On a slightly two paced and at times extremely low-bouncy wicket, we
lost the toss and the opposition captain, put us in.. I think we might
have done the same had we won the toss....
Myself and Gaurav opened the innings and found out hard going, esp with the ball keeping excruciatingly low at times.... Gaurav maybe got a tough decision on the lbw but nowadays I see lot of umpires rule the batsman out if they get across the stumps too much, I would say it was 60% out and maybe 40% sliding down the leg side.. Sarfraz came in next and was somehow stumped of his first ball, it all happened too fast on a medium paced ball with the keeper standing back, and maybe Sarfraz forgot to get back in the crease....
I think the first over is always a nervous one for any batsman and the stumping just proved it....
With two wickets down and just 4/5 on board in 2.4 overs or so, Neil walked in, his confidence up from the last innings and favorite bat in hand.. even on this difficult wicket he looked comfortable, leaving the ball, placing it in the gap, tapping it for a single, calling for a run when I hit the ball, always looking to score, aware of how much we needed in an over and always aware of what was happening in the game, I really think he can play A division in times.... his 22 was a highly valuable contribution in the context of the game as it unfolded.... we were about 12 runs or so short by the end of 10th over and in the drinks break, we decided that we would both have a go at the bowling, as we had lots of batting to come and needed about 70/80 runs more..
59/2 in 10....
We were 78/3 after 12 as Neil got out to a average ball that turned a little as he advanced down the wicket to a ball he should've played from the crease.... a Nishit came in and was out on the 2nd ball he faced to a ball I had already warned him about.... so we were 4 down and in walked the man of the moment, yes he needs no further introduction, his innings today was a brilliant counter attacking one and he ran twos and threes like a hare and batted well with the rest of the middle and lower order to take the team to 136... although he was guilty of running me out on a single which was never ever there, he tapped the ball in box-cricket-like style, completely switched off his brain and just took off on a wild goose run and to my fault I obliged and we were 5 down with some overs to go....
I'd like to think, I was 'Jugaled out'....
Then the 16th over onwards, we kept hitting a boundary or two in every over and also ran the twos and threes, Jugal was at the heart of it all... he played one big slog sweep, which went for a six in my opinion, but the umpire gave it as 4 and thanks to rallying by our middle and lower order, we reached 136
As it is with any batsmen Jugal and Neil cannot be compared but in the context of the game both knocks and also mine were equally crucial and with this total on board, I was confident that we would defend it....
With a quick break we
started our bowling and got our first wicket in the first over bowled by
Rahul, the left arm spinner, who bowled a beauty to castle the stumps
of one of the openers.... the next over we got the other opener with a
beautiful fuller length delivery bowled by Raunak, that came in sharply
and knocked off the off stump....
Neil had a fabulous start to his spell when he took two wickets in his very first over and both were beautifully bowled balls and set up was also fantastic.... some amazing swing bowling or was...
With 3 wickets down and 15 odd runs on board, they needed a partnership and although they got one going, it was always an uphill battle with our bowlers on the mark and the batsmen capitulating.... Rahul and Harnam bowled well in tandem and tightened the noose on the batsmen, with the asking rate going rising, the batsmen took one risk too many and the batting collapse was complete.... in the end we won by 22 runs, but the match was over, well before, in my honest opinion....
Funny game this.. the opposition team is from Thakur Complex and to last year wet lost all the 4 matches we played against them at the Thakur stadium and this season we played them twice and beat them (convincingly) twice.... once on their home turf and now at Azad......
Myself and Gaurav opened the innings and found out hard going, esp with the ball keeping excruciatingly low at times.... Gaurav maybe got a tough decision on the lbw but nowadays I see lot of umpires rule the batsman out if they get across the stumps too much, I would say it was 60% out and maybe 40% sliding down the leg side.. Sarfraz came in next and was somehow stumped of his first ball, it all happened too fast on a medium paced ball with the keeper standing back, and maybe Sarfraz forgot to get back in the crease....
I think the first over is always a nervous one for any batsman and the stumping just proved it....
With two wickets down and just 4/5 on board in 2.4 overs or so, Neil walked in, his confidence up from the last innings and favorite bat in hand.. even on this difficult wicket he looked comfortable, leaving the ball, placing it in the gap, tapping it for a single, calling for a run when I hit the ball, always looking to score, aware of how much we needed in an over and always aware of what was happening in the game, I really think he can play A division in times.... his 22 was a highly valuable contribution in the context of the game as it unfolded.... we were about 12 runs or so short by the end of 10th over and in the drinks break, we decided that we would both have a go at the bowling, as we had lots of batting to come and needed about 70/80 runs more..
59/2 in 10....
We were 78/3 after 12 as Neil got out to a average ball that turned a little as he advanced down the wicket to a ball he should've played from the crease.... a Nishit came in and was out on the 2nd ball he faced to a ball I had already warned him about.... so we were 4 down and in walked the man of the moment, yes he needs no further introduction, his innings today was a brilliant counter attacking one and he ran twos and threes like a hare and batted well with the rest of the middle and lower order to take the team to 136... although he was guilty of running me out on a single which was never ever there, he tapped the ball in box-cricket-like style, completely switched off his brain and just took off on a wild goose run and to my fault I obliged and we were 5 down with some overs to go....
I'd like to think, I was 'Jugaled out'....
Then the 16th over onwards, we kept hitting a boundary or two in every over and also ran the twos and threes, Jugal was at the heart of it all... he played one big slog sweep, which went for a six in my opinion, but the umpire gave it as 4 and thanks to rallying by our middle and lower order, we reached 136
As it is with any batsmen Jugal and Neil cannot be compared but in the context of the game both knocks and also mine were equally crucial and with this total on board, I was confident that we would defend it....
Neil had a fabulous start to his spell when he took two wickets in his very first over and both were beautifully bowled balls and set up was also fantastic.... some amazing swing bowling or was...
With 3 wickets down and 15 odd runs on board, they needed a partnership and although they got one going, it was always an uphill battle with our bowlers on the mark and the batsmen capitulating.... Rahul and Harnam bowled well in tandem and tightened the noose on the batsmen, with the asking rate going rising, the batsmen took one risk too many and the batting collapse was complete.... in the end we won by 22 runs, but the match was over, well before, in my honest opinion....
Funny game this.. the opposition team is from Thakur Complex and to last year wet lost all the 4 matches we played against them at the Thakur stadium and this season we played them twice and beat them (convincingly) twice.... once on their home turf and now at Azad......
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