Knights - 119 all out (Khawar 36, Prasoon 3 for 18)
MCC - 120 for 9 in 19 overs (Sandeep 27, Rahul 23 n.o, Avinash 22, Simeon 3 n.o, Usman 2 for 23, Arvind Iynegar 2 for 18, Bhat 2 for 11)
Thanking my brothers (five including me) for introducing me to this game of cricket. It is because of them, I started playing gully cricket everyday evening in our street in a remote village of South India. Had no idea that after so many years, this game will continue to inspire and keep me alive in my thoughts and emotions. Without cricket, I guess that my life would be so mundane with so little of adrenalin.
Today was an amazing day of cricket indeed at Lindsay park where my former team (Kinghts) played against MCC. I had the privy to be the umpire and thank God that I was there to witness an amazing game of cricket where the unpredictable nature of cricket was manifested by thousand folds. Just can't imagine the emotions of those players during that fabulous last wicket stand... Hats off to cricket and the players.
Three things before starting to umpire this game. Played a game in the morning. Went one down and got bowled for a golden duck. Team lost to Warriors badly. Went without lunch (munching on grapes and nuts) since the game had to be started immediately after out game. But, the key point is that I decided to umpire the game to ensure that my beloved Lions will not lose five points for not sending the neutral umpire. As much as I was tired, this ought to be done and boy, how much I enjoyed this game.
Knights batting
Knights batted first and three of their top order players got out cheaply, all providing skiers within the thirty yard circle. Ball was certainly stopping on coming on to the bat and unless and until you wait till the last moment, the ball has no where to go but up the sky.
My good friend, Ankur who opened up the batting, unfortunately was not able to time the ball at all although he stayed on gamely to provide support to my first captain, Khawar who was simply awesome. What is so impressive is the infinite time he has to play his shots. His footwork is so impeccable and graceful and his shot selection is out of the ordinary His running between the wickets is one of the hallmarks of his batting since he gives the impression that he is always lumbering across, conserving so much of energy and still making the twos and threes with so much ease.
Vinayk who opened the bowling was very impressive with his line and length. He was a little unlucky as he bowled quite few unplayable balls which on a better day would have got him wickets. Prasoon who came in as the second change was immediately on wickets column and had three good wickets. His mantra is simple. Just line and length outside the off stump and hardly bowls a short one or one on the leg side. Captain's dream bowler.
Fiasco over an LBW
After a decent start of 38 for 3 in 8 overs, Ankur was LBW to Prasoon. I took my time to make the decision since I wanted to be absolutely sure that the ball was hitting the middle and leg stump. Having been convinced that this was the situation, I had no hesitation in ruling him out. But Ankur was very upset, indicating that he had a big nick onto the pad. Although the leg umpire and the runner were indicating that there was a nick, I certainly did not hear one and have to go with what I see and hear. As much as a I wish Ankur to play a long knock since he is so pleasing on the eye, he had to go. This is one of the sad parts of being an umpire as this can lead to some of your best friends joining the other side of the fence. But Ankur is such a sweet fellow that he will understand that I made the best decision based on what I saw/heard and that these are part and parcel of cricket. There was certainly no malice and I will be the last person to do something that is against my conscience. Although it made me a little uncomfortable after he made that gesture of having nicked the ball, as an umpire, one ought to take these moments in the strides and move on. Unfortunately I also heard nasty comments beyond the boundary from some of ex-team mates, who failed to understand that I was doing a thankless job and that am the last person to make decisions against neutrality. It was very disappointing indeed.
This brings an interesting anecdote from a few years back. In a game, I had given our Mr. Cricket, Sandeep LBW and chanced to meet his wife for the first time in an Indian grocery store. Instead of introducing me with my name, Sandeep promptly introduced me to his wife as 'he is the guy who gave me out LBW in the morning'. This guy treasures his wicket so much and am sure that even today, he feels that I wrongly gave him out. Probably we can count with fingers how many guys are happy with the outcome after being given out LBW. This plays even with ball tracking technology indeed. Beauty lies in the acceptance of human error although it is unpardonable when an umpire decides on an LBW decision out of his conscience since that will certainly deflate the beauty of this amazing game. I will certainly be not part of it although I myself was part of one of those episodes while I was the captain of Knights a few years ago for which I wrote a lengthy apology to the then Warriors captain TJ and even considered to relinquish the captaincy...
