June 14, 2007

Compuware Game....

After that loss against NCC we headed to Nationwide ground to play the second half of our double header....the umpire was very very rude...we werent scheduled to leave the ground we played on earlier that morning but due to some conflict we had to move to another ground....we had 45 mins between the games on which we banked on to get some lunch....but becoz of the change in venue...we lost most of that time and the umpire wasnt even considerate enough to let us get some food...he said that we wil have to lose some overs if we went for food...thats rubbish....when our car got there the umpire was on the field already gesturing us to come for toss....we had 6 people at that point so when I won the toss i elected to bat....it was a forced decision...but turned out to be a good one....

Sham and Baji opened the innings and were hitting at will against the relatively weaker bowling team....both of them scored briskly....Baji was playing himself back into form by gradually increasing in confidence with each of his knocks....Sham was at his attacking best....both of them put in a quick 60-70 run partnership when against the run of the play.....Baji got out....then Uday was sent in....he too got out quickly...Guru was promoted to get some batting practice....but he got out for a duck.....too bad that he didnt utilize the opportunity....by that point the groupism in the team was brewing....we developed a group system and divided the team into 3 groups and each groups would be awarded with points based on the players performance...this was done to incorporate healthy competition within the team....little did we know that Raghav...would abuse it to the advantage of his group...hehehhehehe...well....Raghav and I kind of steadied the innings and took the score close to 170 when I got out...trying to get over aggressive...Vijay went in and started belting the ball to all parts of the field with neat hits....his hitting was so effective and outstanding that he outscored Raghav ( playing since the 9 or 10th over) in a 9-ball knock...we ended up with 210 odd runs....

their batting too wasnt that great....so Raghav decided to experiment with the bowling....which was a good idea....but he abused the system to give bowling only to the people in his group....result being that his group got about 7-8 wickets that fell that day....anyways....Gabroo bowled and over and so did Guru....Uday bowled a couple and Harsha bowled 3....then Rajni and Thimma bowled 4 each in which Rajni got 5 wickets....he was bowling very well....with a decent flight and good line.....he deserved the wickets he got....the best part was his celebration after each wicket....in panesar style....with pumping fists and running to the batsman...accompanied by a shriek of joy ( or heckling the batsman)....Rohit also joined the party with a couple of overs and wicket....my contribution on the field was just a catch....we got them out for 70 runs or so.....it was a relatively easy game after that close match against NCC...so we ended the league phase with 3-1 record and luckily for me...we topped the group...in spite of my terrible performance against NCC that brought some solace to me....

June 06, 2007

Game against NCC (20-20)

Our next game was against Nationwide Cricket Club (NCC)....i know quite a few people on the team as I have been playing for quite some time with Akron CC....so it was nice to see some familiar faces...

The game started late as the NCC guys came late...the umpire rightly punished them for their tardiness by deducting 2 overs from their chase...there was lot of opposition to that....but we started the game finally....we were concerned becoz we had a double header that day and had to play two matches back-to-back....so we were banking on the break between the games to replenish our energy reserves....

Anyways...we started batting...Baji and Abhay started well....scored briskly....got a partnerhsip going...then Abhay got out against the run of the play....Sham walked in and tried hitting out from the first ball....bad strategy....well he got a life....then Baji went...he scored 15-20 runs...I went in with the hope of building some partnerships and keep the score board ticking....sham got out immediately....in walked Raghav....we decided to buckle down and get ones....dont know what got into Raghav....tried lofting the ball...not exactly his strength and got out....to a good catch....in walked the debutant....Vinay...we had a similar discussion in the middle....buckle up and run singles....he did the same things Raghav did and was caught at the same position....Guru came next....both of us are comfortable with each other as we can run our singles fast....so we had a nice little partnership going....then I had a rush of blood and was catch at short third man....we were in a little bit of trouble...as Vijay got out immediatelt and Guru after hitting a good six....thanks to rajni and Harsha...we played out the rest of the overs for 120 odd runs....

