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MATCH REPORT OF MARINA CC 2 VS. BENGAL CC (MATCH ON 30TH MAY 2009 AT FERNVALE ‘B’ GROUND, 1.00 PM START)

MARINA CC 2 BATTING

To describe the match vs. Bengal CC was a perfect start for Marina. As usual our captain Sri the great lost the toss, and Bengal CC captain gifted the marina batsman with electing to field first. Would have been worst decision in the cricket field fielding only with 9 players.

Nothing went right for the Bengal CC by opening with an offspinner just taking cue from Shane Warne captaincy in IPL T 20 for Rajasthan Royals. Bengal CC could be compared to Kolkatta Knight Riders team, they were all at sea but they had one thing in common, guess what BONG GALI ?

Ganesh hit the second ball of the match over long on for six which set the tone for things to come. Ganesh unfortunately got a bad bounce tried to flick, checked the shot and was caught & bold for 8. Ganesh was ruing his chance for a easy fifty today, but it happens we just witnessed batting prowess from guys who followed….

Anshul looked good in the crease with straight drives and he looked confident from the previous innings he played vs. Wanderers CC. He looked in good touch until he had a soft dismissal caught at covers off a slower ball. Anshul one advise stop hitting in the air till you get set, because you should not get out on your strong off side strokes. It needs a little bit of power and if you improve your leg side shots you would be a formidable opening batsman for the season for marina.

Then came the barrage of boundaries from Sushant with square cuts, pulls and lofted six straight down the ground. Sushant was a treat to watch but I am sure he would be ruing himself he got out when he could have played a long innings. He made 34 off 21 balls which set the tone for marina bringing them to 63 for 3 in 9 overs.

The dismissal of Sushant brought in Chandru, the stylish Mohammed Azharuddin Look alike. At one end there was Kiran who seem to be in a hurry for a light ?, but with Chandru taking most of the strike, it brought in Kiran’s one of the best innings I have witnessed. 6 fours and 3 sixes in 39 balls was not easy and bowling was taken to cleaners by Kiran. The square cut shot off the bowling of Alok reminded me of Herschelle Gibbs in Action. I hope he gets more runs for the season, as I am sure he will overtake other batting prowess of Marina if he is on song! Kiran you rocked man, I am sure I can pay and watch you batting from the stands….

Chandru was at his sublime best when he is taking the strike and stroking for singles. It ensures danger the opposition when a batsman like Chandru gets set and eyes for the big one, his boundaries inside out off the Slow bowlers and left armer medium pacer were one to be remembered. The swivel pull off the fast bowlers was one of the shots which only Azhar could play according to me, next one coming close was our star batsman Chandru….

Chandru keep it going as there seems to be a healthy competition in the batting with Sushant, Ganesh close to your batting score after 6 games in the season. Not far but coming near are Kiran and Anshul, I am sure this makes marina a formidable batting unit…..Captain please come to the party, you have a big one coming your way…..

Chandru hit 8 boundaries and 1 six scoring 67 runs off 63 balls before going for a lofted six caught at long off…

Chandru and Kiran had a record partnership of 126 runs in 15 overs highest for the season for Marina CC 2.

Kiran went for a big one just after Chandru just went, he was dismissed bowled. He scored 61 off mere 39 balls…..

Sri and Haroon did not impress the scorers with both becoming leg before candidate, I am sure they will come good in the future games. It is only good, that batsman are looking to score, it only makes the team stronger in the batting…..

Then came Naveen and Ramji pair which was like a Dominic cork and Phil Tufnell pair ? But marinoids cheered lankashare with our own Ramji being called Flintoff. I am sure Flintoff would have some thinking to do with his fitness giving him problems, Ramji is more fitter than flint off for his age.

Naveen scored 3 boundaries and one straight boundary was a beautiful shot… Ramji scored a boundary and he was ready to run almost as if he is going to other end to save his life…. Both had a crucial partnership  27 runs in 1.4 overs….

MARINA CC 2 FIELDING AND BOWLING PERFORMANCE

The opening pair of Bengal CC looked in a hurry with taking 26 runs of 2 overs, then came the surprise move with Anshul brought in cleverly by Sri….

He got hit for a few boundaries but it made him throw more in the air the bowl he got the opener Arshud was wonderful delivery, a leg spinner beaten neck and crock, stumped easily by Sushant….

Similar stumping was around the corner but this one was superb reaction from Sushant with Sri getting the one down batsman. 

Sometimes I feel Sri does not have good variations in his bowling, but his line and length is immaculate. He has lot of confidence in his bowling and his length is perfect not front not short, he just keeps it on the area of uncertainty. Sri took 3 crucial wickets.

Pareet was excellent, getting some bounce. His line was immaculate with people struggling to get him off strike, he may not be pacy for his age, but he is damn accurate. He got the main batsman LBW and that set the win for Marina CC 2.

What followed was barrage of wickets, Bengal CC from being 95 for 3 they went to 113 for 8.

Superb bowling performances by Sri, Pareet and Anshul with great keeping from Sushant.

I am sure Naveen and Siddharth must be ruing their chances with the ball. They will surely bounce back with Turf city giving them more bounce and carry than the slow Fernvale wicket….

Siddharth bowled well for his 4 overs giving only 20 runs.

Bengal CC then struggled to get to score 150 by some tight bowling from 20 overs to 30 overs from Ganesh, Chandru and Siddharth. I am sure this brings in more bowling options for Marina CC 2 in future games….

Ganesh 5-1-20-0
Siddharth 4-0-20-0
Chandru 3-0-6-0
Ramji 2-0-18-0
Naveen 1-0-12-0

Highlights of the match

Batting

•    Chandru 63 off 61 balls
•    Kiran 61 off 39 balls
•    Sushant 34 off 21 balls
•    Naveen 23 off 14 balls

Bowling

•    Pareet 6-0-21-3
•    Sri 6-0-21-3
•    Anshul 3-0-26-2

Fiedling

•    Sushant 4 stumpings and 1 catch

The next matches for Marina CC 2 is against Marina CC 3 and IA.

I am sure both are gonna be a cracker, Marina CC 2 vs. Marina CC 3 is match against brothers, but whosoever wins is a joy for the club, but on paper Marina CC 2 looks stronger.

Next big step for Marina CC 2 will be beat IA for their chances to lift the trophy in DIV 3.

