2021 Regal League - Thrilling Tie between Gladiators Panthers and Super Kings - 19 June 2021 (Lincoln Park, 1:30pm) - Part 2

Chasing 164 @ Lincoln is a par score.  So long as the chasing team keeps scoring at about 7 runs per over in the first 10 overs, without losing too many wickets (three at most), should be a comfortable victory as the lower order can hit a few hits out of the park as the pressure of bowling at the death can lead to length balls.  

With my renewed opportunity to open, I was looking forward to making a telling contribution to ensure that the chase is underway in earnest.  To my personal disappointment, which was very short lived, Aditya asked Zubair and Jeffry to pad up.  If I were the captain, that's exactly what I would have done as we are starting the second round, chasing an on par total and if we get a breezy opening partnership, the chase will be lot smoother.   This was the right combination and with Aditya and Shiv to come next, a great start is all that is needed against a very good side in Panthers.

Panthers opened the bowling with their best in Rizwan and Abdul who both bowled well within themselves, keeping a tight line outside the off stump, not giving length balls which is key to restrict lofted shots and they are seasoned champions as they showed. By the end of the first four overs, Super Kings could only muster 17 for the loss of Jeffrey.  

Aditya, leading from the front

In came the captain, Aditya who was in a totally positive mindset.   When I was captaining the team, I always gave a free hand for him although time to time, he used to take the role of sheparding the team and even in those circumstances, he used to start positively.  But after being the captain, we were all noticing that he is too defensive at the start.  As the best batsman in the team, it is up to him to set the tone at the start of the innings where else but in the power play overs.   In the practice session this week, the team could see his positive intent but also his mindset to hit straight and that made a telling difference in the outcome of the game.

In the next three overs, the score moved by another 32 runs (49/1 in 7 overs) with two brilliant straight sixers and a fantastic cover boundary all by Aditya.  The straight sixers were such a treat as they sailed well past the boundary and also dispatched with disdain by steeping outside the crease. Precisely what he is capable, setting the positive undertone for the intention of his team. 

In the meanwhile, Zubair was playing brilliantly by rotating the strike and not really attempting any big hits, realizing that his captain is in a positive mood and all he needs to do is play the second fiddle. Such knowledge of the game come through experience as he could have easily tired to match the captain in shot making and Super Kings might have ended up losing another key wicket before the tenth over, which would have dented their hopes.  

Subsequent to the game, found out from Zubair that his less than normal aggressive intent was due the lack of stamina as he is certainly not as fit as he was two years back when he breezed to an amazing hundred against Lions when he looked so fresh even when he was in the eighties.  For the good of Super Kings in the remaining games, being such an important player, Zubair better work on increasing his stamina.

By the time Aditya got out after making a brilliant 47 runs off 34 balls (with three sixers and a boundary), the chase was well poised. Aditya got out in the 14th over with the score at 104/2. 

It was an invaluable partnership of 87 runs in about 60 balls and it very nearly cemented a Super Kings victory as they were just a couple of hits away when Aditya holed out as he was left pondering in the dug out.  

So Super Kings needed exactly 10 runs per over in the remaining six overs, which should be relatively cake walk against any team. But Panthers are a champion team and they know a thing or two about putting pressure. 

Shiv made 15 off 12 balls within no time as Zubair began to accelerate albeit fatigue was also setting as his fifty included forty runs he ran (plus the ones he ran for other batsman).

At the end of the 17th over, Super Kings was sitting at 130/3 with the asking rate having mounted to 11.3 which is not difficult as all one needs is a couple of big hits and with the pressure on the bowling side, there will always be a couple of length balls.

Zubair - Lynch pin for the chase 

When I walked in at #5, that's precisely what I was thinking,  looking for a length ball to hit straight and clear the rope. Further having lost only three wickets so far, there is also very little pressure of losing my wicket as Zubair is still there. 

