GAME 4 - Victory at last, and Super Saturdays!
# 3 vs. Verizon Software CC.
19 Nov, 2005, Teachers "B"
#3 won by 6 wkts
#3 finally had a whiff of the sweet smell of victory after a tigerish display on the field and some solid sensible batting helped them comfortably beat Verizon CC.
Supporters of #3 were hoping for a double whammy! A maiden win and an India win. Their hopes were rewarded in style.
Some incisive and accurate seam and swing bowling in the previous two net sessions prompted the skipper to entertain thoughts of fielding first. The team was also pretty certain that the opposition was most definitely going to bat first in case they called right. Bang on. Verizon won the toss and elected to bat.
Verizon innings.
No 3 s opening bowlers were licking their lips and looking to exploit the early morning conditions. But that was not to be. They struggled to control the ball and unleashed a barrage of wides. Tonys opening over had five and Venkat who promptly replaced him couldnt do much better. Vikramadi at the other end was the only one able to maintain some sort of discipline and constantly trouble the batsmen, even though the wide problem did not totally elude him.
The batting team got off to a flier of sorts getting 48 on board in just 6 overs in which a staggering 25 came of wides.
And then Vik landed the double blow. An ungainly heave resulted in their opener spooning a simple catch to Tony at cover. Two balls later a corker of a delivery ripped through the one drop batsman's defence and disturbed the woodwork. 48 for2. No. 3 was definitely back in the game.
Vik continued to probe, Narendra was introduced into the attack but the wides kept coming albeit lesser in frequency. Their batsmen started to grow in confidence and a partnership was building. A sharp piece of fielding from Venkat and some excellent glovework by Ganesh broke the partnership that was assuming dangerous proportions. At 78 for 3 drinks were taken.
The run rate was still excellent but it was apparent that if the bowlers were able to cut down on wides and field tight the chances of restricting Verizon were still very good.
As the ball got older the bowlers found it easier to land it in the right areas and run scoring became more difficult. Narendra started bowling consistently well and Sriram introduced himself at the other end to put a lid on the scoring rate.
And then came the moments of magic. A stunning direct hit from the long on fence by Joy after a "strategic" misfield from Kishore, another superb piece of fielding by venkat of his own bowling, running across and throwing the stumps down and a brilliant running catch of a swirling top edge at slip by Narendra off the bowling of Sriram. Coupled with some superbly accurate wicket to wicket bowling by Narendra resulting in two clean bowleds , No. 3 was well and truly on top. 103 for 8. Some late order hitting by the no 9 batsman pushed the score to 130 when Ramesh took a well judged catch at the extra cover boundary.
At this point #3 was under time pressure and it looked like only 26 overs could be completed within the stipulated time. Veriz0ns gameplan was obviously to block out the last couple of overs and avoid getting all out so that #3 had only 26 overs to chase the requisite number of runs. But that was not to be as sriram did the no 11 in the last over before close thereby ensuring his team got the full quota of 30 overs to chasedown 133.
It was much improved performance on the field after the horrors of the previous game. Misfields were limited to 2 , one of them resulting in a wicket and not a chance went abegging save for an extremely difficult edge to keeper Ganesh. It would be have been cruel to put that down as a dropped chance. The keeping was excellent as well resulting in just 4 byes in the whole innings. The wides were the only sore point in the whole performance. A staggering 40 in a total of 133.
#3 innings.
At the start of the innings it was clear that steady sensible batting would have to be the order of the day and if they just played through the 30 overs without losing too many wickets they would be home comfortably.
Openers Ramesh and Ganesh walked in with just that on their minds. The Verizon opening bowlers also seemed to be bitten by the "wides" bug as they sprayed the ball about. The openers had to just stay and not try anything fancy. And they did just that as the score raced to 50 in less than 9 overs. They were aided by a couple of dropped chances , one for each batsman. Ramesh departed soon after, bowled playing a tired shot for en extremely valuable but uncharachteristically scratchy 17. Kishore came and went soon after, playing across the line to a straight delivery. Narendra departed as well after swatting a crisp boundary, paying the price for trying to hit every single ball. Venkat walked in and quickly settled in after initial moments of jitter and quick admonitions from the skipper.