IA Struggled against Horizon CC but the match was tied which means they just got 5 points with them. That is really a good sign!!!!!!

All the best guys and you all are playing well! May the best team win!!!!!!!

Yours sincerely,
Ganesh

Match Report: M2 Vs Bengal CC, By Sri

M2 registered our 5th straight win of the season yesterday, beating Bengal CC comfortably by 78 runs. (9 points)

 

Batting first, M2 made 228 in 30 overs and then restricted BCC to 150/8 in their 30 overs.

 

Standout performances:

 

Batting

Sushant: 34 (21 balls, 5*4s, 1*6)

Kiran: 61 (39 balls, 6*4s, 3*6s)

Chandru: 67 (64 balls, 8*4s, 1*6)

Naveen: 23 (14 balls, 3*4s, 1*6)

 

Kiran & Chandru had a brilliant 126-run partnership for the 4th wicket after we were 63/3 in just 8.1 overs!

 

Bowling

Sri: 6-0-21-3

Pareet: 6-1-21-3

Anshul: 3-0-26-2

Sushant: 4 stumpings


Special Thanks to Bips, Redkar and Kunal who were there at the ground to cheer us on!

Detailed match report will follow soon.

 

GO MARINA!!

M2 hands Wanderers the Verdict. by Ramji.

23^rd May 2009

The match - Preamble

On this day, the 25^th day of May 2009, it is hereby affirmed that a game of cricket, popularly called T20 took place at a ground slightly bigger than a table-tennis court, unpopularly called Fernvale Cricket Ground.

The Teams

The teams were a relatively lesser known team called “Marina Winners” (a new found name for this team which, unlike in the past, is really living up to its ability and expectations. The other team wandered around at the end of the game in search of their souls and was rightly called ‘Wanderers”.

The pre-match scenario

The day started hot and when people started turning up at the ground around 12.20 (Ramji, Chandru and Ganesh being among the early birds). The captain himself failed to turn up at the ordered time but could be excused for 5-10 minutes delay. Cold stares were promptly exchanged by the captain with the real late comers.

Marina had a very good fielding (or catching) session before the game and not many catches were dropped during the fielding session and it augured well for the game to come.

The toss and its nightmare for the Marina captain continues…

For the umpteenth time in the life of the Marina captain, the toss was promptly lost followed by exchanges of mathematics and quantum physics theory as to why Sri lost the toss, the theory aptly started by Sri’s father who went to the extent of ridiculing his son’s lack of hard work during his NUS engineering days as the main reason for losing the toss.

Luckily on this day, the only thing that Marina lost was the toss. The match ultimately turned out to be 20s game with Sri penalised 2 overs for losing the toss so that Marina were docked 2 overs from its batting which two overs were added to Wanderers batting.

Wanderers batting or Marina bowling

The sun started dropping its intensity as the Marina players took the field and it became a perfect UK summer weather making fielding such an unusually pleasant experience for the Marinoids, who are actually known to enjoy their fielding(!!!!).

Naveen and Siddharth started the bowling attack for Marina and bowled a good line and length albeit without luck. The first wicket came fortuitously through a run out and through a fantastic fielding effort with the batsman going for a non-existent 2^nd run.

The next wicket was not lucky though, with Siddharth, who was hit for a six the previous delivery, getting the batsman bowled of a fantastic delivery. The run rate remain at less than 4 an over after 8 overs. Sri brought on Pareet from one end and Ramji from the other end. The Wanderers batsman who had settled in by that time, started scoring freely, with Ram leading the way. Ramji though was unlucky to liss out on a wicket when a clear edge of the batsman to the keeper was not given out followed by a close stumping not given out. Ramji’s misery was added when a fantastic pick up and throw from backward square leg which was straight on target was interrupted by Sushant who misjudged the direction of the throw.

With wicket starting to dry up and the score reading 89-3 after 15 overs, Sri brought himself and Chandru on and there ended the resistance of Wanderers who fell like 9 pins. The highlight being 3 wickets of 4 deliveries by Sri (hat-trick missed by a whisker). Chandru from the other end bowled unplayable deliveries and knocked batsmen at his will. Sri ended the misery of the Wanderers batsmen by picking up his 4^th wicket and the last of the wanderers innings. Chandru picked up 3 wickets and there were 2 run outs with Siddharth picking the other wicket.

Eye-wash over: Ganesh’s insatiable hunger for bowling his leg spinners was satisfied when he was given an over and just an over (come on Ganesh – here comes Naradha, Narayana, Narayan!!) – the Captain lives to his promise – did that reflect in the unusually subdues batting of our stylish opener – Introspection and commission to inquire into this required?

Wanderers succumbed to 120 all out in 22 overs, leaving Marina 121 to make in 30 overs but the target fixed was 18 overs to get the full 10 points.

A note on Marina’s fielding standards

It was one of the best efforts by Marina on the field with no dropped catches and some very good ground fielding and fantastic work by Susi behind. While some good catches were taken, Sri’s diving catch at silly mid-on of Chandru’s bowling stood out. Two good rund outs were effected and some close run out chances were created by some excellent fielding.

The Marina Batting or do you want to call it the ANSHUL SHOW

Cricket is a team game, yes. The batsmen are up to prove it wrong all the time. Today it was Anshul’s turn to prove accusations against him that he often fails to match his extraordinary talent with scores. His one shot (shot of the day) where he walked across to the opening bowler and cut him over backward point for a boundary told the story.

With Anshul playing lovely shots and going aggressive right from the word go, Ganesh intelligently rotated strike and was rather subdued curbing his attacking instincts. The 50 partnership came in less than 8 overs and when it looked like that No. 3 will only remove his pads after the game without playing a single delivery, Ganesh got out to a full length delivery that brushed his pad and knocked the stumps.

Finally the Anshul show ended sadly with Anshul getting out for 49 and missing a really well-deserved 50.

The not so good batting display in general

The batsmen who followed Anshul had no tale to tell and were rather discreet in playing their shots in the pretext of going for 10 points. At that time, Marina still required only between 6-7 per over to get 10 points and there was no need for indiscreet rash shots. While Anshul was going strong on one end, wickets kept falling on the other end.

The other shot of the day came from the bat of Siddharth – a powerful straight flat hit behind the bowler which just landed for a six at the boundary rope in a flash.

