Aloha !
Aloha was the theme of the day. Only just as well given we had a bunch of boys from Hawaii challenging the Spiritians on their home turf. Our skipper, Amar, came up with an early googly, which usually carted around, and suggested a two-innings match. The novelty appealed to the opposition and they accepted. Raj and Tushar opened the innings and with a bang - 3 fours from the "centre of the blade" of Raj in the first over and the bar was set for rest of the batters. Tushar tonked a few big ones at the other end, scoring 26 off just 15 balls.
Logu, Mehaffey and Akash went quickly for 2,6 & 6.
Greame Gardner almost bullied the Hawaiians as he blasted his way to 27 studded with three 6s. Sumit was the only other batsman to get to double figures (10). Amar remained unbeaten on 5 as Spirits ended with 111 in the first 15.
Having played five matches in a week clearly showed on the Hawaiians as they started slowly. Vishan Dookhu, a school-mate of Brian Lara in Trinidad, looked all impressive minus the shots. He scored 22 off 31 balls while the only other noteworthy contribution came from Nevin, a former resident of Singapore, who made 18. The highlight of the innings was Tushar’s bombs that accounted for their best batsman, Mark, for a golden duck. Hawaii scored 94. Worthy to mention, our captain showed exemplary spirit by taking off the main bowlers and giving others a go, which clearly contributed to the score of our visitors.
Spirits put their feet up as soon as they saw a first innings lead. But what followed was a nose-dive. The first three scores read 4,0,0..with, Dave Lee, Towle and Sumit back in the hut. Laksh and Akash did the rescue act with scores for 22 and 20. A youthful Mehaffey showed a lot of talent in his innings of 13 off just ten balls, looking good for a bright future. Tushar suffered a tit for tat moment…as he walked off after a golden duck to Mark. Spirits folded for 84, leaving just over 100 for Hawaii to win.
The Aloha ‘spirit’ was in full flow and the visitors didn’t mind. Govind “Elvis” Kohli tried emulating the better-known Kohli and found partial success. Spirits were in that kind of a mood, but don’t ask Towle. Hawaii romped home without much trouble…but importantly beers were chilled on a Thursday evening, As the sun went down, Mehaffey showed his true form and compensated for the pies he offered the visitors earlier. A great week day, hoping we can have more of the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment