Super Sunday

Super Sunday it was!! Rafa demolished the joker, Vettel and Kimi raced against each other for a nerve racking five laps for the top position and Everton came from two goals behind to ensure an all important Manchester derby next week. But in this blog I will ignore all these much more significant happenings and like all other self obsessed morons talk about the most important that happened to me.

Early Morning Jitters

Faced with the stiffest of all challenges of leading a side after seven years sleepless nights were a given. It might seem like I am overdoing a Gully Cricket match but that is how serious we are about Cricket. As an Indian, Cricket’s my Religion and Sachin’s my GOD. Back to the point!!! I had just managed to catch some sleep around 4 o clock and was woken up harshly by Tukul’s call at 7. What was even crueler was the news he had for me. Kaushik had fallen sick all of a sudden and would be unavailable for the match. One hour before a crunch match such news can be disheartening as Kaushik was one of our strike bowlers. Though we had a ready replacement in Tushka, who is one of the best batsman I have seen, the team’s balance was shaken. Visibly shaken!!

Cricket’s a leveler

I will skip the other mishaps and start with the toss. It was for the first time we lost a toss in the last 10 matches and well I was having a feeling that this will not go too well. Rahul the opponent team’s captain was elated with the toss and by their bunch’s celebration I felt they had won the match. The match started on a bombastic note with Tintin smashing our strike bowler Jito to all corners of the park in the first over but Jito came back to claim his wicket in the last ball. One over fifteen runs and one wicket!! The momentum they had snatched with the early hits had well and truly been equalized.

Cleanest of Clean Hitting

Another three overs later, they were cruising at 63 – 1 and arguably our most potent threat in bowling Subhadeep had been taken for 22 runs in his last over. By any standards 63 – 1 in four means you need to gear yourself up for a tough and long chase. Respite came in the form of Tukul as he broke what seemed to be an increasingly dangerous partnership. About this partnership, I must admit that it was the best exhibition of clean hitting I had seen till date and the wide array of strokes both batsmen had was indeed mind boggling. It was the kind of batting which will make the bowlers not feel like going to bowl but that is where our team is so special. This is the fighting spirit that defines our team and has been instilled into our team by the ex captain Tukul.

The Comeback that Defines Us

An excellent over by Tukul had given us a minute to breathe and while Rishi was dismissed Debarshi was still there and going great guns. Deepayan who was playing in our team for the first time and will hopefully become an integral part of the new look team, came on to bowl next. Though his coming on to bowl was not a part of the plan yet his acquaintance with the opponent team and their constant attempt to get under his skin gave me enough reasons to bring him on to try and snatch another wicket and put the pressure on the batting side. Delivered he did!! Another wicket and all of a sudden from 63 – 1 the batting team were at 73 – 3 and survival for fifteen over became an issue. Tukul bowled another quite next over and since the batsmen were playing for survival I felt it was the right time to bring Subha who was a rhythm bowler. And what a devastating spell he bowled!! He caused all kinds of problems to the batsmen who were as clueless against him as Djokovic was against Nadal in Monte Carlo. Tenth over and I brought my best bowler Subhadeep back to try and finish things off and he did not disappoint. Two wickets including that of the set Debarshi really set the cat among the pigeons. I should also mention that the catch that Buku took to dismiss Deborshi was one of the best I have seen in this season. Moving around 20 feet to his left and with the sun blaring down, he took the catch with no fuss at all. Kudos boy!! Tukul came back to bowl the fourteenth over and his clever variation of pace was too much for the nine, tenth and jack of their team and they were bowled out for a paltry 117 of 15 overs. From 100 – 3 in 8 overs to 117 all out in fifteen, we had done half the demolition job!! Brilliant!!

Think Before you Sledge

Sledging I maintain has become the biggest misguiding factor for teenage boys just getting into cricket. While it might be used to fuel reactions in a youngster or someone with a hot head you do not use it against someone who has been there and heard it all. You do not use it against someone who stays unruffled even when two of the cleanest hitters in the game are tearing his bowlers apart. Tintin the opening bowler of the opponent made this mistake of sledging me after the first over with a comment which suggested he had me all sorted out. Five sixes and one four in the next two overs he bowled, may force him to think otherwise. Anyway back to the point, we hardly wasted a sweat in bringing up the paltry 117 and within 11 overs we coasted to the required target with only one wicket down. Way to go team!!! I and Buku saw the innings were there till the end to pile on the pain on an opponent who had been thoroughly demoralized by then.

Performance Chart (I will rate according to Batting Order)

Tushka – Played a great supporting role, nudging the singles, hitting the bad balls for four and never letting the bowler get on top. After years of playing against each other we opened for the same team for the first time and piled on 90 for the first wicket.

Buku – Did not get much chance to perform but the cover drive he played with six runs to win said a great deal about the genius he is on the field. Made catches which would have been very difficult for most of us to even judge in the outfield seem like regulation.

Tukul – Fighter!! That’s the only word that comes to my mind!! After missing a sharp chance in slip he got it out of his head and came back with the ball and dismissed that batsman. If it was not for that breakthrough we were surely staring down the barrel.

Deepayan – I will quote what Tukul had to say about him. “Gem of a guy!” Did what was asked of him and provided us with an all important wicket which helped us to keep piling the pressure. In what was the closest thing to a technique perfected by the hussy brothers he jumped to scoop of a catch in long off and threw the ball back as he lost his balance and went over the ropes. Well done!!

Pacho – Absolutely lethal exhibition of spin bowling!! Could not ask for more.

Subhadeep – Came back from a disappointing second over in which he got hit for 22 runs to pick up two crucial wickets which made the difference between them scoring 120 and 150.

Jito – Bowled with a lot of guile on the face of an onslaught and though he got taken for runs most of the times he had the batsmen foxed.