Marina lost 7 wickets in the process. Susi stayed till the end to guide Marina to 10 points with the winning shot coming form the bat of our veteran Pareet of the last ball of the 18^th over. In fact, the Wanderers were puzzled to hear Marina shouts from the pavilion, 6 in 7, 5 in 4, 3 in 3, 1 of 1 as though it was the 30^th over of the innings.

Retrospection

While all is well that ends well, we really have to rethink about our batting today. While we have so much to carry forward in our bowling and fielding departments, our batting today, barring Anshul and towards the end, Sushant, has some thing to think about. We needed around 6.6 per over in the beginning of the innings for 10 points and after a fantastic 50 run opening partnership in les than 8 overs, we needed around run-a-ball or slightly more to get the targeted 10 points. Batsmen should have applied themselves better under the circumstances. While we were under no threat of losing the game, this is a game we should have won by 6 or 7 wickets and not by 3 wickets and made it look closer than what it should have been.

Let us carry forward this 10 point win as a great moral booster to our game against Bengal CC and go for another emphatic win.

GO MARINA WINNERS. From henceforth Marina 2 shall become Marina Winners.

Regards

Ramji

Team list: IA3 v/s Marina 3 at IA - 17th May - 0800

The team list for the Sunday game:

IA3 v/s Marina 3 at IA - 17th May - 0800

Akshay (not feeling well, if OK will play)
Shan
Arun
Mohan
Mohit
Ritesh
Rishabh (w.k)
Bansal
Vivek
Raj Kishore
Sridhar
Naman

Jabra headsets.

I think I first met him eight years ago. It must have been a junior-senior interaction session for the SIA scholars, and he must have been one of the wonder-eyed kids. He was one of the two Biharis, and by that association, butt of many jokes. He was the quieter of the two, but the sharper. But that was it, he wasn't in the same school and so I didn't really get to know him. We must have played schools cricket a couple of times against each other over the next two years, but I don't remember.

Our paths did cross at other times, however. It so happened that I often met him in flights to and from Delhi. This was in JC, as well as during the University years. He had gone on to NTU, and I was at NUS, and I kept running into him on journeys back home - on the flights, at the airports transiting, at the Delhi customs queue, in the Changi duty free shop. We shared a smoking room once in Bangkok's then-renovating airport. Maybe Colombo also once. Sometimes I heard of him through common friends. About his obsession with Shah Rukh Khan. How he sported SRK's Mohabbatein look for a whole semester. And then onto the next blockbuster. Maybe he was Knight Rider's fan. I don't know. I didn't know him that well. Towards the end of university and then start of work, we didn't see each other for a long time.

Then KV joined UBS and he popped up again. KV mentioned this grad trainee in his team, I recognised the name, and that was it. He was a Marinoid. Nets, games, daaru, sutta - the whole nine yards. What I remember most is that he would arrive at the ground always with his huge Jabra headsets on. He had a new Nokia thing which bluetoothed to the headsets. I was hooked to them, and he let me use it everytime I asked. Once for M3 I think he took a fiver. There was promise there and I remember Akki being an excited captain. He fitted too, not a huge persona, but an affable man. But then he disappeared again. Probably because of the pressures at work this time. Recession had hit and it had that affect on bank employees.

I did see him one last time two weekends ago. At Oosters in Suntec, I spotted the huge frame of KV, and then the headsets on the table. He was there. The two of them joined me for a ritual smoke, we talked about work and then I left. I didn't stay for a drink. It was the 25th of April.

Today he is on his final flight to Delhi, but I won't be bumping into Setu.

Marina2 vs Hyderabad Mughals.

It was a clash of trophy chasers when M2 played HMCC at Turf City on 2nd of May. HMCC had moved up from div 4 and hadn't yet lost a match. M2 had played lesser matches but had the same enviable position. In their only previous encounter, a friendly on the same ground, M2 had come out tops, but not without begrudging a reputation for the HMCC players. Tough, aspiring teams fighting for glory on a hot humid day without fears of rain. We had a game.

Sri won the toss and made an unwittingly brilliant decision to bat. Brilliant because by choosing to bat, we had rendered HMCC without their best batsman - who'd have played had they batted first. All the same, we had our own squad worries in that both our opening bowlers were not available for the game. A quick decision between Sri and me, and we decided to utilise our leftie trump card from the onset. Sushant opened with Ganesh and the duo got going immediately. Deft cover drives mingled with Sushant's paddle round the corner and punctuated by Ganesh's backfoot punches through point had the opposition flat. At times Niranjan Babu troubled both batsmen with tight in-swing, but the good balls were far and few between. Fifty came up in the 8th over and it brought the downfall of Ganesh who stepped out only to see the ball settle into the keeper's gloves and scythe over the bails. This brought Korean kimchi Prem to the crease who was soon to sizzle.

It took some time for Prem and Sushant to get into a scoring rhythm braving the sapping heat, disciplined bowling and outstretched fields. There were however no alarms and both batsmen looked to play to a plan. The plan to last till the drinks break at 15. Sushant was anchoring the innings while Prem began respectfully against the slow bowlers. At drinks the score was 86 and having lost only the one wicket we had the licence to create havoc.

After drinks the batsmen opened up. Sushant fell trying to cut one over point but Prem taught the Mughals a lesson or two. Two hits to sightscreen specifically. One off an overpitched delivery deserving punishment, the other deserving full respect in line and length and yet disappearing flatter and further than the first. Imtiyaz, a proud bowler, bore the brunt and I'm sure it'd have given him a nightmare that night. At 136 in the 23rd over, Prem came down the track and did himself in flight to get stumped. Meanwhile from the other end, Chandru had been playing a treatise on the leg side. His swivel pulls and dismissive flicks left us in awe. As always. But one pull too many and he too was back in the hut an over after Prem.

This brought the captain and Kiran together. One a compulsive puller, the other midwicket marauder. Only one was to come off that day. Sri played and missed and mis hit and then stepped out and missed a full toss, and the keeper put him out of his misery. Kiran meanwhile found his nick, ran very hard and put the bad ones away clinically between fielders. Gova ran hard with him and the last overs were a right frenzy. Quick runs, breathless batsmen, frantic bowlers, tired fielders and lofty balls. Haroon, Maggie, Manoj and I all visited the crease but failed to create an impact in the last overs. However the good work done earlier made sure we had 180 on the board at the close of innings. A really decent score on the Turf City B ground, easy to defend if we began well.

