike. If all the four strike bowlers have given away only 5 per over then the fifth bowling option can be compromised for say even 30 runs in 4 overs (that would mean a total of just 110 runs in 20 overs). On the contrary if unfortunately one or two of them have a bad over each (just like the other day where Rajiv and Bala together went for 30 runs between them in two overs) then the fifth bowler becomes all the more important. So we have a lot of things to be considered and again it all depends on the combination which we are going to play for the upcoming matches.

With regard to the tournament I think all three teams which we have played so far have lost atleast a game each. That means we still have a chance of making it to the top of the table. However, one very very important thing to be made notice of is the chance that is being deprived for the likes of Ranga, Prakash, Nithya, Faizal, Krishna, Sundar and for that matter even Girish. In our attempt to pursue victory everytime and try and squeeze in the best of the resources we might end up failing to lose the ultimate objective of starting this team. At the end of the day everyone should get to participate and get to involve themselves in the action in the middle and have fun. It shouldn’t be dominated by guest players or the same 7 or 8 members doing things in the middle. Others also should be given some footage in the action. Ranga has already voiced his concern about people not being given role to do anything other than just picking the ball from deep and throwing back to the bowler/keeper. I whole-heartedly acknowledge his opinion. Hence its all the more important for the ‘confirmed 5 or 6’ members (who get to play all the games) to perform in such a manner that we have room for others also to experiment and play/enjoy the game. In case they go for runs or fail with the bat we should be able to perform that much even more so that we don’t end up losing. With the kind of situation we are in now (2:1) and one more expectedly strong team coming up in Slash Support, probably after winning that fourth match we should start looking at giving opportunities to others to perform. After-all the 6 of us alone shouldn’t be enjoying (in the name of providing solidity to the team) the efforts of all the 13 members who have contributed for the starting of Cric-cruisers…….

regards
Sri Kumar J

A nail biting game indeed.......

Dec 20^th 2008 – It was the third and most crucial match of the tournament for us. The venue was Teachers B ground and the opponent was CTS who have a reputation of being a formidable side. I have fond memories of playing at this ground. During my stint at the TNCA league matches all these years, I had had the opportunity to play in this ground many times and I should say it has been a happy hunting ground for us. The success ratio in this ground was pretty high for me and I was just hoping that the trend will continue. Earlier, throughout the week we were constantly discussing about finalizing the playing eleven just to ensure that we are not found wanting in any department. There was no practice session, but mentally we were prepared and very focused to pull this off. The playing eleven was decided and this was probably the best batting combination we had. With almost 8 specialist batsmen in the side and three strike bowlers we had a pretty balanced outfit. The match was scheduled to start at 14:00 and our people started pouring into the ground as early as 13:00. As always is the case, our full team (except Shivaram) was present before match schedule and only two representatives from the opponent had turned up. It was toss at 14:20 and once again it proved to be lucky for me as the coin landed in my favour. With the size of the ground and the strong batting line up of our team in the back of my mind, I had no hesitation in opting to bat.

Abhishek and Bala walked out to start the innings for us. Before I could sit back and start padding up for the number three slot I saw the ball flying to covers and being held by the fielder. It was Bala who had succumbed. I felt little apprehensive about having been made to walk in as early as the first over. However with a good batting practice at the morning earlier that day (with another of the CTS teams) I decided to atleast hold one end. Immediately after a few balls Abhi followed Bala into the pavilion. It was a disastrous start again with both our openers back in the pavilion with score just reaching the double figure. As Rajiv walked in to take guard, I was just hoping that he will repeat his match-saving act one more time. We have been playing together for close to ten years now. All these years we have had innumerable opportunities of sharing the crease together, but I don’t remember a single occasion where we were able to put up a sizeable partnership. Everytime when we looked for something big either me or he will succumb. It was probably a jinx, which I wanted to break it today atleast….