Arvind Iyengar joined Khawar who was batting with majestic ease. They had a smart partnership of tapping the ball here and there. I was impressed with the running of Arvind I since he is a notorious runner when I was in the Knights team and am sure that Khawar's calm attitude with running helped him to saunder around. Introduction of Simone immediately had a wicket since Arvind I played across to be plumb out LBW of his first ball (70 for 5 in the 13th over). However the next two balls were dispatched disdainfully by Khawar for boundaries with one stand out, majestic swing to wide mid-wicket.
Khawar caught down the leg side and Knights fury over the umpire:
The biggest controversy of the game happened in the very next over when I gave Khawar caught behind by the wicket keeper down the leg side. There was a big nick and I had no doubt and was totally convinced the nick game from the bat since there was such a big gap between the pad and ball when it passed him. Khawar was trying to flick it off his legs and was playing off his front foot which rules out pad/bat being close together. But, at any rate, it was an easy decision for me since I heard the nick, the pad was nowhere close to the ball. However, Khawar was convinced that the ball had come of his pads and the non-striker, Knights captain was also gesturing to the same effect and was in fact using some abusive words that I have given two of their set batsman out and went onto say some choice words which suggested as though am having a vendetta against their team, which as absolutely non-sense. I play this game with passion and integrity and my conscience is more than anything to me. Why would I try to take on two of my best friends whom I regard so well and more importantly respect them for their capabilities. Unfortunate as it is, Khawar departed feeling very peeved indeed and am sure that had quite a few nasty comments as he went to the pavilion. But he is a man with a big heart and am sure that on reflecting, he will realize that I made the decision based on what I saw and heard and there was absolutely no planning in executing his dismissal. But there are a few elements who makes noise always and I should be man enough to filter such comments and move on. What is important for me is to be impartial in my judgment and ensure that the game is played with the right spirit and sportsmanship.
Khawar departed after scoring 36 beautiful runs off 32 balls in the 14th over (86 for 6). Since he was so well set and with another 6 overs to go, they would have easily made 140+ if he had been around, which would have been a very good score. Thus, I understand that Khawar felt that he got the short end of the stick.
Although the rest of the batting tried their best to score fast, they could only add another 33 runs int the next six overs, getting all out for 119 in the last over. All the MCC bowlers bowled well and were also supported by good fielding. There is one aspect of batting which is key in those last few overs, which is good running between the wickets which was not there during those final overs. This would have given them another 10 runs or so which would have make this a more interesting game.
One impressive aspect was Jagdish getting run out off the last ball even though there was absolutely no run there. True spirit emphasized by yet another of those captains of mine, Jagdish Patil who is a gentle giant indeed who always has that broad smile, gentle words and the true spirit of sportsmanship.
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Needing 120 to win, MCC was in top gear right from the start. Although they lost their opener Sailesh to a very well deceived slower ball to be caught and bowled by the wily Usman, Sandeep and Avinash were wasting no time and played some of the glorious shots you will see. Ranga went for 20 runs in his second over with a sixer and three boundaries. It started off with an effortless, lofted straight drive by Avinash off the first ball. It was an outstanding straight hit with minimum effort and beauty all over it. For a straight umpire, it was so pleasing to the eye although the hapless bowler would not have fancied any more of it. A very special lofted shot, landing within a few yards off the straight boundary, hit with disdain, poise and grace. Sandeep came and hit an enormous six off the thrid ball. God! This guy has amazing talent and power. So much time and poise. Avinash came back and hit two more boundaries over mid-wicket and point. All along Ranga was bowling fullish length to this fabulous batsman while a shorter length outside the off would have done much better. But again, it is so hard to bowl against these batsman who have such 'gadhas' and timing.
In the meanwhile Usman was bowling fantastically well. Although he has reduced his pace, he had developed a well guished slower ball which accounted for Avinsah very soon when his attempted lofted shot was spooned to short mid-on. Not sure who caught that one since that was seriously a good catch to get rid of a dangerous batsman who has already scored in 22 in 13 balls. Rewind four years back when I was the captain. Usamn was the bolwer who knocked me out, forcing me to have 10+ stitches on my lower jaw. Very impressive four overs for 23 runs in 2 wickets.
In the meanwhile, Sandeep was in his own zone. Seeing Sandeep having absolutely no difficulty in negotiating Usman, I asked him the secret to know what the next ball is going to be. He just smiled and told that he follows the ball all the way from the bowlers hands. I know that real good players do that but am not sure that many in our league follow the ball from the bowler's hands. At least yours truly has never done that and that speaks volumes for the runs I have accumulated in this league although I have had my fair share of runs twenty years back ;-)
Turning point of the game
From an impressive 43 for 1 in the fifth over, MCC went down to 69 for 4 in the 10th over when calamity and a major twist of the game happened. Arvind Iyengar and Butt, who both came in as second changes, bowled impressively with tight line length, accounting for the next three wickets either bowled or LBW.
But the turning point ought to be the dismissal of Sandeep who was so set on murdering the bowlers as he had moved onto 27 in 23 balls with two sixers with the second one coming of a disdainful pull to the mid-wicket off an Iyengar's full toss. His wicket was consumed by Knights captain, Arvind Singh who must be mightily thankful to the long on fielder. Sandeep hit the ball so hard and high. I thought that it was sailing out of the ground for a six and then realized that it did not have trajectory to clear the boundary. Although the long on fielder was about 10 yards inside the boundary, had to make a lot of adjustment and comfortably held the ball to joyful glee of his team mates. Am very impressed with this guy, Aakash Desai, who is such a team player that he is always for the team, very selfless and plays the game for what it is. He is certainly one of the young folks who makes all of us at Regal proud for being a team man, exhibiting the spirit of team sports and enthusiasm.
Sandeep's dismissal virtually turned the fortunes of the game upside down since they were now down to 69 for 5 in 10 overs. Although the asking rate is under control, they don't have enough batting depth to make another 50 runs. At least that is what we thought.
Outstanding fielding effort to positively turn the game towards Knights
Seeing the opportunity, Khawar was all over the place, egging the team to go for the kill and the team responded admirably. in the meanwhile, realizing that the game can still be won by taking singles and twos, MCC captain Zubir was playing admirably milking the bowling with controlled hits along the carpet. But to his dismay and agony, he was run out by a fabulous throw from Arving Singh, who knocked down the stumps from deep gully while Zubir attempted a second run. It was a good, sensible second run which was curtailed by a fabulous out fielding by the Knights capain. Talk about commitment and the willingness to change things! Fabulous effort by the Knights captain, nursing an injury over the past two games.
Hapless situation for MCC
At that point, everyone including myself and possibly Sandeep, thought that MCC have lost the game and Knights are about to snatch victory from a precarious position. This situation was possible, thanks to an outstanding bowling by Bhat who bowled fabulously with nice loop and onto the stumps giving away just 11 runs in 4 overs, taking two vital wickets. He was ably supported by the ever present, indomitable Arvind Iyengar
88 for 9 in 15.3 overs. 32 runs more to get in 27 balls with just one wicket in hand. We have the # 10 batsman Rajul with a 14 year boy wonder, Simeon as the last man in. Where would one bet the money?. Considering that Knights were all over the place with outstanding bowling and fielding, it was no one guess that Knights win is formality. Is it? What a turn of events from then on.