IF. If is a beautiful poem by Kipling. If's a tricky word. We didn't begin well. For all his Korean antics, Prem found it hard to shake off the rust. Six wides and an eleven run opening over. Chandru replaced him, but lately he's found it hard to manage the new ball. Specially, with the batsmen bent on attack. From the other end, Manoj tried honestly but with no pressure of score and some width, he found the going hard as well. It was quickly clear that we were digging a hole for ourselves. We needed to do something about the run rate then and there.

Sri stepped up to take the bull by the horns - to bowl the seventh over. Four dot balls and the HMCC ego combusted not being able to hit a slow bowler. Catch to point and we had our first wicket at 6.4 overs. It was the boost we needed. The kick up the butt, our dose of viagra. Because then came the SlowBowlers. First Sri and Maggi in tandem - choking, plugging, tightening, sucking the wind out of the HMCC batting. 2nd wicket to Maggi in the tenth over. 3rd to Maggi in the 12th over. Then I replaced Sri to bowl a new brand of Symonds' inspired halt-and-throw-flat off spin. It made run scoring a pointless frustrating exercise.

HMCC were still in game, but largely down to Niranjan Babu's batting. As long as he was at the crease we couldn't be sure of victory. So comes Sri's lollipop ploy. Lollipop delivered, batsman hits to midwicket, Kiran takes it head high 6 inches from the boundary. Only at Turf City. From then on it was a matter of time. Our wides did give us unnecessary jitters but not enough to derail plans of things. 5.33 pm, score at 146 in the 26th over, Kiran took out the last batsman leg before and we had to catch our breath before letting out the whoops and the yells and the Fucks !

A match of the trophy chasers indeed.

IF, if, we don't get over confident, and fight every game like this one - we'd be the only trophy chaser at the end of season. One game at a time, one team at a time. Helping, stepping up, backing up, fighting, not giving up - playing hard..


scorecard here: M2 v HMCC

Match Report: Anza CC3 vs Marina CC3 @ Turf City Ground A 0800 hrs

In our first morning game, we took on Anza CC3 at their home ground in the Turf City. A whole comedy of errors was encountered before the start. The umpires did not toss until 8am (official start time of the game), and had to reminded for the toss. The second event involved the roller and the ATV being stuck on the ground near the pitch. With a lady operator at the helm of the ATV, it was quite a sight to behold as she tried in various ways to get the roller towed out of the ground by the ATV. However, amidst her multitude efforts, the battery of the ATV gave way and the opposition side had to get another vehicle to jump start the ATV. Once started, the lady, for a reason that she only knows, pulled the roller to the square around the pitch and started rolling the square again. When can a day be over without Murphy’s law. The ATV broke down again. This time the umpire joined in the melee and tried to take things in his own hands (another car was brought in to jump start the ATV and the umpire almost ended up shorting the vehicle battery again as he connected the jump start cables to the wrong terminals). Finally however, they were able to clear the vehicle and the ATV from the ground allowing the umpires to toss. Due to the whole chain of unnecessary events, the game was narrowed down to 28 overs a side.

Akshay won the toss and decided to bat first. This being Pathaks second last match, he was promoted to open the batting with Mohan. He took first strike and scored a prompt 6 runs of the first over, Mohan on the other hand took his time to get started and was watchful. Pathak holed out soon trying to go for his shots upfront (caught at covers) and was promptly received back amidst applauses. Raj went out to bat next and concentrated towards rotating the strike. Raj and Mohan rotated the strike well before both of them were dismissed. Arun walked in and started stroking the ball into the gaps. His confident shots got Marina a couple of boundaries and raised the run-rate a little. Rishabh on the other hand took the singles and rotated the strike. The spinners were introduced soon after and herein the game changed. Their slow bowlers stuck to a line outside off and bowled slow and slower relentlessly, thus curbing the run flow. With no pace to play with, the batsmen tried forcing the issue. Arun fell trying to hit a full toss out of the ground (he got the top edge and was well caught). Rishabh and Bansal tried to curb the fall of wickets and play till the drinks break. A maiden over resulted before drinks break. At drinks the score read 72-4 in 14 overs.

The strategy for the second half was look for a total of around 170 to be competitive. Bansal fell soon declared lbw to a full ball by their spinner. Chopra strode in and an ensuing miscommunication between Rishabh and Chopra saw Rishabh being run out. With things not going our way, it was decided to try and bat out the 28 overs . However the wickets continued to fall, amidst the good bowling of their slow bowlers. Chopra continued to fight out with a quick fire 30 but the rest of the batsmen were not able to score consistently. We ended up with 129 runs in 26.3 overs.

We started off with Pathak and Shan bowling good lines and lengths. The first opener was caught behind while the second one was also soon set packing. At drinks the score was 60-4. It was quite comparable with our score and it was quite evident that we would have to play out of our skins in order to win from the situation. Some good tight overs were bowled and there was some sort of control. However, their captain decided to take things in his own hands. He started belting all our bowlers around the park. A crucial catch was put down when he was around 20, and the run fest continued. Arun was taken for 12 of his first over (last 4 balls bowled down the leg side again) and Sridhar was taken for 18 of his first over. Pathak and Akshay came back on and some sort of control was established. A slower one and a good catch on the boundary ensured the end of the opposing captain (he eventually scored a quickfire 50 runs). Some tight fielding and committed efforts saw the match heading for an exiting finish with 7 needed of the last 3 overs, and 1 needed of the last over. Two dot balls were bowled. However an edge on the third ball resulted in the batsmen scampering for a single to take their team home.
It was an exciting match to say for some consolation. High levels of commitment were shown in the field during the game. However, this should not distract us from the fact that our main area of concern was again the batting. The team was bowled out within 26.3 overs against an opposition not boasting of any good players.

As usual, we have our lessons learnt at the end of the game.. so for this case: THE LESSONS STILL NOT LEARNT:
Batting : Batsmen to ensure that they bat out the 30 overs and rotate the strike
Fielding : Catches, catches and more catches to be taken
Bowling: To cut down on extras as much as possible. (though cant blame the bowling since they don’t get a par score to defend)

Team list: SCC v/s Marina3 at SCC(Padang) , 3rd May 1400 (Afternoon game)

Hi all, The team list for Sunday game. All must be there by 12:30 p.m.