Things went on smooth and we never really looked troubled. We were not scoring in a prolific manner, but we sort of had a control over the innings and we knew that if we survived for close to 15 overs then the gears can be shifted with the likes of Rajesh, Koushik and Praveen still to bat. During the course we managed a few boundaries between us and the one scored by Rajiv leaning onto the front foot and driving the ball through the covers had the stamp of the good form he was in and showed signs of a big innings in store for us. Watching it from the other end I began to feel confident that atlast we both were on the verge of breaking the jinx. But I had thought it too soon as Rajiv attempted a fullish, almost a yorker delivery to sweep and missed. The umpire had no hesitation in raising the finger to signal his exit. That was it………. It was one more of the many occasions where we couldn’t do it together.

Next walked in the personification of my hope – Rajesh….. The person on whom I had put my money on, to display a match winning batting performance. No ground is too big for him and in this ground even a mishit of his will go over the boundary. Although he has a reputation of being a nervous and tentative starter I knew that if he crossed 15 runs, his presence can really make a difference. He was offered a full toss which he gleefully accepted and slashed it to the boundary for four. I was just hoping that this was the beginning of the fireworks from him. Next over one more full toss, this time from the off-spinner and as I watched the ball soar high, I knew very well that the ball was not going anywhere but into the hands of the fielder and it proved to be right. I was so dejected about it that, the moment he hit it I was too busy being disappointed that I didn’t even bother to cross over when the ball was in the air. Along with Rajesh, my hopes of having a good score also went.

At the other end, I was just silently accumulating runs in the manner known to me. A nudge to the fine leg, a square cut, a back-foot punch through the covers (I never knew that I had the ability to score a boundary off the back foot !!!!) all these shots helped me gather some valuable runs. Just when I thought I could carry the innings I fell playing across to a part-time bowler (the wicket keeper infact rolling over his arms). The score was just a meagre 80 odd runs. The next few batsmen in Praveen, Koushik and Shivaram tried their best in boosting the scoring rate and walked back with not much result. Soon after them it was a procession of batsmen walking back and we couldn’t even utilize the full quota of 20 overs as the team was all out for 113. It was a shoddy performance with the bat from us and we knew that it was a daunting task ahead of us in defending such a modest total, against a considerably good opponent and that too in such a small ground. We were definitely shaken a bit, but still decided to give it a shot and try and prolong their innings as much as possible.

It was a typical field set for Rajiv. A 6:3 field with a slip and gully in place and three fielders patrolling the boundary, two on the off and one on the leg. Just as we had hoping for, Rajiv provided the breakthrough for us in the first over by dismissing the opener. He seemed to have no clue as he found his stumps being disturbed. The first two overs from Rajiv were sheer magic. The batsman could hardly read his outswing and I don’t remember any of them even playing a proper convincing defence. They were totally bamboozled by the swing of the ball. At the other end Param as always tightened the grip on the opponent by zipping through his off-spins. It was just the kind of start I was hoping for. After their spell, the good work was carried on by Bala and Koushik who stuck to one side of the wicket and bowled a tight line. Bala meanwhile managed to pull-off a run-out dismissal during his follow through. It was 8 overs and the score read 24 for 2. With 12 overs to go and 90 runs required we knew that we had a match on……..

The 9^th over from Bala proved to be costly as 15 runs were scored. On the other end Koushik managed to get a wicket. With 10 overs to go the opponent required close to 70 runs. 15 more runs were added to their tally in the 11^th over from Rajiv, thanks to poor fielding efforts and the full tosses. The margin was beginning to look achievable. Koushik meanwhile had already exhausted his quota. He had done his job by keeping it tight. Then walked in Param who offered to bowl the 12^th over. His confidence paid dividend immediately as he picked up two wickets. The batsmen found it very difficult to negotiate him. At the 13^th over I had very little option but to expose the fifth weak-link bowling. I decided to try and contain the run flow by bringing on myself. I packed the off-side and bowled outside off-stump in an effort to keep it one side of the wicket. The tactic started to work as we managed to put a lid to the run flow and along with it we choked them to throw their wickets. I managed to steal two wickets in the process.

17 overs 85 for 7. The stage was set perfectly for us to walk away with the match. The opponents required 29 runs from the last three overs and the pressure was on them. All this while there was just one batsman who was holding one end while we kept taking wickets at the other end. I was 100% confident that now the match is grossly on our side. However, there was just one major decision to be taken. Who would be bowling the 18^th over ??? All the strike bowlers had finished their quota and the options in front of me were Bala, Rajesh, Girish and Praveen. I knew that even if 7 runs were to be scored off the 18^th, with me bowling the 19^th we could manage a situation where probably the opponents will require atleast 15 runs in the last over. That was when I turned to Rajesh, praying that this time he would fulfill my hopes with the ball. I knew it was a major gamble considering that he hasn’t bowled for more than a month. However, the thing that weighed on me was his enormous experience in facing so many tight situations in the past and successfully coming through them. I called up my people and asked them their opinion. There were a few votes in favour of my decision and I lobbed the ball to Rajesh……….

As soon as Rajesh marked his run-up Rajiv started waving to me to have a deep fine leg indicating his vulnerability in bowling down the leg. I didn’t bother to pay heeds to his words as Rajesh had already started his run-up to bowl. As I watched with bated breath from the covers I saw the ball landing way beyond the leg stump and making its way towards the boundary. 5 runs of zero balls……. I cursed myself for not listening to Rajiv. I immediately changed the field. Next ball was a repeat but thankfully the keeper was in way to prevent the boundary. 6 runs of zero balls…… I immediately walked to Rajesh to try and calm him down. He quipped “Can anyone else bowl instead of me. Will they allow ??” On hearing that I knew it was the beginning of curtains for us. The fact that he started panicking and was not confident of himself to merely complete an over was an evidence enough to make me realize how the script will go from now on. He tried bowling seam up and again wide-boundary !!!!! 11 runs of zero balls……… One more attempt and again a wide. 12 runs of zero balls……. Then he again tried bowling off-spin. This time it was not a wide, but the ball found the meat of the bat and landed in the mid-wicket boundary. 16 runs of one ball…… I shifted myself to deep mid-wicket. He managed to squeeze in the next five balls for just 2 runs. 18 runs of one over and whole fate of the match was over-turned…… It proved to be a nightmare for Rajesh, very unlikely of him. With 2 overs to go and 11 runs to defend we were looking down the barrel and hoping for a miracle. Bowling the 19^th over, I still had a slimmer of hope that probably if I restricted this over to just 3 runs we have a chance. A skier and half-chance of a catch at long on going down…… that almost sealed the defeat for us. Rest was a mere formality as by the end of my over the opponents required just 4 runs. They scored them with 3 balls to spare…………

Nevertheless, it was a great game, a pulsating one, where we held the nerve almost throughout the game except for the last but crucial moments. Yet nothing to lose heart. It was a excellent fight back considering the modest total. We still have 5 games. Let’s rectify ourselves and try ending up on the top of the table………….

regards
Sri Kumar J

2nd match - Postmortem

I dont have much to talk about or analyse from the previous match. The only thing to be said might be not to relax too much and feel complacent. No match is over until it is actually over. So probably next time we should be winning in a more convincing fashion against opponents of such mediocre standards.......

The winning streak continues

Dec 13^th 2008 – Every now and then I was looking at my watch. Meanwhile at the centre, our team required 89 runs for a victory. We knew that if we survived the entire stretch of the 20 overs we could make it. However, the heavy outfield and the wickets at regular intervals made the match tantalizingly poised. Despite all the action and tension at the centre my mind was still on the watch and the ticking of the time. It was already 13:00 and this match still not over and I might even be required to bat. Here I am stuck up in my office match and not in a position to drive in time to the YMCA grounds at Saidapet where the Cric-cruisers team is supposed to play their second game of the 20-20 tournament at 14:00 hrs. With just a dozen runs required for victory I had to walk-in to bat. The time was already nearing 13:30. Just then I got a SMS from Ranga conveying the glad news that the match will be delayed and I don’t need to rush in. Feeling happy about it I walked into the field and within minutes the winning runs were scored for our office and I was driving my way towards YMCA……..

