The match was in Edison so that gave us couple of hours of extra sleep and saved us from a hectic drive. Went to PM to pick up some drinks, breakfast and off to the ground. I would not say the ground was pretty but a 360 degree was a relief. Reached almost the same time as the umpires, opponents. Saurabh, Rahul and Piyush were already there and we started the trek towards the pitch and the pavillion. Yes. The ground had an Oak tree for pavillion. 5 minutes later one of the 21 guys inside our manager's car called and said they reached St. Joseph ground. Wrong ground buddy yelled Karthik. I know our manager will not listen to anyone but for one time can he listen to the voice in GPS. Oh yeah. He did finally. There they are with the Kit. 4 of them got down and didnt talk abt the rest 17. Probably a TCS match in the evening. Jokes apart. Jeeva and Hem walked towards the pitch and had a hard look.
Jeeva walked straight to me and said I dont know ur terminology the pitch is nothing but a Kalathu Medu. True. The pitch was hard, grassy on one side and crests troughs all over. Karthik looked at me and shaked his head. One bad pitch. We were doing some fielding practice until the host team has setup the pitch and the boundary. Some of the VP guys were bowling and to look from here some pretty good bowlers I would say. Should be a good match up. Toss time and I think for the Nth time we won. The decision was obvious. We bat first. The top order was already decided. Karthik and Rahul to open the innings.
Karthik and I are back from a break. We could not play a full match last week. So it is comeback of sorts for us. Rahul faced the first ball and as it is a custom in our team to lose a wicket in the first over he was out first ball. I would say it was a really tough ball to receive first up. The player he is I am sure he is gonna comeback in the next match. Piyush joined Karthik. Here some flashback is required as I was out for three weeks. Piyush had scored three consequtive 50s coming into this match. I havent seen any of them but 50s in 16 over game is really good. So personally I expected something from this dude. Also he has all the 16 overs to play now. Couple of dot balls and the bowler pitched one shot. There comes the pull shot. He hit a pull/hook with less backlift. The ball went sailing over the squareleg boundary. Excuse me. Can I have a replay? I am a cricket fanatic that I watch an inswinger from Asif five times and ah. Why dont they have live coverages of these matches? Especially when our batsmen are performing. It is worth another look. I think I would be lucky if the same bowler puts the ball in the place. Yes you guessed it right. He never came to bowl again. One shot is enough to know the potential of the kid.
Karthik was a bit shaky to start off. Couple of half minded shots and some chances. The Villagepointers were not sharp in the field. They dropped a few. Everybody yelling from here. "Take it easy karthik" "Make the most of it". I never knew that he would take that literally. What all of us witnessed was one of the great knocks in a 16 over game.He got off the shelf with couple of boundaries, quick singles and 1 towering six. And more the balls he faced he was getting better and better. More sixes followed and one more dropped chance. That was enough to take him to his 50. Once he reached the mark he began to cut loose. It was just what the doctor ordered for our team. No matter who the bowler is, what length he is bowling the ball was flying around. Two extraordinary shots stood out. A six over extra cover - straight out of the manual and a flick to square leg for six. What a delight? How many times you get to see someone playing proper cricketing shots in a tennis ball game. Probably the first time I witnessed him play to his potential. Absolute wonder. I have been playing cricket for a long time now and I can definitely say one of the best innings I have seen. A deserving knock and at the right time of the league. It is high time that we make our presence felt.
On the other end Piyush was also playing some gorgeous strokes. He is really strong of the backfoot and if the ball is pitched up he was scoring singles. He was finally castled by one such ball which was pitched up. He has way too much potential and if he understands his limitations and make the shot selection I think it is really difficult to get him out or keep him quiet. Pandi went to the crease and was bowled. Another good delivery first up I should say. Hard luck. Saurabh walked in. I still dont know why the fielder standing near the Pavillion asked us "You dont have batsmen". What did he know by looking at the 5 foot 2 dynamite of our team. The response was a reverse sweep off the first ball he faced. He didnt connect it though but I think it would take atleast 500 gms of Coke for someone normal to do it. His excitement levels has no bounds. Probably thats his strength as well as weakness. Karthik had a word with him to calm him down and they both started wielding their bats as wands as Ron and Harry.
On March 27 1994 Sachin Tendulkar opened the batting for the first time and scored 82 off 49 balls against New Zealand. The rest we all know is history. Hope this is more than coincidence. Will this knock by Karthik help him and the team create history in the league? We have to wait and see. But for a plain eye these innings were comparable and one to cherish in your life time. We will keep talking about it for a long long time and so are the opponents. Kudos again.
On the field now. Sabeer to open. Impeccable line and length. Surprising isnt it? So many things have changed while I was out. But indeed it was a great sight to see Sabeer back to form. He has been good in the last few matches. Good is an understatement. He has been unplayable. Jeeva was his opening bowling partner. With the experience he has he always hits the right line and length without any issues. Sabeer choked the runs at one end and the opponents tried to hit Jeeva. He got two quick wickets. The wicket of Ravi Tyagi was crucial as he was the leading run scorer in all of Division 2. So we were off to a good start. Next best thing that happened that day after Karthik's innings was our fielding. I have to definitely mention that our manager made two Phenomenal stops in the field that I was awe struck. I am not sure if I can do these when I smoke that much. Inspirational stuff. I shud say I am lucky till now to field in a position where I can see all the action. This match it was sweeper cover. I could see the line and length our bowlers were bowling, the fielding effort etc.
As I was thinking about this I was a witness to a run out. Again one of a kind. A direct hit from deep mid on. No No Not Rahul. It was Saurabh. The throw was like a missile and hit the stumps. It took a while for the whining batsman to go out. I had a clear view of it and he was out by a yard. Bulls eye!! Hem and Saurabh started bowling and the required run rate was creeping up. It was so hot that I was very restless in the field. Thank god Karthik called me onto Bowl. I got couple of wickets off the first over and started enjoying it. The second over I bowled I missed a hatrick by a whisker. Missed a five for. May be next time. A last minute cameo by Srikanth could not save the opponents but probably gave him some confidence. Jeeva came back and took his 3rd wicket of the match. It was all over for them. 91 all out. A victory by 51 runs.
A day where everybody got an oppurtunity to contribute. With the bat, in the field and with the ball. The team is realising its potential. If one of your top guns fire this way with the bat there is absolutely no pressure on the bowlers. But no one strayed in line or length.
We have the experience, we have the fire power and we are back. Unforgettable Innings and Unforgettable Victory.