1.Akki
2.Shan
3.Pathak
4. Arun
5. Vishy
6.Sridhar
7. Swami
8. Suhas
9. Chopra
10.Bansal
11.Rajkishore
12.Mohan (scorer)

Team list: Anza3 v/s Marina3 at Turf City A , 1st May 0800 (Morning Game)

Hi all, All ppl must be there by 7:30 a.m. We will have some fielding practice and stretching exercises.
1.Akshay
2. Arun
3. Mohan
4. Shan
5. Sridhar Sesham
6. Rajkishore Patel
7. Amit Bansal
8. Rishabh
9.Naman
10.Chopra
11. Amit Pathak
12. Suhas (scorer)

[Match Report] SRC Knights vs Marina 3 @ IA

Match Report By Amit Pathak

SRC batted first and posted 174 runs in 30 overs.

Marina 3 in reply fail short by 11 runs scoring 163 in 30 overs.

 

SRC captain Paul won the toss and elected to bat first. It was a bright and sunny day. Nice conditions to bat and Marina 3 skipper would also have loved to bat had he won the toss. However Marina 3 opening bowlers had something else in mind.

 

Pathak started the proceeding by giving away just one run in first over. Shan started from the other end. Shan came with new found action, pace and run up from the bowling course. I must agree that there is certain difference in Shan’s pace. Shan’s line and length was slightly on inconsistent side as opposed to his earlier bowling spells.

 

Pathak struck in his 3^rd over getting the first break through for Marina 3. Attacking looking batsman tried to hit him over long off but only managed to loft the ball to covers. Shan took a comfortable catch. He struck again on the consecutive delivery, taking edge of the bat of the other opening batsman. Arun completed the catch behind the wicket.

 

Brakes were applied on score immediately. Maiden over followed. Shan struck this time. Pathak completed an easy catch at covers.

 

Akki came in as a first change bowler. He started with a maiden wicket over. SRC were struggling for 28-4 in 9 overs. I was thinking of 10 pointers from this game. But next batting pair of SRC had some other plan in mind. This pair played with a lot of patience. They played attacking shots as well as rotated strike beautifully. They tackled Mani’s pace and Naman’s spin beautifully. Run were flowing, run rate was rising. Score board saw 67 runs in 15 overs. Akki brought himself on again and provided a much needed breakthrough to M3. 

 

M3 guys were all set to wrap up the SRC inning. Naman provided another break through by taking wicket of the other set batsman. New batsman came in and started swinging his bat wildly! He accelerated scoring rate even further. Boundaries were flowing easily. Other batsman Paul (SRC captain) was having tough time in getting the ball away more than 15 yards while the other batsman was capitalizing on every opportunity to score. Sri was introduced in the attack and provided a break through. He got the wicket of the attacking batsman. However damage was already done. SRC run rate was close to 6 runs an over. Shan, Sri and Akki bowled last few overs tight and restricted SRC to 174 in 30 overs.

 

As usual M3 team was on top of the game in first half of the inning while completely of the track in the second half of the inning.

 

There were few misfields while Marina 3 was fielding and a lot of drop catches. M3 dropped close 6-7 catches. Some of them not judged correctly and some of them were difficult but at the end of the day had we converted even half of those dropped catches into wickets, results would have looked different.

 

M3 Inning:

 

M3 openers Mohan and Rishabh started on a cautious note. Marina 3 saw 19 runs on the board at the end of 6 overs. We could have scored slightly faster here. Mohan lost his wicket trying to hit over point, only managing to hand over a simple catch at point.

 

Mani joined Rishabh and suddenly runs started flowing in. At the end of 10^th over M3 were 45 for the loss of one wicket. Partnership was building and suddenly Mani lost his concentration tried to put away a juicy full toss from a spinner but found a man at the deep mid wicket. Immediately next ball Rishabh tried to hit a flighted delivery for maximum over long on but couldn’t clear long. Rishabh was back in the pavilion.

 

New pair Chopra and Sri went in. These two were building a nice partnership. M3 saw 78 runs on the board at the end of 15 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. 175 runs were definitely looking gettable here. Single, doubles and odd boundaries were flowing. Just when game was tilting towards M3, Chopra got involved in some sledging to a verbose bowler and lost his concentration and wicket. He already hit him for couple of boundaries in this over and in an attempt to hit another, lost his wicket.

 

Sri got out immediately after Chopra. Not sure whether it’s a coincidence or what but just when Sri’s wife arrived to see Sri batting, Sri lost his wicket J. Akki and Arun went in. Arun asked for a runner as usual. But both Akki and Arun didn’t last longer. Both came back to pavilion after hitting couple of boundaries in an attempt to accelerate score.

 

Shan and Pathak went in M3 needed 45 runs to get from 6 overs. They both had a small partnership of 10 odd runs Shan lost his wicket trying play across. He scored a boundary. Last man Naman came in, M3 needs 35 runs from 5 overs. Pathak and Naman kept rotating the strike with Single, odd boundary. M3 now needed 19 runs from 2 overs. 13 runs from 1 over. M3 desperately needed few boundaries in this over but duo couldn’t score any. M3 lost this match by 11 runs.

 

Again we were on top if the game in first half of the inning and lost the momentum completely in second half of the inning. We really need to keep the same intensity in both halves of the game.

 

Points to improve upon:

 

• Fielding:  Need to improve on catching.
• Bowling:  Need to continue with the same intensity and momentum in the second half of the inning. Extras need to reduce drastically and it is important to ball according to your field.
• Batting: Need to create partnerships at regular intervals. After scoring 30 odd runs, it is important to stay on the pitch and make the inning count. Rotating strike is equally important as hitting boundaries.

[Pictures] SRC Knights vs Marina 3 @ IA

Here are some of the pics of the match courtesy Arun Bhaskar.

SRC Knights vs Marina 3 at IA ,25th Apr - 1300

Team List

1. Akki
2. Shan
3. Amit Pathak
4. Amit Bansal
5. Rishabh
6. Naman
7. Mohan
8. Arun
9. Vivek Chopra
10. Mani Bhat
11. Sridhar Sesham
12.Vishesh

Match Report: M2 vs SCC Panthers

By Naveen Veeravalli

M2 won by 4 wickets and got 9 points.(but the website says we got only 8points..Sri should be able to tell us the reason)

SCC batted 1st and were allout for 132 in 27.2 overs.

