2009/06/20: Chargers

Well my first attempt at writing a match report.. Nimish is absolutely fantastic in this department but I felt I should give it a shot this time.. before I start just a quick disclaimer note that these are strictly my views and in no ways is meant to disrespect fellow or opposing players.. all in good spirit :)

We embark on a gloomy (surprisingly chilly) Saturday morning at our new-found home ground of Selma Olinder Park for a crucial game against Chargers. The last time we faced them we had lost the game chasing only 50 odd runs. That was in fact the first time we had lost to them and we were pumped up to avoid any slip-ups this time around. Champs were coming off a loss to Aryans so the drive to win was clearly evident on everybody's faces. Also in order to stay in the hunt for P/G round qualification we had to win this one!

As has been the case for so many games in a row now, Champs won the toss and batted first. Absolutely no surprises here given that Chargers had not won a single game chasing this season. I opened along with Anand who has been in superb form for us this season. We started pretty well with couple of boundaries in the second over of the game. Just as things were looking steady Anand perished in trying to clear the long-off fielder. In came Lad the newbie of our team, player with immense potential but going through a rough patch. He looked solid from ball one and rotated the strike well with his trademark cheeky shots. I was middling the ball well at the other end and I might sound arrogant but I had the bowling at my mercy. Just as we thought of taking a few risks to up the ante I got run-out backing up too much at the non-striker's end and failing to make my ground back. Gosh how many times would I be run out this season? Sucks big time but all a part of the game!

In came our superstar Nagesh looking to consolidate along with Lad. A few quiet overs and the momentum was swinging back to the Chargers camp. At the 10 overs mark, we were 38/2: not bad at all considering the past few games but we were not satisfied considering the bowling attack and defensive field setup. Gokul (c) gave a pep-talk to both batters and immediately after the break we saw a lot more intent and aggression. But it ain't a risk-free world and unfortunately for us we lost both Lad and Nagesh in quick succession. It was a really good fighting innings from Lad who had scored 17 from 30 odd deliveries. Thoths from Chargers was bowling some tidy off-spin and did a great job in containing our batsmen. The stage was perfectly set up for Abhi and Sree, two of our best hitters in the line up. Will they get the momentum we badly needed to post a big total? That was the question on everybody's mind at this critical juncture of the game. Personally I felt that this was the make or break point of the game!

Abhi looked really determined this time around to put his bad form behind himself and play a cameo innings. Sree looked comfortable at the crease but did not get the big shots going. After playing the first 6 to7 deliveries defensively, Abhi went for his shots and a huge six over midwicket followed. Caught in the mindset of rotating the strike and handing over the spotlight to Abhi, Sree hit a ball straight back to the bowler and ran down the pitch. Suicidal call it was and rightly Sree was run out by miles. In went the captain Gokul who had a point to prove to all those who had called for more urgency and higher strike rate from him. First ball 4 over midwicket, followed by a 2 and another boundary.... Gokul was well on his way and Champs on their way to a big score. Welcome change in mindset from both batters with some lusty blows for maximums down the ground meant that Champs were closing on the 100 mark with two overs to spare. Abhi played a brilliant match-winning innings of 24 of just 22 balls (considering he was just 2 of the first 10 balls). Gokul provided ample support at the other end with 21 off 15. Abhi was out caught at point going for the big shots and we shuttered a bit towards the end. However Gokul stayed firm at the other end and hung around till the end along with the classy Puneet to finish at 102/7 at the end of 20 overs. Quite a captain's innings it was from Gokul!

We were at 54 at the end of 15 overs and nearly doubled our score in the last 5 overs. All thanks to Abhi and Gokul for the big hits and brisk running between the wickets. With wickets in hand and decent opening start, Champs are a tough force to stop in the business end of the innings. Great score but may be not enough considering the quality of batsmen that Chargers possess especially Bala and Thoths. We were quietly confident about our chances but did not want to look too far ahead of ourselves and lose the game at our own peril. A few fielding drills followed the innings break which have become increasingly popular in our team after a few lapses against Blitz and Aryans. Chargers were looking desolute with their effort on the park but they knew that they just needed one of their star players to click to wrap up the game. Would the Champs bowlers rise to the ocassion and justify their worth after the failure to defend against Aryans? Or yet another case of being so close to victory yet see it slip through our hands in the form of dropped catches and missed run out chances? An interesting battle between the might of Chargers batting and the solidity of Champs bowling was upon us!!!