By the time I walked in to the ground almost the entire team had reached there. Soon it was time for toss, not with the opponents, but between Prakash and Nithyanand. Of the two one person had to sit out as the 12^th man. Since I didn’t want to take the political decision of whom to leave out we decided to have a toss. Luck proved to be Nithya’s way as it was in his favour. Prakash had to sit out. He however had company in Prabhu, who had generously offered to be the ‘lone’ spectator for the match. In the field I won the ‘actual’ toss and decided to field. The heavy outfield and the damp wicket was the reason behind the decision.

It was repeat of the previous match. The wicket was a full 28 to 30 yard pitch. It looked absurd but we had no option but to start the game. Rajiv continued from where he left during the previous match. It was once again a good start from the opening bowlers. This time Bala shared the new ball with Rajiv. He bowled an impeccable line and length but managed just a single wicket. The opponents could not boast of a great batting line up. Infact it was a sub-standard batting display from them. Girish utilized their inability very well by bowling a simple wicket to wicket line and purchasing two wickets in the process. Param on the other hand with all his experience would have found this outing a picnic with nothing challenging about. So it was no surprise that he finished up with a good spell. The atmosphere at the centre was kind of very relaxed and to some extent complacent. There were hardly any runs flowing from the opponent’s side. The only runs that where taken were the ones which were ‘too generously’ given away by our own Koushik, who had taken it a bit too easy and just threw lolly pops at them. Overall it didn’t require a great deal of effort from our side to nail the opponents to a meagre total of 95 runs.

The second innings started off with me and Bala walking out to face the music. The first ball I faced was a rank short ball which I happily put away to the square leg boundary. Soon in the next over I fell to a rising delivery. The ball was awfully short and anyother good batsman would have managed to direct that ball to the deep square boundary. But after having got hit in the nose some 7 years back by a bouncer, after that I have never ever managed to face the bouncer with the same guts as before. So it was no surprise that I made a mess out of the short ball and ultimately ballooned it to the cover point fielder. I was replaced by Rajiv who, after scoring a few runs fell to one more short ball while attempting a pull. Next walked in Rajesh who started off in a promising fashion by whacking the ball down to the mid-wicket boundary for a towering one bounce four. However, just like a “Kambi mathaappu” which offers great colours for a few seconds but suddenly goes off, similarly Rajesh after a very very short entertaining innings perished by hoisting one to the deep square leg fielder. All this while Bala, the one who had opened the innings, was carrying on accumulating runs, not bothered by the happenings at the other end.

The target was too short for us to really panic or create a stutter at the dressing room. Soon Bala and Koushik did the job for us and walked back successfully after scoring the winning runs. Bala was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’ for his unbeaten knock and his efforts with the ball. It was an easy win, despite us making a mess of it by taking it too lightly. The target and the opponent’s standards did not challenge us much. Nevertheless, a win is a win and we are glad to continue the winning streak……..

regards
Sri Kumar J

1st match - Postmortem

The first match turned out to be a good warm up game for us. We couldn’t have asked for a better practice match to get into the serious groove of the tournament. However, no serious conclusions can be derived from this match. The opponent proved to be too sub-standard for us to brag or boast about this win. Infact on the improvement list we have quite a few to be taken care of.

The first being the opening slot. Against a better bowling attack we can’t afford to start off in such a disastrous manner. We definitely need to have a re-look at the opening slot (in the absence of Appu). The fact that it was just a single partnership between Rajiv and Koushik that saved the day for us, thus emphasizes that atleast one batsman hang in there till the end to provide stability to the innings while the other goes about boosting the scoring. It is also a lesson that even at dire straits as 19 for 3, if we don’t panic and try hanging in, we can still get to a decent total, fit enough to be defended.

The middle order ‘appears’ to be strong, thanks to Rajiv’s presence, but other than him no other batsman has yet fired (in the past two games). One more lesson is in case of batting first and managing to put up a score which is beyond 7.5 runs per over, then the ideal tactic during the second innings should be to try and minimize the boundaries and choke them. Rather than having a test match or a 50/30 overs kind of attitude, where you have people in catching position and try to earn wickets, in such a short version as a 20 overs cricket, we don’t need to do anything extra other than bowling dot balls. With no power-plays, it’s highly advantageous for us in spreading the field. We have atleast 5 athletic fielders who are good enough to patrol the boundaries and dry them up. This will ensure that their run-flow is kept at check constantly.