Naveen and Siddharth started off with a good opening spell picking up the top 3 batsman within 4overs.

Then, SCC tried to steady the ship for a while but Manoj gave a crucial breakthrough when the batsmen were well settled and looked dangerous.

After the drinks break, our spinners vijay and ramji, and "don't know which category" bowler Sri provided breakthroughs at regular intervals and finished off the rest of their line-up with ease by taking 1,3 and 2 wickets respectively.

M2 chased the total in 21.5overs with 4wickets remaining.

Ganesh( 56 off 58 balls) provided a brilliant start with some excellent cover drives and made sure the team was in safe position before he got out towards the end.

Siddarth and Kiran played good supportive roles around Ganesh and rotated the strike well in the middle overs.

Highlight of the day was 5 (official)+1-n-half (unofficial) dismissals by Kiran as the wicket keeper. We could actually add one more dismissal to his name where he dismissed the umpires decision with a few good words and was almost sent off the field for his friendly gestures. :)

Batting Highlights:

Ganesh : 56(58 balls, 7*4s)

Siddarth : 18(25balls, 2*4s)

Kiran : 18 n.o.(16 balls, 2*4s)



Bowling Highlights:

Siddarth: 3-1-10-2

Sri : 6-1-26-2

Ramji : 4-0-26-3



Fielding:

Anshul n Naveen: 1 catch each

Kiran : 4 catches, 1Stumping



1...2...3...Go MARINA!!!!!!!!!

Match Report: M3 vs Lanka Lions 2

Afternoon game...bright sun...beautiful ground and slightly damp outfield. Akki lost his first toss this season and Marina was put in to bat. Rishab had pulled out of the game due to office reason, and Mohan miyan made a comeback to the side. Mani was late and he had no recollection of the last night. Somehow we managed to wake him up and luckily we were batting first. But this meant AB had to open the innings with Mohan. The third opening combination in as many matches.

Things didn't start that well for us as AB was yorked in the second over. He didn't manage to get his bat down in time and his middle stump went flying. But it seemed that Mohan miyan was never out of the game. He was his usual self and together with Sridhar tried to settle down things. The second wicket partnership was of 36 runs. Sridhar seems to be in form this season and is enjoying his promotion to number 3. But Mohan was out caught in the 11th over and Sridhar joined him back in the pavilion the very next over. Vivek and Amit Bansal were the next guys to go in. Amit has been the leading run scorer for us this season...but today was not his day. He tried to cut a ball, which went straight to the fielder at short cover. Raj was the next man in. A partnership started to build up. Vivek started to take control and hit 14 runs in an over. unfortunately he was stumped in the 21st over, trying to hit one straight down the ground. Akki was the next man in, but he was soon out caught and bowled. The bowler took a spectacular (or at least made it look like one) diving catch. Mani was in next... and together with Raj tried to accelerate the score. Things were looking good and we still had hope for a 150+ score. But Raj was stumped in the 27th over. Ritest was the next man in, but was also out soon. Naman came next and with Mani ran some valuable 2s. Mani was out on the second last ball of the innings. He was the 4th victim of spinner Jeraj who bowled really well for Lanka Lions.

The final score was 126. We would have ideally liked 150 on Turf City. The wet outfield played a role in this, but with the team that we have we would like to aim for 150+ on turf city and 180+ on other grounds. None of the batsmen played really slow, but as a team we need to workout ways to score quicker in situation like this. There were only six boundaries and a lone six in our innings.

Bowling...We didn't have both our opening bowlers for this Match. Shan's parents were going back to India and Pathak was busy with office work. So Akki had to open the bowling with Mohit. The lankan batsmen showed aggressive intent, but the bowling was tight. Akki bowled 2 overs and gave 13 runs in those 2 overs. But he got nicks out of both the batsmen (both were left-handers). One flew left of the first slip and ther other one between the keeper and the first slip. I'm not sure how close these catches were...so M3 need your input on this.

Mohit kept things tight at the other end. Ristesh was the next bowler in and before he could bowl his first legal delivery (he bowled 4 wides) it started pouring heavily. It was so heavy that the match was called off immediately. At the starting of 5th over Lanka Lions were 21 for no loss.

It was too early to say how we would have fared in the match, but surely it would have required something special from our bowlers and fielders.


Batting (Score/Number of balls faced)

Arun Bhaskar(2/3), Mohan Roy(16/32), Sridhar Sesham(13/32), Vivek Chopra(34/35), Amit Bansal(1/11), Rajkishore Patel(21/32), Akshay Sharma(2/10), Mani Bhat(17/17), Ritesh Moudgil(0/2), Naman Agarwal(1*/3), Mohit Gupta(0*/1)

Extras: 19

Bowling (Overs/Wickets/Runs)

Akshay Sharma(2/0/13), Mohit Gupta(2/0/4), Ritesh Moudgil(0/0/4)


A special thanks to Vishesh and Sridharan for being there to support the team.

Match Report: M3 beats Wanderers by 10 runs.

Report by Arun Bhaskar

Tasting Success Early

M3 broke the shackles of the past of winning much later at the start of the year and registering its first win in its 2nd game of the season. After a tough and hard fought 1st game of the season the entire team put in a committed and hard fight to win the game and sure this is the first of many successes to come for the season ahead.