Sixteenth over (Arvind Singh): 32 to win in 30 balls
The first two balls were way down the leg side and the guys gallopped to two runs each as they made six wides of the first two balls. 26 to win. The fourth ball was disdainfully dispatched to the straight boundary for a fabulous six by Rahul. This shot came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Suddenly changed everything. The quietness of the MCC pavilion suddenly began to have some murmurs. Knights were getting confused with mixed emotions. Khawar and Arvind Iynegar tried to egg the guys, stating that the game is not done till the end and that the team should focus and take every chance. Arvind I insisted on the guys to bowl every ball onto the stumps and be very alert in the field.
Seventeenth over (Polly): 23 to win in 24 balls
A fabulous over which went for just four runs. The first or the second ball was hit uppishly to point where Venkat dropped a catch. It was a tough catch as the ball was hit hard by Rahul and was indeed travelling. It was just above Venkat's head and on a good day, he would have taken that and the game would have been won. This happened to be the first of the two catches dropped and must be painful memory for every one of those Kinght players.
Polly bowled brilliantly to the little boy, Simeon who was equally good, playing out four good balls. There was one vociferous LBW shot, which was very close indeed and Simeon was saved because the ball was pitched outside the leg stump. He just blocked the balls and scampered for runs, never attempting any glory shot. While many others last batsman would have attempted hurrah-hurry, this boy was so cool and calm. Amazing talent indeed. After the game, Rahul told me that Simeon was the one who inspired the partnership by telling that they can still do it.
Eighteen over (Ranga): 19 to win 18 balls
A dropped catch by Jayaraj at mid-on. Although the ball was hit hard, it was a straight forward catch and would have sealed the game. But again, such catches can be so hard especially when the game is on the line. Poor Jayaraj! This will hurt for a long time.
Rahul hit a meaty four as well as they collected eight runs in this over. The most important part of the equation was the last ball two runs. Although Rahul was content with the single, Simeon forced Rahul to go for the second run which was a decisive moment of the game. This split second decision by these #10 and #11 batsman ensured that Rahul will face the next over which turned out to be last over of the game. That moment, in a lot of ways, drew the line between victory and defeat since Simeon facing the next over might have heightened the possibility of a Knights victory. Runs are important and that was indeed a very, very important extra run.
Ranga was disconsolate and Knights were getting very tense. From a near certain Knights victory with MCC at 88 for 9, last wicket pair had now added an invaluable 21 runs from their deathbed, thanks to the brilliant shot selection of Rahul and the calmness of the little wonder, Simeon. But still the game is in Knights pocket since they only need one good ball to finish the game.
Nineteenth over (Arvind Singh): 11 to win in 12 balls.
Still a tall order to score that many runs with just one wicket. The shot selection should be spot on since there is absolutely no room for error. What nerve-wrecking feeling for the batsman to face the bowler, knowing that the next ball could be end of the game.
I was so surprised to see Arvind Singh bowling this over since Polly has just bowled an outstanding over and almost had Simeon. Further left arm bowling would have been hard to hit and he had every chance of knocking down the stumps. But can't fault Arvind Singh since every captain feels that he can finish the job when all it takes one ball.
The first two balls were drilled to the long-off boundary and the ran for two runs each. It was an extremely sensible cricket as Iyengar was at the edge of the boundary and Rahul only have to drill it down to get those vital four runs. Those shots typified the calmness in the mind of a dedicated warrior in Rahul while many other batsman might have tried a hoick for a glory shot to finish the game. Following wide made it 6 runs in 8 balls. Still Knights game.
Then came the moment of the match. Fifth ball of the nineteenth over. Rahul hit it straight and hard as the ball started sailing towards the straight boundary where Arvind Iyengar was waiting to catch the ball. For a brief moment, we all thought that he is going to catch that but the ball went beyond him and was signalled as a six. Although this was the winning run, no one realized that for sometime as the batsman was preparing for the next ball thinking that they still need two more runs. In the mid-conference, am sure that Rahul and Simeon were talking about taking a vital single to make it a tie first. All of a sudden there was a big roar from the pavilion as the MCC team swarmed into Lindsay signal that MCC has indeed won, having scored 11 runs that over.
What a game!!!
Wow. Stunner for Knights who I imagine would be so disconsolate to have been so near to an amazing victory and yet lose. They have no one else to blame but for letting things drift down as the last wicket partnership flourished. Few wides, couple of dropped catches and not bowling on the stumps at the crucial moment of the game cost them dearly although they might come back and state that umpiring decisions cost them important runs at the end ;-)
Rahul and Simeon were simply outstanding and will not forget todays' epic. Rahul made 23 runs off 10 balls with two decisive straight sixes which knocked the stuffing out of Kinghts. He was very impressive with his shot selection and running between the wickets. As brilliant a shot selection you will ever seen when you are in a situation where the next ball could be the end of the game. What can I say about the 14 year old boy wonder. He batted as though he is a veteran who has gone through such very many tense situations before. Most likely this is the second or third time this boy wonder is batting. But, my God what nerve and understanding from this little gem.
Great game of cricket indeed. From the jaws of defeat, MCC have snatched a victory. What is so sweet about this victory is that it was not obtained not just due to Knight's failing but also from the dedicated efforts of a #10 and #11, who just refused to give up and kept their chin up and take it all the way.
In the final analysis, as an umpire, thoroughly enjoyed the game. Am sure Knights will be peeved by the umpiring decisions against Ankur and Khawar. But they will realize that this is part of the game and that the umpire was unbiased and made the decisions based on his judgement. Regarding MCC, am sure that Sandeep would have learned his lessons that he needs to stay till the end. But again, to make cricket more entertaining, I would like to see him get out soon enough so that the amazing talents such as Rahul and Simeon can be seen and applauded. Just joking Sandeep!!
Having lost a game after scoring 200+ less than a month against Warriors, this victory must be so much sweeter for MCC who had the other side of the green in this amazing encounter.
Overall, great for Regal and great for cricket. It was so great to see Sandeep's parents witnessing the game along with Simeon's dad. Am sure that they would have gone home with a great sense of wonder and joy, having witnessed such a cracker.
Last but not the least, I have to tell my beloved Knights that they played the game with spirit and passion and nearly pulled off an amazing win. Against a powerful batting line up of MCC, not many would have fancied winning after scoring only 119. But they kept on trying and nearly made it. As much as it hurts today, am sure that each Knight will be proud of having played a role in yet another fabulous Regal match.
For this blog writer, an afternoon that started out as though this could be his last day as a Regal player, ended up with such positive emotions that he feels that he will continue to play cricket at this league and have many more stories to tell.
Go Regal.
MCC - 120 for 9 in 19 overs (Sandeep 27, Rahul 23 n.o, Avinash 22, Simeon 3 n.o, Usman 2 for 23, Arvind Iynegar 2 for 18, Bhat 2 for 11)
Thanking my brothers (five including me) for introducing me to this game of cricket. It is because of them, I started playing gully cricket everyday evening in our street in a remote village of South India. Had no idea that after so many years, this game will continue to inspire and keep me alive in my thoughts and emotions. Without cricket, I guess that my life would be so mundane with so little of adrenalin.
Today was an amazing day of cricket indeed at Lindsay park where my former team (Kinghts) played against MCC. I had the privy to be the umpire and thank God that I was there to witness an amazing game of cricket where the unpredictable nature of cricket was manifested by thousand folds. Just can't imagine the emotions of those players during that fabulous last wicket stand... Hats off to cricket and the players.
Three things before starting to umpire this game. Played a game in the morning. Went one down and got bowled for a golden duck. Team lost to Warriors badly. Went without lunch (munching on grapes and nuts) since the game had to be started immediately after out game. But, the key point is that I decided to umpire the game to ensure that my beloved Lions will not lose five points for not sending the neutral umpire. As much as I was tired, this ought to be done and boy, how much I enjoyed this game.
Knights batting
Knights batted first and three of their top order players got out cheaply, all providing skiers within the thirty yard circle. Ball was certainly stopping on coming on to the bat and unless and until you wait till the last moment, the ball has no where to go but up the sky.
My good friend, Ankur who opened up the batting, unfortunately was not able to time the ball at all although he stayed on gamely to provide support to my first captain, Khawar who was simply awesome. What is so impressive is the infinite time he has to play his shots. His footwork is so impeccable and graceful and his shot selection is out of the ordinary His running between the wickets is one of the hallmarks of his batting since he gives the impression that he is always lumbering across, conserving so much of energy and still making the twos and threes with so much ease.
Vinayk who opened the bowling was very impressive with his line and length. He was a little unlucky as he bowled quite few unplayable balls which on a better day would have got him wickets. Prasoon who came in as the second change was immediately on wickets column and had three good wickets. His mantra is simple. Just line and length outside the off stump and hardly bowls a short one or one on the leg side. Captain's dream bowler.
Fiasco over an LBW
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| Ankur |
This brings an interesting anecdote from a few years back. In a game, I had given our Mr. Cricket, Sandeep LBW and chanced to meet his wife for the first time in an Indian grocery store. Instead of introducing me with my name, Sandeep promptly introduced me to his wife as 'he is the guy who gave me out LBW in the morning'. This guy treasures his wicket so much and am sure that even today, he feels that I wrongly gave him out. Probably we can count with fingers how many guys are happy with the outcome after being given out LBW. This plays even with ball tracking technology indeed. Beauty lies in the acceptance of human error although it is unpardonable when an umpire decides on an LBW decision out of his conscience since that will certainly deflate the beauty of this amazing game. I will certainly be not part of it although I myself was part of one of those episodes while I was the captain of Knights a few years ago for which I wrote a lengthy apology to the then Warriors captain TJ and even considered to relinquish the captaincy...
Arvind Iyengar joined Khawar who was batting with majestic ease. They had a smart partnership of tapping the ball here and there. I was impressed with the running of Arvind I since he is a notorious runner when I was in the Knights team and am sure that Khawar's calm attitude with running helped him to saunder around. Introduction of Simone immediately had a wicket since Arvind I played across to be plumb out LBW of his first ball (70 for 5 in the 13th over). However the next two balls were dispatched disdainfully by Khawar for boundaries with one stand out, majestic swing to wide mid-wicket.
Khawar caught down the leg side and Knights fury over the umpire:
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| Khawar Ali |
Khawar departed after scoring 36 beautiful runs off 32 balls in the 14th over (86 for 6). Since he was so well set and with another 6 overs to go, they would have easily made 140+ if he had been around, which would have been a very good score. Thus, I understand that Khawar felt that he got the short end of the stick.
Although the rest of the batting tried their best to score fast, they could only add another 33 runs int the next six overs, getting all out for 119 in the last over. All the MCC bowlers bowled well and were also supported by good fielding. There is one aspect of batting which is key in those last few overs, which is good running between the wickets which was not there during those final overs. This would have given them another 10 runs or so which would have make this a more interesting game.
One impressive aspect was Jagdish getting run out off the last ball even though there was absolutely no run there. True spirit emphasized by yet another of those captains of mine, Jagdish Patil who is a gentle giant indeed who always has that broad smile, gentle words and the true spirit of sportsmanship.
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Needing 120 to win, MCC was in top gear right from the start. Although they lost their opener Sailesh to a very well deceived slower ball to be caught and bowled by the wily Usman, Sandeep and Avinash were wasting no time and played some of the glorious shots you will see. Ranga went for 20 runs in his second over with a sixer and three boundaries. It started off with an effortless, lofted straight drive by Avinash off the first ball. It was an outstanding straight hit with minimum effort and beauty all over it. For a straight umpire, it was so pleasing to the eye although the hapless bowler would not have fancied any more of it. A very special lofted shot, landing within a few yards off the straight boundary, hit with disdain, poise and grace. Sandeep came and hit an enormous six off the thrid ball. God! This guy has amazing talent and power. So much time and poise. Avinash came back and hit two more boundaries over mid-wicket and point. All along Ranga was bowling fullish length to this fabulous batsman while a shorter length outside the off would have done much better. But again, it is so hard to bowl against these batsman who have such 'gadhas' and timing.