Ganesh who was batting sensibly and holding up his end soon was bowled by one which kept low. It was a precious knock considering the circumstances.
Sriram joined Venkat at the crease with his team in a spot of bother. But with just 60 to get and the team's most experienced pair at the crease it was never going to be a huge problem. Venkat, under strict instructions from his captain to curb his natural attacking instincts played straighter and straighter as his innings progressed and proved almost impossible to dislodge. Both the batsmen just picked the singles on offer and inched towards the target without any trouble at all. Soon enough was enough and Sriram belted a couple of boundaries. Game set and match No.3.
Both batsmen remained unbeaten, Venkat on 27 and Sriram on 29, steering the team home with 2.3 overs to spare. All said and done a very well managed chase and an impressive total team performance.
There were several contenders for man of the match. Venkat for his brilliant fielding and innings of great charachter, Sriram for his fine all round performance and Narendra for his outstanding spell of medium pace bowling which broke the back of the Verizon innings. It finally went to Narendra.
The team missed the services of injured Druck and Hainn. They were joined by Iiii who dislocated his finger at nets the previous day. Ganesh and Indrabeer were roped in as replacements.
The team will now go into the next game knowing they are on the up. A few issues, notably the wides bowled upfront, have to be looked into in depth. That apart this wonderful display on the field and the fast maturing batting line up augur well for this team's future.
The team proceeded to Narahoos house to celebrate and cheer team India on to a wonderful win. One celebration was followed by another as inees' bachelor party was taken out into the wee hours in the morning making for a truly Super Saturday.
#3 was supported by Iiii, Druck, Thili and Arjun. Thanks guys for the support and cheer!.
In Game 4, #3 was: Ramesh, Venkat, Indrabeer, Kishore, Sriram (c), Tony, Ganesh(wk), Huiyyaps, Narendra, Joy & Vik.
19 Nov, 2005, Teachers "B"
#3 won by 6 wkts
#3 finally had a whiff of the sweet smell of victory after a tigerish display on the field and some solid sensible batting helped them comfortably beat Verizon CC.
Supporters of #3 were hoping for a double whammy! A maiden win and an India win. Their hopes were rewarded in style.
Some incisive and accurate seam and swing bowling in the previous two net sessions prompted the skipper to entertain thoughts of fielding first. The team was also pretty certain that the opposition was most definitely going to bat first in case they called right. Bang on. Verizon won the toss and elected to bat.
Verizon innings.
No 3 s opening bowlers were licking their lips and looking to exploit the early morning conditions. But that was not to be. They struggled to control the ball and unleashed a barrage of wides. Tonys opening over had five and Venkat who promptly replaced him couldnt do much better. Vikramadi at the other end was the only one able to maintain some sort of discipline and constantly trouble the batsmen, even though the wide problem did not totally elude him.
The batting team got off to a flier of sorts getting 48 on board in just 6 overs in which a staggering 25 came of wides.
And then Vik landed the double blow. An ungainly heave resulted in their opener spooning a simple catch to Tony at cover. Two balls later a corker of a delivery ripped through the one drop batsman's defence and disturbed the woodwork. 48 for2. No. 3 was definitely back in the game.
Vik continued to probe, Narendra was introduced into the attack but the wides kept coming albeit lesser in frequency. Their batsmen started to grow in confidence and a partnership was building. A sharp piece of fielding from Venkat and some excellent glovework by Ganesh broke the partnership that was assuming dangerous proportions. At 78 for 3 drinks were taken.
The run rate was still excellent but it was apparent that if the bowlers were able to cut down on wides and field tight the chances of restricting Verizon were still very good.
As the ball got older the bowlers found it easier to land it in the right areas and run scoring became more difficult. Narendra started bowling consistently well and Sriram introduced himself at the other end to put a lid on the scoring rate.
And then came the moments of magic. A stunning direct hit from the long on fence by Joy after a "strategic" misfield from Kishore, another superb piece of fielding by venkat of his own bowling, running across and throwing the stumps down and a brilliant running catch of a swirling top edge at slip by Narendra off the bowling of Sriram. Coupled with some superbly accurate wicket to wicket bowling by Narendra resulting in two clean bowleds , No. 3 was well and truly on top. 103 for 8. Some late order hitting by the no 9 batsman pushed the score to 130 when Ramesh took a well judged catch at the extra cover boundary.