The match started with the now regular routine of players coming in LATE .... adding to the worries that Akshay was stuck at office and a doubtful starter for the game. Shaan who was leading the team in his absence started on a positive note by winning the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat with the sweltering heat likely to take a toll on the opposition. The batting was opened by Mani Bhatt and Rishabh and for the 2nd time in as many matches the opening stand didn’t put up a big partnership with Mani dismissed by a nick in the slips of a good outswinging delivery. Sridhar Sesham was sent up the order considering this was his home ground and had good outings at this venue in the past. Rishabh was positive in his stroke play from the start and played some delightful drives, cuts and Sridhar gave him ample support and the duo started to build a good solid partnership. The scoreboard kept tickling along at a very good rate with boundaries, coupled with 1’s and 2’s and compliments of wides from the opposition bowler. The 50 of the innings was notched up in the 8th over and the partnership looked solid before the odds went against Sridhar’s consistency of getting rapped (do take note guys – that’s Rapped n not Raped) on the pads. He got a ball that kept straight and low and the umpire had no hesitation in declaring him out plumb before the wicket. The good partnership of 60 between Sridhar and Rishabh in about 9 overs was a good platform for Arun to walk to the centre. He opened his account with a fierce stroked boundary over point from the 2nd ball he faced and things looked ominous for the opposition. But Rishabh got out (for a well made 31) trying to drive a ball out of the park only to be holed up at long-on. Amit Bansal and it was now up to the AB’s in the middle to build on the foundation and build a tall score. But then the weather turned murky and the rains started to pelt down and the players were rushed in. Luckily the rains didn’t’ last more than 20 minutes and the covers (surprising) at Fernvale ensured the pitch & bowling run up were dry and play was ready to resume with the match now reduced to 27 overs per side.



Arun started positively after the game when trying to play his natural aggressive stroke play and clubbing the ball to the boundaries for 4’s and 6’s but was tentative while trying to play defensive. Bansal meanwhile was getting himself settled in and mixing up with 1’s, 2’s and the odd boundary. The score board tickled along to about 120 in 22 overs and the noise from the benches got louder stating we needed a score of about 170 to 180 in the stipulated overs. Arun tried to use the long handle to score some big rungs only to hole up to deep mid-wicket after scoring 35. Raj then strode to the centre and started meddling the ball for 1’s and some well run 2’s whilst Bansal was timing the ball superbly for some wonderful boundaries. The score reached 150 with 2 overs to go and Raj got out trying to accelerate the runs and in walked in Surprise, Surprise Akki. Well he made it to the ground and to be a part of the team and lead from the front. Bansal the ‘Finisher’ belted the last 2 overs for plenty of runs including a superlative drive on the off for 4 and a big whack over long on for 6. Akki not wanting to be left behind on the batting front got in the thick of things with a huge 6 over midwicket of the last ball of the innings. The score card read a very healthy 176 for 5 after 27 overs and Bansal yet again remained unbeaten for a well compiled 46.



Pathak and Shaan opened the bowling and stuck to a good line that got the batsmen defend but any err in length resulted in boundaries being scored. Adding to the woes was the left-right batting combination that meant constant change in field placements, change of line and for a fair part of the first 8 odd overs the batsmen dominating the proceedings. The score at the end of 8 overs was about 60 odd for no loss and Akki brought himself on and immediately stuck to an immaculate line and struck the 1st blow with a rising ball that got the batsman hopping and the ball scooping in the air of the glove to Sridhar at gully. Akki struck soon again with the other opener sky-ing one to Naman in the deep who took a well-judged catch. Mani Bhatt was bowling a very tight line and soon got rewarded with batsman no. 3 hitting the ball in the air to Ritesh at deep mid-off. The fall of wickets kept a check on the runs being scored and adding to the pressure was some good tight and committed fielding. Ritesh bowled the last over before drinks and conceded a boundary of the last ball for the score to read 85 for 3 in 14 overs. The opponents needed 90 odd runs of 13 overs and the batsmen needed some big overs and had to take chances to score. Naman was brought into the attack and almost got rewarded a wicket of the 1st ball unable to latch on to a return catch, the rare blemish from him that day. Pathak struck from one with a quick wicket after the drinks and Naman kept pegging away with a tight line and keeping a check on the runs. The pressure was mounting on the batsmen and despite scoring a few boundaries they lost their way trying to keep up to the required rate and lost wickets at regular intervals. The equation got from needing 70 runs in 10 overs, 44 in 6 overs, 30 in 3 overs and finally to 18 runs off the final over. Akki bowled the last over and we couldn’t have asked a better start with his first 4 balls going for just 1 run and this followed by a 2 leaving 15 required off the last ball and the game in M3’s clasp unless something untoward happened. The last ball saw the batsmen drive for a single to long-on and then Akki trying to finish the match with a bang aimed at running out the batsmen at the striker end and there was no one backing his throw and ended up in 4 overthrows. The result was however that M3 won by 10 runs, a well deserved victory – and a thorough team effort. Naman’s spell of 5 overs for 25 and picking up 3 wickets was stand out amongst the bowlers.





LESSONS LEARNED

Batting saw 2 key partnerships at the top and this is vital for us to post a decent score in every game.

Fielding was good but I’d say there is room for improvement on the aspects of backing up throws and also estimating when to attack the ball and when to cautiously stay behind the ball.

Bowling was disciplined and the area that needs to be curtailed is bowling short of length on wickets that are slow and giving a chance to be hit for boundaries.

Also the number of wides needs to be reduced and for this request the bowlers to focus on bowling to one side of the wicket.





SPECIAL MENTION

MOHIT - For demonstrating great character (a must for every Marinoid) and giving his best on the field as a substitute and throwing himself around & saving some vital runs. This I mention especially since he was in the original scheme of things (playing XI) and was left out to accommodate the right combination for the game.

VISHESH & SUHAS - Kudos and accolades to for being present at the ground and cheering, supporting the team.

Mohit, Suhas and Vishesh – You demonstrated the true spirit of TEAMSMANSHIP and what should be done naturally by every member of the team even if you aren’t in the playing XI.





POINTS TO PONDER OVER:

I’d like to end this note on a very staunch note in terms of PUNCTUALITY. Enough has been said about this time and again and it's time each of us shows the sense of responsibility, urgency and commitment each of us have and arrive at the ground much before time if not on time. Let the tensions not rise even before the game begins as there is enough of that for us to tackle on the field with the opposition.



Finally I want to state that Cricket is a team sport and one must learn to be a part of the team and not ONLY IF you are in the playing XI – it’s the bonding of all the individuals together that spells success and I request each one of you to be at the ground and support the team, even if you’re not figuring in the XI.

Match Report: M2 vs SCC

M2 won by 69 runs and got 9 points.



M2 batted 1st and scored 217/8 in 30 overs.

Sushant and Chandru had a 110 run partnership after we were 46/3 in 7+ overs

Good cameos from Sri, Gova and Haroon in the end-overs pushed the score past 200



M2 bowling was spearheaded by 2 new guns – Naveen and Siddharth

Both bowled superbly, with Siddharth choking the runs and Naveen picking up 2 quick wickets.

