Game 10 – Season Finale.

Number 3 vs Fatima Jewellers.
Sindhi College, 23 Apr 2006.

I’m trying out a new format, where the result and brief scores will appear at the end. Let me know if it works, esp people in other places.

The fantastic journey that was our first season was to finally draw to a close, and we had to really earn it. Narahoo told us that we’d be playing at Sindhi College, ‘somewhere near Koyambedu’. Turns out it’s in Maduravoyal (how many of you guys know where that is?), a long, long drive away. Three starters from last game, Narendra, Joy and Anand weren’t available, but the places were duly filled by Bulavar, Arjun and, making his second appearance, Indrabeer. The stage was set.

Continuing our desperate player rotation in the hope of winning at least one toss, iii went out this time. No surprises there, though, and we were to field first on easily the hottest match day of the season. Oh well, what the hell. Vik was slightly unsure of his fitness levels, so the skipper decided not to risk it, and handed the new ball to Kishore. He struck with his fourth ball, a snorter that reared up off a length, collected a glove and was pouched by Bulavar behind the stumps on the second attempt. A good start. When Arjun, in the next over, got a wicket off his second ball (a leg stump full toss hit straight down the skipper’s throat at square leg) and we followed this up with a run out off the very next, a buzz of optimism began to spread through the team. Arjun bowled a neat four over spell, keeping it tight and picking up wickets at regular intervals, one of them a ‘sitter’ taken by iii. By which I mean when the ball headed in his direction, he sat down and awaited the ball, which reached him some time later. I’ll leave it up to the team to describe how funny this really was, I’m cracking up just typing this. Sriram and Ramesh came on in tandem, and a despite a stubborn 25 run ninth wicket partnership, our bowling was clearly too much for them to handle, and they folded for 82 all out in the 16^th over. A highly competent performance, symbolized by Kabir’s excellently judged catch at long on off Sriram. No errors to speak of, really but for a few wides and byes.

Kataan and Bulavar (in spite of 15 overs of keeping with a busted knee) walked out to open with instructions to finish the thing off and return. And while they set about attempting to do just that, the party was beginning at the team hut. Vik insisted that we’d already won, but was regularly reminded that it’s not over till the last ball has been bowled. And Kabir, encouraged by a delighted Sriram, was initiating a non stop flow of some of the poorest PJs ever heard. I’m not even going to try and list them, maybe the team can do this for us. In the middle the opening pair went on their merry way, and constructed a solid 49 run partnership before Ramesh was out to an ugly heave across the line. Venkat joined Bulavar and seemed in some kind of hurry. Strokes all around the wicket saw him rapidly overtake Bulavar before he was bowled with just six to get. Sriram walked in, played a sublime flick to the mid wicket fence off his first ball, smashed one ball right at a poor innocent little goat, and finished the game off with another boundary.

Our second win, and a thoroughly dominant performance, albeit against considerably weak opposition. What the hell, we were there not too long ago. All in all, a great way to finish the season, and a day which left Kabir wondering what all this talk of losing was all about. Seems to him all he needs to do is turn up and pad up as the winning runs are hit.

It's been a blast, folks. Pl chip in with end of season thoughts, one and all.

Fatima Jewellers 82 all out (Ramesh 3 wk, Arjun 3 wk) lost to Number 3 86 for 2 (Venkat 21, Ramesh 18, Bulavar 18 n.o.) by 8 wkts.

#3 was supported at the ground by a Sari clad Lodd, several goats and one thirsty dog.

In game 10, #3 was: Ramesh, Bulavar (wk), Druck, Narahoo (c), Jubbs, Kishore, Venkat, Hui, Vik and Kabir.