But Zubair, despite being tired, was keen to take the mantle of hitting and requested me not once but twice to take a single and give the strike to him as I faced Mansoor who bowled a shorter raising ball which I fended and the ball went straight to the right of Mansoor on his follow through.  Despite knowing it's a suicidal run, to have Zubair on strike went ahead and promptly got run out.  Yet another of my proud run outs which goes with a zero under my name. But happy that Z got on strike as he hit his last boundary of the very next ball.  What a player Zubair is and his 57 off 52 balls shaped the chase so brilliantly as he was just one hit away to get the team to win.

Unfortunately in the same over, John also got out as we lost two wickets for only 6 runs in the 18th over and the asking rate for the next two overs jumped to 14 in two overs with a tired Zubair. 

A special mention about Rizwan who bowled a brilliant 17th over giving away only 4 runs and then followed by the 18 over where Mansoor gave away only six runs and taking two wickets, including my run out. This is precisely why Panthers are such a good side as they can come up with critical plays at the right time with  their experience 

18.1 (136/6) -  A tired Zubair gets bowled off the wily Abdul who came back for his last over. 

This is where the game changed.  

Rahul, brilliance at its best

Rahul joined Arvind Iyengar.  I have seen how well Rahul can hit during that remarkable partnership with Simeon when he single handedly with the last wicket got 28 runs way back in 2015.  Knowing how straight he can hit and how hard he can hit,  I was sure that he can tank of couple of length balls over the rope and the situation was not different from when Super Kings had a fantastic win against Warriors in 2019 when Zubair's two big sixers one over swung the game for us. 

With 28 needed in 11 balls, the time to hit the ball out of the park is precisely now and my God what a hit we had in the first ball Rahul faced.

18.2 (142/6) - Length ball from Abdul to Rahul. Creamed straight as an arrow out of the park with the ball going at least 12 yards beyond the boundary.  If there was one decisive hit that changed the fortune of a game that was this one, just like that square cut by Z against Warriors (in 2019) which also went for a six. 

In the next four balls, four singles were milked along with a wide to make it 147 for 6 by the end of the nineteenth over. 

Here we are starting the last over of the game with Atif with Super Kings needing 17 to win with Arvind Iyengar on strike.  Although he was capable of big hits, having had very little practice, it was imperative that Rahul was on strike as we felt that they should have planned the strike better in the last over. 

But again, cricket is a funny game and now we are looking to need three boundaries to win the game which can be a tall order but anything can happen as just like the batsman, the bowler also is under pressure and he can very easily slip a full toss or a length ball.  I was still confident that if Rahul gets strike in the second ball, we still have a chance.

19.1 (148/6) - Atif to Arvind. Single taken and Rahul gets strike to a standing ovation from Super Kings team

19.2 (152/6) - Atif to Rahul.  A full toss in the leg and disdainly dispatched to the square leg boundary. Brilliant shot and exemplified agony (Panthers) and ecstacy (Super Kings). Pressure mounting.

19.3 (158/6) - Atif to Rahul - Length ball, sailing over deep mid wicket, Gone, Gone, Gone. What a shot. In five balls, Rahul had scored 18 runs with two gigantic sixes and a boundary, all brilliant shots with thundering sound of the bat.   Need six to win off the next three balls. One hit away

19.4 (159/6) - Atif to Rahul -  Leg bye taken to the agony and howling from the Super Kings dug out. Why did Rahul keep the strike to tank another six?  

Why we love this game of cricket is precisely these nail biting moments and the pressure in the middle and the dug out goes to a crescendo in such close games as I started wandering aimlessly in the dug out, praying for that one big hit by Arvind.

19.5 (162/6) - Atif to Arvind - Ball drifting way down the legside and Arvind gets a tickle  to fine leg with no fielders behind the keeper. They scamper for an incredible three runs. Probably one of the very few times in his league career, Arvind ran a three. But what a time to run those invaluable runs as the game need one to tie and two for a great Super Kings win off the last ball with the hero, Rahul on strike.

