Corridor of Uncertain Tea - WGCC vs TLCC (Nov 20th) - Practice Game
It was a good day for cricket; warm but with a cool breeze flowing in. We were going to miss the nincompooparies of Prady; the usual sweet nothings that Gaba would yell at the opponents; the witty one liners from Mo; and the exotic ‘Sinu Stance’, a print of which has found its way into lots of people’s loo (not mine though!)….but that did not stop us from doing what we do best.... before some of you answer it as “Losing from a comfortable position, or snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory..”, let me put an end to it by saying that it was a good game and we won!
We lost the toss, and the opponents taking mercy on the fact that we were 6 players short; allowed us to bat first and at that point all the teammates came running from behind the trees and the cars congratulating each other on a plan well executed. We set forth for a roller coaster ride that was to ensue. Mayur founded an unlikely but able partner in Suresh to see off the new ball. Mayur in particular was very severe on TLCC’s bowlers with 3 brutal sixes finding its way over the ropes; and before Suresh could open his account, Mayur raised his bat to celebrate a well-made fifty (ok, ok..i am exaggerating a bit here….Suresh was on 1 from 25 balls he faced). Suresh finally succumbed under pressure to match Mayur stroke by stroke and was out for a career high score of 14. Chinmay was sent in next, and Mayur was made to retire soon after to make way for the Captain. The plan did not work as expected and the captain was out for a paltry score of 1. This brought the awesomeness of AMAR to the crease…..who took a cue from Mayur (and the advantage of short boundaries) to hit a few (3!) sixes of his own. While the opponents were awe-struck, our captain wasn’t that impressed and I was made to retire at yet another career high score of 42..Oh meanwhile, Chinmay (25 n.o.) was forced to go off as well, since Sunny started threatening that he will go home if not sent for batting soon. He did not last long (ahh, the tragedy of getting old..pun intended)…and that brought another awesomeness to the crease..in the form of Kanwar who was in terrific touch and delicately picked up a few boundaries to help the team built a healthy total of 212 in our quota of 25 overs.
We started off well while defending a big total, and I drew the first blood in the very first over by castling the only left hander in the opponents camp, thus sparing us the horror of changing the field every time. Sunny then followed it up with a brilliant maiden over. TLCC still managed to go around 8-9 runs an over and just when it looked like one of their batsman was in for a long haul, Kanwar got him out to a cut in the deep point region. Mayur was quick to point out that it was due to Kanwar’s lack of pace that the ball remained within the boundary and nothing else. Quick glances were exchanged and Kanwar was taken out of the attack, never to be brought back again in the match. The next breakthrough came in the form of our Captain uprooting the stumps with a deceiving arm-ball, after bowling a barrage of wides; almost giving competition to the reigning King Suresh in the process. Sunny earned himself a second spell by continuously cheering up the Captain throughout his bowling spell; he also got a wicket by getting a batsman trapped just outside the leg stump. Mayur was finally given a chance to bowl due to a situation where the Captain now wanted to keep the wickets. The match went down to the wires where TLCC needed 30 runs in the last 3 overs. Mayur and I bowled 2 of these; chocking runs and I getting another 2 wickets in the process. So, 18 runs required from the last over; and suddenly the Captain has a moral epiphany and decides to hand over the bowl to Suresh. Amongst the ahhs and the ohhs..Suresh comes in to bowl. The team awaits the fate of the match, which lies in the hands of one bowler who has been ridiculed for bowling more number of wides than the whole team put together in the last two seasons. It’s a make-or-break moment in the history of WGCC. 1st ball is a scorching Yorker which the batsman just manages to dig out for a single. The skeptics are still around and wait for the next ball. 2nd ball is in the corridor of uncertainty and fetches a feeble single again. The confidence is starting to show in the bowler’s body language, and the pace is increasing; but the line and the length are still intact. Before you know it, Suresh bowls the last ball for a single again, leaving the opponents 12 runs short of the target.
A mental victory is achieved and the Captain is a relieved man and he enjoys the fact that he will have more options in the bowling department from the next match. Beware Bowlers!
Go WGCC!
We lost the toss, and the opponents taking mercy on the fact that we were 6 players short; allowed us to bat first and at that point all the teammates came running from behind the trees and the cars congratulating each other on a plan well executed. We set forth for a roller coaster ride that was to ensue. Mayur founded an unlikely but able partner in Suresh to see off the new ball. Mayur in particular was very severe on TLCC’s bowlers with 3 brutal sixes finding its way over the ropes; and before Suresh could open his account, Mayur raised his bat to celebrate a well-made fifty (ok, ok..i am exaggerating a bit here….Suresh was on 1 from 25 balls he faced). Suresh finally succumbed under pressure to match Mayur stroke by stroke and was out for a career high score of 14. Chinmay was sent in next, and Mayur was made to retire soon after to make way for the Captain. The plan did not work as expected and the captain was out for a paltry score of 1. This brought the awesomeness of AMAR to the crease…..who took a cue from Mayur (and the advantage of short boundaries) to hit a few (3!) sixes of his own. While the opponents were awe-struck, our captain wasn’t that impressed and I was made to retire at yet another career high score of 42..Oh meanwhile, Chinmay (25 n.o.) was forced to go off as well, since Sunny started threatening that he will go home if not sent for batting soon. He did not last long (ahh, the tragedy of getting old..pun intended)…and that brought another awesomeness to the crease..in the form of Kanwar who was in terrific touch and delicately picked up a few boundaries to help the team built a healthy total of 212 in our quota of 25 overs.
We started off well while defending a big total, and I drew the first blood in the very first over by castling the only left hander in the opponents camp, thus sparing us the horror of changing the field every time. Sunny then followed it up with a brilliant maiden over. TLCC still managed to go around 8-9 runs an over and just when it looked like one of their batsman was in for a long haul, Kanwar got him out to a cut in the deep point region. Mayur was quick to point out that it was due to Kanwar’s lack of pace that the ball remained within the boundary and nothing else. Quick glances were exchanged and Kanwar was taken out of the attack, never to be brought back again in the match. The next breakthrough came in the form of our Captain uprooting the stumps with a deceiving arm-ball, after bowling a barrage of wides; almost giving competition to the reigning King Suresh in the process. Sunny earned himself a second spell by continuously cheering up the Captain throughout his bowling spell; he also got a wicket by getting a batsman trapped just outside the leg stump. Mayur was finally given a chance to bowl due to a situation where the Captain now wanted to keep the wickets. The match went down to the wires where TLCC needed 30 runs in the last 3 overs. Mayur and I bowled 2 of these; chocking runs and I getting another 2 wickets in the process. So, 18 runs required from the last over; and suddenly the Captain has a moral epiphany and decides to hand over the bowl to Suresh. Amongst the ahhs and the ohhs..Suresh comes in to bowl. The team awaits the fate of the match, which lies in the hands of one bowler who has been ridiculed for bowling more number of wides than the whole team put together in the last two seasons. It’s a make-or-break moment in the history of WGCC. 1st ball is a scorching Yorker which the batsman just manages to dig out for a single. The skeptics are still around and wait for the next ball. 2nd ball is in the corridor of uncertainty and fetches a feeble single again. The confidence is starting to show in the bowler’s body language, and the pace is increasing; but the line and the length are still intact. Before you know it, Suresh bowls the last ball for a single again, leaving the opponents 12 runs short of the target.
A mental victory is achieved and the Captain is a relieved man and he enjoys the fact that he will have more options in the bowling department from the next match. Beware Bowlers!
Go WGCC!
Labels: WGCC vs TLCC
posted by ASB at 9:20 PM
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