June 06, 2015 - Saturday 1:30pm with heavy breeze and chilly weather
Lions 113 for 7 in 20 overs (Ruvindra 34, AJ 24 n.o, Miranda 14, Polly 3 for 20)
Knights 96 all out in 19 overs (Ankur 16, Arvind Sripada 18, Omar 15, Miranda 3 for 13, Ruchira 2 for 15, Lashan 2 for 23)
It was a mixed feeling to play against Knights who have been part of my life for the last six years. However, I was so happy to see my ex-mates welcoming me with warm hands. But the icing in the cake was to play alongside AJ and Shamindra who have been such great friends to me.
We were surprisingly asked to bat by Arvind Singh, I would have preferred to bat first. Probably Arvind Singh thought that he can restrict as to a low score since there was constant breeze with chilly weather. Frankly speaking, if Arvind S and Ranga have bowled a fullish length, the swing would have helped them to get early wickets. Ranga was getting banana in-swingers from the congress end while Arvind S was getting in-dippers. Ranga preferred to keep the ball short, fearing that Ruvindra would hit him easily over the top if he pitches up. No matter how good a batsman you are, if there is so much of swing, you need to pitch the ball up. Simple message indeed. There were two bowlers who did this so well through this game and both of were rewarded with three wickets each (Miranda from Lions and Polly from Knights).
Arvind S was not his usual peppy stuff since it looks as though he was bowling gentle swingers instead of hitting the deck. With the natural in-swing because of the wind, hitting the deck would have negated the natural swing which would have surprised the batsman. Subsequently he told me that because of an injury, he could not jump into the crease and hence had to content with that bowling.
Ruvindra, opening the batting with Miranda, scored a brilliant 34 within no time. Although he had one slice of luck when Arvind Sripada dropped a dipping catch at the short mid-off, he creamed three boundaries in one over of his opposite number, all clean and crisp hits over long off and long on. To boot, he also creamed a great straight six over long on off Ranga. That ball literally sailed in the sky and it was a sight to watch the ball keep on going. Lovely shot!
Miranda also played very well, preferring to play in the V, mostly along the ground. Makes sense because he is playing after nearly six years, although his timing did not suggest that.
Introduction of Polly brought in three wickets within no time. He bowled the natural left hander deliveries and what was impressive was that he was pitching the ball up which the others did not do. Ruvindra, after scoring 34 in 32 balls was bowled (56 for 1 in 9 overs). Shamindra, who has lost almost about 20 lbs during the hibernation, started nicely with a square jab of the first ball he faced for two runs and was content on milking runs. Polly got his next wicket when Miranda was LBW to a straight one. I was the umpire and had no hesitation in giving that out since it was hitting about 2 inches below the top of middle stump.
Mohan, who joined Shamindra ,was run-out shortly for just one run, thanks to a nice throw from Jayaraj. Within no time, from a comfort of 56 for no loss in the 9th over, we have come down to 70 for 3 in 12 overs.
I was involved in two umpiring mis-judgement, the first one was when I declared a ball as wide as it was outside the leg stump. Fielders appealed that it was in fact a dropped catch by the wk and hence I should revoke the wide. I wanted to stick with my decision since I did not hear any nick. However, Shamindra indicated that he indeed had a nick and I reversed my decision. No matter what others might judge, my tendency is to be willing to revoke decisions to ultimately get the right outcome. But this came to haunt me almost instantly.
Off the bowling of Polly, Kinghts appealed for a catch behind. Hearing a big noise, I immediately raised by finger to give Shamindra out. But almost immediately, I realized that I should have waited a few seconds before giving that decision since I was not sure whether the nick was from the bat or pad. In those split second, when I was feeling uneasy, Shamindra indicated that the ball had only brushed his pad, which made perfect sense, since he was attempting a typical left hander jab and the way the ball went straight to the keeper was possible only if it had brushed his pad. If I had taken the extra second to think before raising my finger, since I had an element of doubt, I would have made a decision in favor of the batsman. But for the sole glory of showing that I am an impartial umpire, I had made a quick decision. It is certainly hard to be an umpire if you are not a neural umpire since there is not only so much pressure from your conscience to be impartial, but also from the fielding side which always has doubts against you.