Wait!  Arvind come back to the pavilion. As we struggle to understand why he is coming out with only one ball remaining, he seems very tired after running that three and has retired out so that we can have fresh legs for the last ball.  Although it seems that it may not fit into the category of fair play as the batting team is adjusting their batting order based on match situation, the rules of the game allow a batsman to get retired out at any time as this is certainly not the case of a retired hurt as Arvind didn't limp out because of cramps but more because of tiredness. 

Kausik joins Rahul who is on strike for the last ball.

19.6 (163/6) - Match is tied.   Atif bowls it very cleverly, shortish outside the off stump and Rahul can only guide it through the vacant gully. It looked like it was an easy two but alas Rahul could not make it back and the match ends in a deserving tie. 

Wow!!  What a game.  With the game in Super Kings pocket with Aditya and Zubair in commanding form, Panthers clawed back brilliantly and only a remarkable innings by Rahul (am sure that this is the second of his  folk fare for grandchildren , turned this into an amazing game of cricket which will be etched in our memory for a long time. . 

Gladiators Panthers 163/9 (Ikram 30, Khurram 24, Shailesh 2/19 in 3 overs, Aditya 2/22 in 4 overs)

Super Kings 163/8 (Zubair 57, Aditya 47, Rahul 19 off 7 balls, Abdul 2/31 in 4 overs, Mansoor 2/29 in 4 overs)

Go Super Kings

Go Regal

https://cricclubs.com/MilwaukeeRegalT20/viewScorecard.do?matchId=400&clubId=110    

2021 Regal League - Thrilling Tie between Gladiators Panthers and Super Kings - 19 June 2021 (Lincoln Park, 1:30pm) - Part 1

It is not often one sees a tie and I was fortunate to be part of not one but two ties. 

I still vividly remember the 2013 game between Lions and Knights where I ran helter-shelter with Vinod to scamper for three runs off the last ball for a tie which came out of nowhere. The two of us, both close to our fifties, ran like hell and scored about 20 runs in 12 balls in that game and as much as the feeling was all about the one extra run, it could also be a feeling of despair if it has been one less run. 

Today, With 17 runs needed off the last over, Gladiators certainly had the upper hand and to see the game ending up a tie is a bit fitting as both teams played well and it would not have been fair to the other team if one of the team did loose. 

It was a brilliant weather day of around 70 and Lincoln was very picturesque with well cut grass and gentle breeze blowing around the ground right through the day, making in a cricketers' dream day to play cricket. 

While driving to the ground, couple of thoughts were in my mind. One was that I had finally began to open the batting which I haven't done for a quite a few years and in fact as a captain used to play way down the order and with my days on the cricket ground a few handful, was thinking of making the best of my opportunity today. 

Other one was the loss of a beloved daughter from a dear Sri Lankan family as I thought about what the grieving parents will be going through and was thinking in terms of visiting them personally after the game as they may live closer to Lincoln. Nothing can comfort the feeling of a parent losing a child so tragically and as I was driving past the churches, was praying for them to go through the hardest phase of a grieving process, the denial phase easily.  

Anyhow, coming to the game itself, Aditya lost the toss again and Panthers had no hesitation in electing to bat and had a very brezy start as both openers (Ramzan bhai and Khurram) were hitting the ball well over the top and took the score to 33 in 4 overs before Ramzan bhai perished to a very good catch by Jonh at deep mid-wicket. 

In the meanwhile, Super Kings dropped a two easy catches and by the end of the game, dropped at least five easy catches and two tough ones as well. The top teams not only take catches but also "make" catches and I know that this is something Super Kings realize and will oil well going forward. But, unfortunate, as it is, some of the easy catches were dropped by one of the very best fielder in the league (will not name him) and hence could be an off day syndrome and likely will be compensated by "making" catches in the upcoming games as I know that guy very well as he prides in himself to do the best in everything. 