The middle overs were handled perfectly by Pareet and Sri.

SCC never recovered from the initial overs and ended up with 148/8 from 30 overs



Batting Highlights:

Sushant: 66(60 balls, 7*4s, 1*6s)

Chandru: 60(60 balls, 7*4s)

Sri: 28 n.o.(17 balls, 3*4s, 1*6s)



Bowling Highlights:

Naveen: 5-0-23-2

Siddharth: 6-1-19-0

Sri: 6-0-25-4

Pareet: 6-0-32-0



Fielding:

Anshul: 2 catches (1 slip & 1 deep)

Sushant: 3 catches



Note: The entire team was at the ground on time which was very pleasing indeed!

M3 vs MUCC - M3 lost by 6 wickets

Report by Mohit Gupta

At last the M3 season starts. The weather was fantastic and the turf city ground never looked better. Almost everyone was on the ground at time and the day started by the distribution of new Marina team clothes (used by m2 and m3).

Team: Akki (captain), Shantanu, Arun, Amit Pathak, Vivek Chopra, Amit Bansal, Raj, Mani Bhat, Rishab, Sridhar, Ritesh Mohit.



Ritesh was all set to make his debut for M3...but he picked up some shoulder injury last minute and Mohit took his place. But Ritesh was game enough to be the scorer for the match.

Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.

A glorious atypical Singapore hot weather for start of the season, Marina played first game against MUCC, champions of last year 4^th league. Marina won the Toss and captain Akki chose bat first.

1^st Innings

150 is suppose to be a good score to defend on Turf city ground. Openers Manni and Rishab were asked to play steady and defend first few overs as MUCC has good bowling attack. Couple of extras came in first over, both the openers were playing confidently and scoring singles, but one wrong shot by Rishabh and he got caught out on midwicket. Arun went one down and scored first boundry of the game, extras were coming continuously, score was moving. Aruns scored 19 runs but one cross batted shot and catch to point fielder. Chopra next batsman hited a high Six (Just like Yuvraj was hitting in NZ), he scored 30r runs but missed a straight the ball and got bowled out. Now Bansal and Manni were on the creas, Mani who was standing like an anchor for Marina, scored 11 runs and got bowled out. Score was 73 for 4 in 13 overs, it was not a bad start and what was needed a good partnership, Raj and Bansal were on the crease and playing defensive. 5 runs came in next 4 overs, which was ok because we wanted to stop fall of wicket, Raj scored 13 runs in a single over and marina was back on track. Tight bowling fielding attack by MUCC and they keep getting wkts, Marina was suppose to hold the situation and try to play all the overs but regular fall of wkts and Marina managed to set target of 126 runs, definitely 20-30 runs short of what Marina had thought of.

2^nd Innings

By keeping the target in mind only chance for marina to win keep taking the wickets, Good start by both opening bowler Pathak and Shan, good length, outside the off stump bowling attack and we got success in 2^nd over by Shan. Perfact use of new ball Batsman was not able to touch Amit’s bowl and another wkt for Marina in 3^rd over by shan. Opener bowler restricted MUCC, rare chances were given to score runs. New bowler Mohit was given opportunity and got success in his 2^nd over by a splendid catch by Pathak, in the next over Manni bowled out another good batman of MUCC. Score was 57 for 4 in MUCC. It was the ideal start as we planned early wickets and tight bowling.

After having Samosa and tea in lunch break, Marina’s efforts had come down in next session of the game, I wouldn’t really blame Samosa but Singapore’s heat played major role (This is the part where we all need to work specially me to get use to this weather for 30 overs match). Match equation was MUCC requires 69 runs in 15 and 6 wkts in hand. It was still a challenge for Marina. Pathak was again put on attack, another good spell by Amit but unfortunately clear chance to catch and simple run out was missed and MUCC keep scoring the runs, spin and slow bowling attack was put by captain but no success. Shan was called to use his experience when Only 24 runs were required in 8 overs but Marina was generous to giving lives to MUCC in the dying movements. But MUCC had the last laugh and Maina lost the game by 6 wkts.

A few more catches taken, a few more cleanly fielded balls, a few more
tighter overs bowled and it could have been very different. A lot of ifs. I
enjoyed the game and look forward to the next one.

*Lessons learned:*

1. MUCC are a good side and they put the pressure on and executed on their
game plan when it was required. They kept to the basics and made us work for our runs.

2. Batting - All the top order batsmen got off to a start, but no one carried on from there. The highest partnership was of 30 and we need to improve on this. The last 6 marina wickets fell for mere 18 runs. We have to watchout for this kind of collapse.

3. Bowling - Bowling was generally good baring a rare bad day from skipper.

4. Fielding - *catches win matches* We did not support the bowlers with fielding and put any pressure on the batting team.

5. Fitness - This being the first match of the season...we seemed a bit out of touch with the heat etc. This is something that an individual needs to look into themselves and be prepared (have food, fluids etc). The first half or the season will be always like this.

*On the balance of things a good days cricket, played under a good competitive atmosphere and the team that batted, bowled and fielded the best won the game.

SCORESHEETS

Batting

	Batsman	4s	6s	How Out	Score	Balls Faced
1	Mani Bhat	0	0	Bowled	11	21
2	Rishab Bhurat	0	0	Ct @ Short Midwicket	3	4
3	Arun Bhaskar	3	0	Ct @ Point	19	17
4	Vivek Chopra	1	1	Bowled	20	22
5	Amit Bansal	0	0	Ct Behind	17	38
6	Rajkishore Patel	2	0	Bowled	18	30
7	Akshay Sharma	0	0	Ct	9	12
8	Sridhar Shesham	0	0	Ct @ Midwicket	3	5
9	Shantanu Bhadury	0	0	Ct @ Mid Off	3	6
10	Amit Pathak	0	0	Not Out	0	4
11	Mohit Gupta	0	0	Runout	0	0

Bowling

	Bowler	Wides	No Balls	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
1	Amit Pathak	2	0	6	0	12	1
2	Shantanu Bhadury	2	0	5.4	0	30	1
3	Akshay Sharma	2	0	4	0	32	0
4	Mohit Gupta	6	0	5	0	16	1
5	Mani Bhat	4	0	2	1	9	1
6	Sridhar Shesham	3	0	2	0	14	0
7	Amit Bansal	4	0	1	0	9	0