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| Usman |
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| Sandeep Dhar |
In the meanwhile, Sandeep was in his own zone. Seeing Sandeep having absolutely no difficulty in negotiating Usman, I asked him the secret to know what the next ball is going to be. He just smiled and told that he follows the ball all the way from the bowlers hands. I know that real good players do that but am not sure that many in our league follow the ball from the bowler's hands. At least yours truly has never done that and that speaks volumes for the runs I have accumulated in this league although I have had my fair share of runs twenty years back ;-)
Turning point of the game
From an impressive 43 for 1 in the fifth over, MCC went down to 69 for 4 in the 10th over when calamity and a major twist of the game happened. Arvind Iyengar and Butt, who both came in as second changes, bowled impressively with tight line length, accounting for the next three wickets either bowled or LBW.
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| Aakash Desai |
Outstanding fielding effort to positively turn the game towards Knights
Seeing the opportunity, Khawar was all over the place, egging the team to go for the kill and the team responded admirably. in the meanwhile, realizing that the game can still be won by taking singles and twos, MCC captain Zubir was playing admirably milking the bowling with controlled hits along the carpet. But to his dismay and agony, he was run out by a fabulous throw from Arving Singh, who knocked down the stumps from deep gully while Zubir attempted a second run. It was a good, sensible second run which was curtailed by a fabulous out fielding by the Knights capain. Talk about commitment and the willingness to change things! Fabulous effort by the Knights captain, nursing an injury over the past two games.
Hapless situation for MCC
At that point, everyone including myself and possibly Sandeep, thought that MCC have lost the game and Knights are about to snatch victory from a precarious position. This situation was possible, thanks to an outstanding bowling by Bhat who bowled fabulously with nice loop and onto the stumps giving away just 11 runs in 4 overs, taking two vital wickets. He was ably supported by the ever present, indomitable Arvind Iyengar
88 for 9 in 15.3 overs. 32 runs more to get in 27 balls with just one wicket in hand. We have the # 10 batsman Rajul with a 14 year boy wonder, Simeon as the last man in. Where would one bet the money?. Considering that Knights were all over the place with outstanding bowling and fielding, it was no one guess that Knights win is formality. Is it? What a turn of events from then on.
The partnership of the game:
Sixteenth over (Arvind Singh): 32 to win in 30 balls
The first two balls were way down the leg side and the guys gallopped to two runs each as they made six wides of the first two balls. 26 to win. The fourth ball was disdainfully dispatched to the straight boundary for a fabulous six by Rahul. This shot came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Suddenly changed everything. The quietness of the MCC pavilion suddenly began to have some murmurs. Knights were getting confused with mixed emotions. Khawar and Arvind Iynegar tried to egg the guys, stating that the game is not done till the end and that the team should focus and take every chance. Arvind I insisted on the guys to bowl every ball onto the stumps and be very alert in the field.
Seventeenth over (Polly): 23 to win in 24 balls
A fabulous over which went for just four runs. The first or the second ball was hit uppishly to point where Venkat dropped a catch. It was a tough catch as the ball was hit hard by Rahul and was indeed travelling. It was just above Venkat's head and on a good day, he would have taken that and the game would have been won. This happened to be the first of the two catches dropped and must be painful memory for every one of those Kinght players.
Polly bowled brilliantly to the little boy, Simeon who was equally good, playing out four good balls. There was one vociferous LBW shot, which was very close indeed and Simeon was saved because the ball was pitched outside the leg stump. He just blocked the balls and scampered for runs, never attempting any glory shot. While many others last batsman would have attempted hurrah-hurry, this boy was so cool and calm. Amazing talent indeed. After the game, Rahul told me that Simeon was the one who inspired the partnership by telling that they can still do it.
Eighteen over (Ranga): 19 to win 18 balls
A dropped catch by Jayaraj at mid-on. Although the ball was hit hard, it was a straight forward catch and would have sealed the game. But again, such catches can be so hard especially when the game is on the line. Poor Jayaraj! This will hurt for a long time.