Ikram - Class batting

What can one say about Ikram, one of the most stylish batsman in the league. Despite the horrendous tragedy that befell an year back when he was shot in the leg not once but twice, he started playing only recently and is already showing that nothing has changed as class is permanent. Coming two down, within no time, he scored 30 off 17 balls with two brilliant straight sixers and two exquisite boundaries one through covers which had  class all over. Being a good friend of mine, I was watching out how he is able to run and he was taking difficult twos and hence seems to have recovered fully from any leg ailment. 

Kausik - wily off spinner

Just as I thought that he is onto a very big score, Ikram fell to the trap set by Aditya caught easily at widish long on off the bowling of Kaushik, the slow off spinner who bowled really well, tossing the ball with well set fields. Although he was hit for a few boundaries, slow bowlers are such a vital part of T20 as many a batsman can be taken out easily with well executed plans (like today). Kausik is not only such an exceptional bowler but also is a whole hearted trier and it is always good to see such attitude in any player and Super Kings have not one but two exceptional spinners with John as well, who exudes such high passion for the team and game as well.  Although John didn't get to bowl this game, he had been simply outstanding all round through the season and it is all the more gladdening to see him do well all around as it was only by chance I got this wily leg spinner into our league through a fortuitous meeting in 2019.  

Chandra - brilliant last over

Coming to Super Kings bowling itself, both the opening bowlers Shailesh and Chandra bowled well although I felt that Chandra could have been a lot nippier in his first spell.   Watching from outside the ground (had to sit out of fielding as we had 13 in the line up), it looked like Chandra was not hitting the deck harder which is important when one have openers who are looking for length balls to hit over the top and the shorter one is always a good ploy.  However, after the innings, Chandra came and said that he was bowling to his plan and from his figures of 27 runs in 4 overs, not a bad analysis on a day when the opponents scored 163.   In fact his last over, the 20th over off the innings was exceptional as he bowled brilliant yorkers and if am right, he gave away only four runs or so and, which considering that the game ended as a tie was such a vital over.  

Shailesh is well and truly getting into the groove as he is starting to get his rhythm in run up as that is such a vital part of anyone who runs in with a long run up and particularly for a left arm seamer to land the ball in the right area.  Shailesh is such a whole hearted trier and I was happy to see him get the first two wickets, the second of which was a brilliant first ball on the perfect length to one of youngest Regal league player, 16 year old Ashish.  Poor boy! He got a peach of a first baller and having a left arm seamer landing the first ball one faces on the perfect length and darting in is something even experienced batsman dread as a first baller and it is just unfortunate that the little boy had to get such a peach off a ball. But I wish him better luck as he has so many decades in front of him and that his opportunities will come and made sure to encourage him as he was sitting alone in the pavilion. 

Aditya was brilliant and with every game, he is setting the bar higher and it is not often one sees such a fine athlete, hitting the deck harder and bowling to a set field. He bowled four brilliant overs and gave away only 22 runs and took two wickets and in fact eight runs came in his final over when a couple of outstanding boundaries were hit behind square by a batsman moving away to off side and thumping well.  Typical one day innovation but Aditya took two important wickets as well in that spell which became decisive in having Chandra giving away only four runs in the last over of the innings.

There were very many useful contributions from the rest of Panthers batsman as four batsman scored 20+ with Wajahat and Atif scoring 23 each in 14 and 16 balls and Atif hitting three good boundaries and a sixer.

Aditya - Good captaincy

While Panthers looked they are onto a score of 180+ as they were sitting pretty at 80/3 in 10 overs, Super Kings did tremendously well to restrict them to a scope of 163 with the last two overs yielding only 12 runs.  Aditya's captaincy was quiet brilliant as he ensured that his players keep doing the simple things right with well laid out field settings and clear strategy especially in the last ten overs where things could have gone haywire if such positive energy doesn't flow from the captain.  As a ex-captain of Super Kings, nothing makes me happier than to hand over the captaincy to Aditya as I continue to see the positive vibes, goading the team to improve their fitness, improve their consistency in performance.  Well done Aditya,.

Here we are.  Panthers have set 164 for Super Kings to win.