This is not defensive cricket. This is doing ‘only the thing’ that is required rather than try that bit extra which has an element of risk in it. Just two or three continuous tight overs are enough to choke the batsmen and make them throw their wickets. Similarly just two or three bad overs are enough to spoil the day for us. It makes no difference if we are going to make them all out for 100 or let them at 100 for no loss at the end of the innings. Finally it’s the result that counts. The fact that having attacking field opens up space for the batsman to score is a risk factor for us. Any good team, with a decent hitter will take advantage of that lean patch and for us the 5th bowler being always a fill-in option, it gives all the more liberty for the opponents to go for it. Why to take that risk when we have an option of just sticking to bowling dot balls. You can call it defensive cricket. But when there is no necessity for aggressive cricket and when you know very well that aggressive tactics opens up the field, why to choose it when all you have to do is ensure that they don’t score more than 7 runs per over. You may never know, just one good over might trigger off the momentum for the opponents and remember it just requires one batsman to take the game away from us.

Throughout this entire tournament (and for all 20-20 tournaments) I would like to stick to this strategy. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have the confidence in our bowlers or fielders, but let’s not hurry up things. As we progress further in the tournament we shall try it in a phased manner and in a calculative way. Probably in the last match it turned out to be in our favour, but still I would like to go by the spread-out field. With just the singles available and only the odd boundaries, we have a lot of chance in restricting them (if it’s a defending position) or minimize their total if we are to bowl first. Even during my absence (in case I get into any project) I would still like and request you all to stick to this approach.

Batting looks strong ‘on paper’ but yet to play to its potential. Once Appu and Bala are in we will have a stronger line-up. In the Bowling department we have three front-line bowlers in Rajiv, Bala and Param. If Harish and Koushik are going to be present for all matches, then it’s fine. But incase we are not able to accommodate everyone or in case of absenteeism, then the 4th and 5th bowling has to be shared between Girish, Rajesh and myself. That 8 overs is the only lean patch wherein we have to restrict the runs to less than 48. Shivaram will mostly become our permanent keeper. So overall, we have a decent outfit, good enough to go the entire stretch of the tournament. Let’s hope for the best……………..

regards
Sri Kumar J

Off the mark in style......

6th Dec 2008 – It was the 16th anniversary of the fateful day when the Babri Masjid was brought down. The city police had geared up to prevent any untoward incidents. To add to it the weather forecast read “cyclonic depression formed at Bay of Bengal, 450 kms south east of the Chennai coast. Heavy showers expected for the next couple of days”. Back home we were hoping that the cyclone will stay away atleast for a day. The reason being, it was more than a month since we had registered ourselves for a 20-20 tournament, but every weekend the rain-God ensured that we never even had a chance to enter the field. We didn’t want a repeat of the same story “match cancelled due to rain”.

The D-day arrived. Atlast our wait had come to an end. It was the first match of the tournament for us. The clear sky which was occupying almost the entire week slowly started darkening and showed signs of a possible shower. Not to be discouraged by it we all gathered at the ground by 13:30. As I went for the toss, I had no second thoughts in deciding to bat first in the event of winning it, the weather being the primary reason and the absence of the full strength of the team being the other reason. Moreover it was almost a month since we had had a practice session or a match. This had a rustic effect on all of us, who are already losing our agility, thanks to the comforts that come along when working for a MNC. So batting first was the best option for us to score runs enough to apply pressure on the opponent. As I had hoped the toss turned out to be in our favour and with no hesitation I declared that we would be batting first. Since both the specialist openers of the team were absent on that day, I had to take up the task of opening along with Prakash, who was sent in to try his luck swishing his bat.