OK so here we go again...

Thoths and Bala opened the innings from Chargers and each and every Champ on the field knew how crucial getting those two out is. Nimish opened the bowling as he has done for most matches in this season. Wide down the leg followed by another wide... umm not the best start we wanted, but he pulled things together to stick to a tight line and length. Nothing flashy from Chargers' opening duo but getting singles and doubles and moving the scoreboard forward. Sree started from the other end but surely he was not at his usual best to hit that back of length. Constantly over-pitching he was giving the batsmen a chance to come on the front foot and work the ball into the gaps. The score was moving at about 4-5 runs per overs and Champs opening bowlers were struggling to make an impression in the game. With the need for a wicket ever increasingly Gokul got Karan in to the attack. At least one bowler who is really very hard to runs off. He started with a full ball which was called a No-Ball for height and was duly dispatched to the boundary as well. One more boundary in that over (just clearing Nimish at long on) meant that 12 runs came of Karan's first over. Wow now surely everybody on the field was feeling the pressure, and Lad was the next one in line for a bowl (pun intended)

Beautiful line outside the off stump meant that batsmen had to be content with defending and playing much straighter. While Bala seemed almost certain of another length delivery outside the channel, Lad was upto something else. A screaching yorker on off-middle and Bala was way too late on the ball. Timber and boy weren't we elated! One danger man out but the job was far from done. In walked Sundar, who I felt tried to hit (or must I admit slogged) every ball out of the ground. He did not connect a single ball in Lad's first over and was easily gobbled up by Karan in his next over. Karan's got a great thinking brain and with the batsman throwing his bat all over the place, you got to be sure that Karan is gonna work him out and get his wicket - exactly as he did for Sundar's wicket. Next man was Mihir who was an unknown commodity for us. Well never mind who is batting, we gotta stick to the basics and do the right things. But did we? Guess I was the first one to fail :(

Sharp chance at covers off Lad's bowling from Mihir's bat (easy one by my standards) and it just rebounded off my palm. Sad... just to rub a pinch of salt Mihir smashed a boundary in that over itself. Next up was Nimish and he was greeted with a huge six over mid-wicket by Mihir. Talk about digging a hole and burying yourself: those were exactly my emotions at that moment. (Luckily) the ball was lost somewhere in the wild bushes and the umpires decided to take the innings break. A change in the ball and a definite change in our fortunes :D

A little discussion amongst the bowlers (Nimish, Sree, Karan and myself - yeah I do classify at times as a bowler) and devised a devious plan for the batsman. Nice loopy slower delivery from the back of the hand by Nimish meant that Mihir got only the elevation and not the distance and was nicely caught by Abhi coming in from long-on boundary. Nice plan, great execution and perfect finish. But Nimish was not to be satisfied with just one. Yet another slower delivery on the leg stump to Thoths and he played all over the ball and could only hear his stumps shattered. Champs were right back in the game with those successive wickets and there was no looking back.

Next up into the attack was Taggy (urf Nagesh) who bowled a tight probing line from round the wicket. Sree fooled the batsman by going to the ball slowly and the batsman took off for the second run at their own peril. Amidst all the tight bowling by Taggy, Lad surely stole the cake with a street-smart stumping from a down the leg delivery. Neat collection and swift hands meant the batsman had no chance of recovering and getting back into his crease. Great glovework by Lad and you could see Taggy sweating over his standard position in the team (just kidding ;) Nagesh went out to get two more wickets and Karan one more without much fuss and drama from there on. Just as we looked to wrap up the match, Sree decided to introduce a bit of "thrill ra babu" into the game by serving up a nice half-volley which was hit over long-off for a big six. Enough of fun and he was not gonna have any more of it. Nice yorker on the stumps and that was the end of the game. The fact that Chargers managed 82 runs while chasing was a great effort from their side. Ideally we would have wanted to wrap up their innings for a much lower score but a win is a win and we would take it anytime :)

Mission accomplished and next up in our sight are Skiers11...