At this point #3 was under time pressure and it looked like only 26 overs could be completed within the stipulated time. Veriz0ns gameplan was obviously to block out the last couple of overs and avoid getting all out so that #3 had only 26 overs to chase the requisite number of runs. But that was not to be as sriram did the no 11 in the last over before close thereby ensuring his team got the full quota of 30 overs to chasedown 133.
It was much improved performance on the field after the horrors of the previous game. Misfields were limited to 2 , one of them resulting in a wicket and not a chance went abegging save for an extremely difficult edge to keeper Ganesh. It would be have been cruel to put that down as a dropped chance. The keeping was excellent as well resulting in just 4 byes in the whole innings. The wides were the only sore point in the whole performance. A staggering 40 in a total of 133.
#3 innings.
At the start of the innings it was clear that steady sensible batting would have to be the order of the day and if they just played through the 30 overs without losing too many wickets they would be home comfortably.
Openers Ramesh and Ganesh walked in with just that on their minds. The Verizon opening bowlers also seemed to be bitten by the "wides" bug as they sprayed the ball about. The openers had to just stay and not try anything fancy. And they did just that as the score raced to 50 in less than 9 overs. They were aided by a couple of dropped chances , one for each batsman. Ramesh departed soon after, bowled playing a tired shot for en extremely valuable but uncharachteristically scratchy 17. Kishore came and went soon after, playing across the line to a straight delivery. Narendra departed as well after swatting a crisp boundary, paying the price for trying to hit every single ball. Venkat walked in and quickly settled in after initial moments of jitter and quick admonitions from the skipper.
Ganesh who was batting sensibly and holding up his end soon was bowled by one which kept low. It was a precious knock considering the circumstances.
Sriram joined Venkat at the crease with his team in a spot of bother. But with just 60 to get and the team's most experienced pair at the crease it was never going to be a huge problem. Venkat, under strict instructions from his captain to curb his natural attacking instincts played straighter and straighter as his innings progressed and proved almost impossible to dislodge. Both the batsmen just picked the singles on offer and inched towards the target without any trouble at all. Soon enough was enough and Sriram belted a couple of boundaries. Game set and match No.3.
Both batsmen remained unbeaten, Venkat on 27 and Sriram on 29, steering the team home with 2.3 overs to spare. All said and done a very well managed chase and an impressive total team performance.
There were several contenders for man of the match. Venkat for his brilliant fielding and innings of great charachter, Sriram for his fine all round performance and Narendra for his outstanding spell of medium pace bowling which broke the back of the Verizon innings. It finally went to Narendra.
The team missed the services of injured Druck and Hainn. They were joined by Iiii who dislocated his finger at nets the previous day. Ganesh and Indrabeer were roped in as replacements.
The team will now go into the next game knowing they are on the up. A few issues, notably the wides bowled upfront, have to be looked into in depth. That apart this wonderful display on the field and the fast maturing batting line up augur well for this team's future.
The team proceeded to Narahoos house to celebrate and cheer team India on to a wonderful win. One celebration was followed by another as inees' bachelor party was taken out into the wee hours in the morning making for a truly Super Saturday.
#3 was supported by Iiii, Druck, Thili and Arjun. Thanks guys for the support and cheer!.
In Game 4, #3 was: Ramesh, Venkat, Indrabeer, Kishore, Sriram (c), Tony, Ganesh(wk), Huiyyaps, Narendra, Joy & Vik.
posted by onejubb at 5:04 PM
3 Comments:
Wagh!!! Well done all. #3 is on the board, and with a kickass performance at that.
Bring the next one on, i say. And 'ortho' shankar permitting, i won't be on the sidelines this time!!!
3 cheers for #3: hip, hip...
Got get 'em.
(about that party, what a knockout punch man! i don't remember *anything* after the trip to Towers - that's for the record)
well done boys well done
come on #3
more such performances are wanted
hoping to play soon again
talking abt towers...huh! what happenned there..........
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