It was the first over with the bowler bowling around the wicket, Prakash was waiting for the ball to be pitched up, to give it a whack. It ended out to be a maiden over with Prakash yet to get off the mark. Next over as I looked up to face the first ball, the moment it was released I started moving my feet towards the place where the ball would land. But it seemed to be eternity till the ball arrived. Immediately I realized that the length of the pitch was too long, longer atleast by 5 yards. Realizing that it’s no point standing at the crease to face the ball, I started to walk in for every delivery that was bowled. Managing to connect one ball which went to the boundary, before that over ended I had succumbed to an in-swinger that took my middle stump. Soon afterwards in the next over, Prakash followed without bothering the scorers. It was left to two new batsmen in Rajesh and Koushik to stabilize the innings. Since the ground was too small, I had expected that the longer the presence of Rajesh, the more the score would be for the team. But it proved to be a miscalculation as Rajesh nicked the ball to the keeper and walked back. The team was tottering at 19 for 3

Then walked in our saviour Rajiv. The terribly short of match practice was evident when he faced the first few balls. Particularly the half-volley which was pitched right up there inviting to be hit for a boundary, while he ended up having his foot rooted to the crease and the bat trying to connect. The ball found the inside edge and rolled on to the short mid-wicket fielder. While on the other end, Koushik had no inhibitions in thwarting the ball to all the corners for boundary. Initially, Rajiv who was playing the second fiddle to Kaushik soon managed to get a grip over the situation. It was a cautious yet appropriate innings by him that helped us to stabilize the innings. One wicket at that juncture would have been curtains for the team. Thankfully, with all the years of experience behind him, he knew that merely staying at the crease will bring runs to the team. And that’s what he did before Koushik who couldn’t resist the innocuous bowling of the opponent spooned a full toss straight under the throat of the sweeper cover fielder. He was followed by Rajiv, but not before he had ensured that the team had crossed the danger mark and was in a position to reach a competitive score, decent enough to defend. It wasn't a blitzkreig knock from him, but more of a responsible stay at the crease that ensured the score board was ticking. After Rajiv, it was a mere procession of batsman going in and trying to chip in. We ended up scoring 160 for 8. It was definitely a good score considering the precarious position we were in the first few overs. But to be honest to the fact regarding our potential in batting and taking into consideration the sub-standard bowling and fielding of the opponents, further helped by a small ground, we should have atleast scored a minimum of 200 runs hands down without any fuss. Nevertheless we knew 160 was defendable.

The tactic was simple for the second innings. Stick to one side of the wicket and not to attack too much. Dot ball was the order of the day and we wanted them to throw the wicket rather than we try to get one. But Rajiv had different idea. Sensing that the batsman doesn’t require that much of a respect to have a spread out field, he brought in the fielders and had two men in catching position. It soon yielded him result as the first batsman was caught off-guard by a rising delivery. His attempt to pull proved futile as the ball ballooned up only to be held gleefully by param at first slip. The next wicket was a LBW which swung late. On the other end, the left arm spin bowling of Param proved to be too much for the opponent as they struggled to score him. The first six overs hardly went for any runs.

The change of bowling brought in the brothers to bowl at tandem. The senior one proved his seniority at the field also by bowling a tight line. The younger one had a tough time completing the over as the batsman decided to attack him. His over-stepping adding to his grief, Girish had a nightmarish beginning to his spell. He gave way for Koushik who was brought in at the 10th over to try and restrict the run flow. On the other end, I decided to roll my arm over and fill-in for the fifth bowler spot. I knew that if the next 6 overs I could squeeze between me and Koushik and if we manage not to give away too much, the latter part will be taken care by the strike bowlers. That’s how the script exactly turned out to be. Koushik with his impeccable line and length bamboozled the batsman, while at the other end, I, with a spread out field managed to contain the run flow and earning a wicket in the process. Koushik ended his spell with two wickets and after that it was just a matter of time before we won. By the end of 15th over we knew that the final nail in the coffin had been hit. So we decided to relax a bit by giving bowling practice to other bowlers who didn’t get to bowl. End of the day we had convincingly defeated the opponent by a margin of 44 runs. They ended up with 116 for 9. Rajiv, deservingly was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his 43 runs and two wickets.

We are off the mark in the tournament with a comprehensive win…….. Let’s hope the trend continues.

regards
Sri Kumar