When Shamindra indicated that the ball had brushed his pad, I revoked my decision to give him not out. Knights became furious with the captain running across the ground to complain to the Lions's captain. They were arguing, on hindsight rightly so, as to how I can consult a batsman to decide whether he is out or not. Irony is that, only in the previous over, they have requested me to reverse my decision on the wide after consulting the same batsman. Anyhow it was interesting situation and am glad to have been part of that drama and that is what makes cricket so much fun and emotionally binding
Personally speaking, I strongly feel that the right decision has to be made even if it raises every one's eyebrows. It certainly looked pathetic since I would have been the only umpire in many years at the league to attempt to reverse a decision in favor of a batsman who has been given out already.
Anyhow, Shamindra decided to walk away and I thank him for that. Otherwise it would have been a very sore incident. Sorry Shamindra! By then, he had scored nine runs within no time, looking good for many more (72 for 4 in the 13th over).
Enter the ever dependable and charming AJ. Despite losing three more wickets quickly (all to run outs), he scored an extremely vital 24 runs in 21 balls with a boundary. Those runs made the difference between sub par score of about 100 and the ultimate score of 113 for 7 in 20 overs. My contribution was a golden duck, without facing a ball, since I was run out attempting a non-existent second run to keep AJ on strike. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made since AJ is the one who is capable of getting those vital runs. Vinod also sacrificed his wicket, going for a second run.
In the final analysis, we scored 41 runs in the last seven overs despite losing three wickets for run-outs. Just goes to show how important it is to keep wickets in hand when you go to the 15th over of the innings. You not only have a chance to accelerate heavily but also can with mad running, as we did. Hats off AJ for yet another vital contribution on my first outing with you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Needing 114 to win, Knights opened with the dependable Venkat C and Ankur. Ankur is a wonderful batsman, who has so much of time and grace; I thought that if he stays for ten overs, game will be done since he scores so quickly and that too so effortlessly. Venkat perished early, well caught at mid-wicket by Minthika who was all ove the place with outstanding fielding throughout the game. Our fielding was spot on. Ankur was run out pathetically, running on a mis-field by the wicket keeper. There is a saying that never run on a mis-field which turns out to be true. Although Ankur was not in usual grace and timing (probably because of the breeze), he made a neat 16 runs.
Although Arvind Sripada (18 runs) and Omar (15 runs) played well, rest of the batting caved in. Our fielding was top notch with Miranda, taking a brilliant catch at deep mid-wicket to get rid of the elegant and well playing Arvind Sripada whom I like since he is always the first one to be there for practice, having a broad smile all the time. Polly, who came down the order, batted also very well and looks to be very good all rounder who plays the percentage game very well (bowling within himself and batting sensibly).
Mindika (AJ's son) also took a good catch. There was one wonderful attempt to catch a ball at long on by Ruvindra which stood out for the effort. It was a great attempt with Ruvindra, running almost 25 yards and very nearly tumbling down and almost catching the ball. Such efforts in the field inspires the whole team. Hats off captain for showing us the way.
Ruvindra also rotated the bowlers very well. Our charming spinner, Ruchira was simply wonderful. Although he bowled a few wides, he teases the batsman with slow flight and really tempts the guys to false stroke. Ranga was getting frustrated with the slow flighted balls with wides in between and was waiting to have a go. When Ruchira purposely bowled a short, fast ball, his eyes lit up and he belted it to deep point where Miranda gladly took the catch. Great piece of bowling .
In addition to his excellent batting and fielding, Miranda also bowled so well to take 3 wickets for only 13 runs in 4 overs. His message was simple line and length bowling, pitching the ball up to get full support form the wind. I like his smile and positive attitude. Other bowlers (Ruvindra, AJ , Maya and Lashan) played their part as well. Ruvindra will be so much better if bowls the ball on a fullish length, but for some reason, he continues to bowl short. Am sure that he will get plenty of wickets with a fuller length ball at his pace.
I had unbound joy when Knights were bowled out for 96 runs as we won the game by 17 runs. Although in one corner of my mind, I was sad to see my former team lose, I was overjoyed for our first win of the season. To cap it off, the win was fashioned by our energetic, positive captain with able support from our pillar of strength AJ. It was really a team effort with great catching in the deep.
So happy to be part of team where every member has a broad smile and imbibes positivity.
Go Lions
Subbu
First round matches so far
- Lost to Warriors
- Lost of MCC
- Abandoned match against United
- Beat Knights