Well...we thought that it would be a god total as they had to chase it in 18 overs....Vijay and Guru started of well again...Vijay esp was brilliant...he was in a zone and bowled with good control....we got a few wickets but essentially kept the asking rate high.....Manpreet was introduced and he started with a brillinat yorker....we kept the scoring low and got wickets at regular intervals....I felt we were all good to go...little did I know that I was going to have a horrible day....first I dropped a catch on the boundary line....it was simple catch...that should have given me a hint as to what kind of a day I was going to have....Raghav threw me the ball in the hope of wrapping things up after the other debutant Harsha bowled well and got a couple of wickets...I was taken for 12 runs in my first over...with a six off my slower ball...its been a long time since I hadbeen hit for a six off my slower ball as I have been getting the ball spot on....but this time it didnt work....then harsha bowled another good over and I screwed it up again, i was taken for 12 more runs in the next over...with another six over deep sqaure....I asked raghav to stop me....he obliged....thank god....I dont know what would have happened had I continued....anyways...Gabroo and Guru brought us back into the game with some excellent bowling in the death....but we did give them some freebies by bowling fullish length....on Baji's and Sham's insistance raghav asked me to bowl the last over .....I was surprised ....I said "r u sure?? I am having a terrible day"....he said that he faith in me....I was encouraged....14 required of the last over....started off with runout from the first ball....but then i compenstaed with six of the next ball again....i was like...whats going on....why am I screwing up that bad...8 from 4.....they got 2....6 from 3....bowled a slower ball..that beat the batsman and the keeper all end s up....that went for a bye and another for unfortunate overthrow...4 from 2.....the ball slipped from my hand and I bowled a waist high full toss that went for a single...2 runs scrored....2 balls 2 runss... brilliant piece of fielding by sham...he shot the non striker end wickets down under pressure...1 ball 2 runs...we got the field up but I screwed up with a ball right in the slot that was hit for another six!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! end of the game and a disastrous performance from me....after all the effort from Vijay, Guru, Gabroo and harha....i gave up 42 in 3 overs!!!!! my worst ever performance....so we lost the game and fell to 2-1....we had to win the next game to top the group.....

June 04, 2007

Start of the 2007 cricket season

Cricket season is a much awaited season for a bunch of us who spend most of the time in winter discussing the previous seasons or the upcoming season or (worse) indian cricket team....heheheh

This year the season didnt start off with the customary practice games....we participated in a 20-20 tournament....a first of its kind in this region....13 teams participated...Akron CC had a few new faces....Vijay, Abhay,Rajni, Vinay, Aditya....but most of the team was comprised of players that had represented akron in the years prior....Sham, Avinash, Raghav, Praneeth, Manpreet, Gurpreet, Harsha, Uday, Rohit and myself.....Hari, Manas and Sri Harsha werent available for this tournament.

We started off well against UCC....restricted them to 108 odd runs in 20 overs...this being our first time in 20-20 and also being Raghav's first game as captain of Akron CC....it was quite an experience....Vijay making his debut bowled brilliantly and so did Sham,Uday and Gabroo...I managed to chip in with a few good overs. the only person that had a bad day was Guru...he was pretty deflated after that...he is the most energetic fielder on the team so his silence and drooping shoulders did have an effect on the team....but we bowled well for our first game...the only surprise was that the new ball was shared by Sham (spinner) with VIjay....it took most of our team and their team by surprise...

Our chase started disastrously losing Baji and Abhay in the first couple of overs....both of them caught off guard for playing attacking shots too early in the innings...that too in the first game of the season....but that didnt ditter Sham....he kept counter attacking and that worked for us....he hit some lusty blows but fell trying to be too aggressive...Raghav and I managed to see the side through to victory thanks to some horrendous fielding by UCC... i rode on my luck 5 times !!!!!!!! Yes they dropped 5 of my catches....I couldnt have given any more chances...hehehhe Raghav also was dropped a couple of times....but in the end we managed with Sham and me scoring in 30's and Raghav in 20's. All in all it was good start for the season..... I was chosen Man of the Match...i dont remember when I last won that honor....hehehe

Next we played GahannaCC....we batted first this time....Sham and Baji opened the innings and put up a fine show....it was good to see Baji among runs as he started the season with a duck....sham started from where he had stopped in his previous innings...he even bettered his previous effort....he was at his swashbuckling best....he swatted the attack to all parts of the field....some of the sixes that he hit were huge !!!!!!!! and he wasnt even trying to slog....they were all great looking cricketing shots....it was treat to watch him....we were expecting AkronCC's first century....little did we dream to see that...and we would not even have thought of that to be in a 20-20 game even in our wildest dreams......all of us were excited....but like in the past....AkronCC player threw his wicket when in sight of a 100 and when he had the bowlers at his mercy.....too bad that Sham missed his century but for me...he got one....he scored 92 !!!! and he got out in the 16th over.....cant even imagine what he would have achieved had he played the full 20 overs :):)....then our innings fell apart and suprisingly we ended up with 170 odd runs with only 20 runs to show in the last 5 overs....thanks to sham we managed that score...else it would have been around 120....

Guru and Vijay were on fire when we started our bowling....they had a competition going...and they managed to clean the top order in the first few overs....this despite Guru being hit for a six of t he first ball of the innings....the game was in our control.....Manpreet and I got a few more wickets and we thought we had wrapped it all up....but we were wrong....Raghav introduced Baji and Sham....Baji got a couple of wickets in his first over....but was clobbered in his next and Sham too was hit for a few sixes....so all of a sudden we were under pressure again....Raghav threw the ball to me and asked me to look to contain them....I had noticed that all the balls that were hit for sixes were short of length or in the driving length....so I decided to experiment with blockhole balls and slower ones....it worked and I managed to get a couple of wickets and we wrapped the game....so we were 2-0....it had been a long time since we had a winning start to the season...so all of us were happy and it was no surprise that Sham was chosen the MOM....

more to come.....