Rahul hit a meaty four as well as they collected eight runs in this over. The most important part of the equation was the last ball two runs. Although Rahul was content with the single, Simeon forced Rahul to go for the second run which was a decisive moment of the game. This split second decision by these #10 and #11 batsman ensured that Rahul will face the next over which turned out to be last over of the game. That moment, in a lot of ways, drew the line between victory and defeat since Simeon facing the next over might have heightened the possibility of a Knights victory. Runs are important and that was indeed a very, very important extra run.
Ranga was disconsolate and Knights were getting very tense. From a near certain Knights victory with MCC at 88 for 9, last wicket pair had now added an invaluable 21 runs from their deathbed, thanks to the brilliant shot selection of Rahul and the calmness of the little wonder, Simeon. But still the game is in Knights pocket since they only need one good ball to finish the game.
Nineteenth over (Arvind Singh): 11 to win in 12 balls.
Still a tall order to score that many runs with just one wicket. The shot selection should be spot on since there is absolutely no room for error. What nerve-wrecking feeling for the batsman to face the bowler, knowing that the next ball could be end of the game.
I was so surprised to see Arvind Singh bowling this over since Polly has just bowled an outstanding over and almost had Simeon. Further left arm bowling would have been hard to hit and he had every chance of knocking down the stumps. But can't fault Arvind Singh since every captain feels that he can finish the job when all it takes one ball.
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| Rahul |
Then came the moment of the match. Fifth ball of the nineteenth over. Rahul hit it straight and hard as the ball started sailing towards the straight boundary where Arvind Iyengar was waiting to catch the ball. For a brief moment, we all thought that he is going to catch that but the ball went beyond him and was signalled as a six. Although this was the winning run, no one realized that for sometime as the batsman was preparing for the next ball thinking that they still need two more runs. In the mid-conference, am sure that Rahul and Simeon were talking about taking a vital single to make it a tie first. All of a sudden there was a big roar from the pavilion as the MCC team swarmed into Lindsay signal that MCC has indeed won, having scored 11 runs that over.
What a game!!!
Wow. Stunner for Knights who I imagine would be so disconsolate to have been so near to an amazing victory and yet lose. They have no one else to blame but for letting things drift down as the last wicket partnership flourished. Few wides, couple of dropped catches and not bowling on the stumps at the crucial moment of the game cost them dearly although they might come back and state that umpiring decisions cost them important runs at the end ;-)
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| Heroes, Rahul with Simeon |
Great game of cricket indeed. From the jaws of defeat, MCC have snatched a victory. What is so sweet about this victory is that it was not obtained not just due to Knight's failing but also from the dedicated efforts of a #10 and #11, who just refused to give up and kept their chin up and take it all the way.
In the final analysis, as an umpire, thoroughly enjoyed the game. Am sure Knights will be peeved by the umpiring decisions against Ankur and Khawar. But they will realize that this is part of the game and that the umpire was unbiased and made the decisions based on his judgement. Regarding MCC, am sure that Sandeep would have learned his lessons that he needs to stay till the end. But again, to make cricket more entertaining, I would like to see him get out soon enough so that the amazing talents such as Rahul and Simeon can be seen and applauded. Just joking Sandeep!!
Having lost a game after scoring 200+ less than a month against Warriors, this victory must be so much sweeter for MCC who had the other side of the green in this amazing encounter.
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| Victorious MCC team, flanked by Sandeep's parents and Simeon's dad |
Last but not the least, I have to tell my beloved Knights that they played the game with spirit and passion and nearly pulled off an amazing win. Against a powerful batting line up of MCC, not many would have fancied winning after scoring only 119. But they kept on trying and nearly made it. As much as it hurts today, am sure that each Knight will be proud of having played a role in yet another fabulous Regal match.
For this blog writer, an afternoon that started out as though this could be his last day as a Regal player, ended up with such positive emotions that he feels that he will continue to play cricket at this league and have many more stories to tell.
Go Regal.
