The Spirits vs SCC match at the picturesque Padang ground on Saturday (March 21 2009) was like a script right out of a bollywood movie. It had everything: heroic bowling efforts, out-of-character fielding, fearless batting and finally, a calm-headed approach when it mattered for a well-deserved victory.
The Spirits vs SCC match at the picturesque Padang ground on Saturday (March 21 2009) was like a script right out of a bollywood movie. It had everything: heroic bowling efforts, out-of-character fielding, fearless batting and finally, a calm-headed approach when it mattered for a well-deserved victory.
It seemed like a poor decision (what did you expect?) when Spirits captain general Shankar decided to field first in conditions where rain seemed inevitable and chances of a wash-out when it was our time to bat was entirely possible. The fact that he chose to field without a toss riled a few Spirits. Why did you do that? Are you mad? Who made this guy captain?. . .were the now very-familiar questions being asked.
The moans before the game were understandable but to the credit of all the spirits, the performance in the field showed no such signs of irritability.
Raj Mohan started off the bowling from the SRC end with beautiful outswingers. He was unluckly not to snare a wicket in the very first over. The next one from Ranga yielded a sharp chance behind the wickets, which resulted in a protracted juggling effort by stand-in keeper Shankar who managed to catch the ball after it bounced off his body for the first SCC wicket.
Raj and Ranga bowled another five overs and at the end of seven tight overs (which yielded another wicket), the under pressure SCC batsmen were forced to take some risks with aggressive batting.
Their opening bat was particularly aggressive in his approach and was lucky to place some mishits off Amar’s bowling into the gaps for a few boundaries. A few were saved brilliantly by an acrobatic Mikey! (yes no one would have seen him like that before). That batsman eventually retired when he reached his fifty but by then the SCC run rate had jumped to about six an over and it was all up to Rakesh and Jim to bring us back into the game. That they did. Rakesh was exceptional with his in-cutters while Jim swung the ball like a complete professional. Well done guys!
In the 15th or 16th over, I felt we were back in the game with the SCC boys seemingly under pressure to up the ante. What followed was some attacking bowling and aggressive fielding by the spirits. Yes, we went for the neck. Martyn, Grant and Glenn bowled a few beauties (Martyn’s signature finger ball flummoxed the batsman for a well deserved wicket). Glenn was super fast and very accurate (if this guy is not allowed to bowl regularly then I will grow a moustache!). Grant reminded me of Nathan Astle with his slow off cutters.
The rains came when the scoreboard read 126 off 26 overs and we had to scurry off to the pavilion for nice sandwiches and tea.
A few grunts and groans when the inevitable happened put Shankar in a spot but Dennis as always came to the rescue. The skies cleared and play resumed after an extended break. The target for the spirits was 127 off 26 overs.
A gutsy opening stand between Mikey and Chetan set the tone for the match. They took singles regularly and hit a few boundaries. One boundary by Chetan in the deep backward point area was very Sehwagish…nice one mate. Mikey ran a lot and decided to throw his wicket after he just had to go to the toilet (too many sandwiches during the break it seems!).
Shankar was next, hit the first ball right into the hands of a long-on fielder but was dropped. The third ball was another hoick and the cover fielder dropped again!! Holy moly, lucky or what! Glenn was unfortunately given out next when the umpire (Raj in this case) did not see a clear snick on to his pads and adjudged him LBW.
Rakesh joined Shankar and both of them played some very aggressive cricket trying to hit every ball out of the ground. A few boundaries resulted and when Shankar went off scoring 19 runs after being fantastically caught in long-on, it was up to Jim and Rakesh (yet again) to take us through to the end.
What followed was a well-crafted aggressive but clever cricket. Rakesh reached his fifty in no time and lost his wicket to a tired hoick to Long-off but by then the game was very much ours. Jim hit a cautiously aggressive 30-odd runs but when we seemed to have everything going our way, he was run out.
Tension was back. Martyn and Grant played supportive roles and ensured we were never away from the target. Still it was a nail-biter in the end. We needed some 17 off the last 18 balls, but the ever-reliable Ranga and Raj after a few nerve-wracking moments ensured we reached the target with one over to spare.
A fantastic effort by the spirits for a great victory. The game was a great one to skipper because the hosts were brilliant, the food was great, sportsmanship was exceptional and the beers were nice and cold. A special thanks to Oliver and Shabnam/Shubham for helping the team out by scoring and umpiring during the game. Thanks guys for all the support.
I dedicate this match to Dennis who kept the rain away and ensured we could have a game finally. Thanks Danny Boy, we still love you!!
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