2011: Match 9: Vs Company: DRAWN

People with a history of recent surgery, heart trouble/high blood pressure, neck trouble, back trouble, or any other condition that may be aggravated by jumping or screaming should carefully heed all warning signs.  If you are in doubt about your ability to safely experience a Bombay Boys match, please refrain from attending.  We’ll be happy to brief you once the match is over.

Watching a cricket match being played by the Bombay Boys team is definitely not for the faint hearted and this was proved once again during the third such fast-paced match between Bombay Boys and Company. On the 16^th of July 9:00 AM BB won the toss and elected to bat.

KT retained his #1 spot at the MVP standings as the BB’s 9^th match against Company petered out to a draw at Lord's on Tuesday. He top-scored the innings with 28, Saurabh not too far behind at 26 as the duo played sensibly and put BB in a strong position; the score steadily building through the first 10 overs. The opening partnership took BB past 50 at the end of 10 overs. BB looked strong into the 14^th over scoring 70 runs for no loss of wickets. Sensing a visibly relaxed innings, BB spectators stretched out under the new addition to the BB team – the beach umbrella (chuckle! How could I not mention this!). However, both batsmen were eventually dismissed in a fashion similar to the previous match scenario, in back to back overs. KT and Saurabh were both caught behind in the 14^th and 15^th over respectively. The run rate had slowed down a bit following the halftime break but BB seemed comfortably placed at this point. Paras came and went for 7 off 10 – that included a power packed six and Monty posted a solid 21 off 20 – one six and one four to his credit. BB was eyeing to overcome the slow run rate but fortune (and strong bowling skills of course) favoured the toiling bowling side as BB lost 4 quick wickets in the last 4 overs. Abhishek, Jitesh, Milind and Satchit brought up the end of the innings with BB posting a total of 104 runs at the end of 20 overs.

BB was ecstatic during their start of the bowling innings as they took 3 crucial wickets in the first 3 overs of the match dismissing opener Prakash for a duck with a direct hit from KT and Satchit (WK) taking some good catches. Of special note was the brilliant single-handed catch by Milind which was instrumental in tying down the Company score. 1-down batsman Pranit was dimissed for a measly single and 2-down Pavan for 4 runs. Company struggled to find a footing and inched along till the 7^th over when they lost their 4^th wicket. As the “star player” walked back frustrated, he threw his bat over the fence prompting the Company team to yell foul and “Poor Umpiring” and “Umpire down down” at which stage the umpire become super serious and started declaring every other seemingly normal ball as a No-Ball or a Wide and I am not biased as I say this.

However, in walked their 4-down Ashok and changed the name of the game as he took the lead and along with the other batsman Bashyam starting accumulating runs providing Company the much needed breakthrough frustrating the BB bowlers. At the end of 10 overs the score stood at 40 runs after the loss of 5 wickets. Company needed 65 from 60 to secure a win.

Company steadied and continued without any further loss of wickets till the 16^th over when the score read 78 and they lost their 6^th wicket and Ashok walked back. Skipper Girish who then walked in and Bashyam labored to achieve the target. 20 off 18 required. Crucial wicket taking moments in the succeeding overs instilled confidence in BB yet it was not over yet. Overflowing extras did not help either. 11 in 12 balls. A solid run out by Pramod and Satchit ensured one more loss of wicket for Company. The opposition was losing wickets by the dozen but still stayed put. 6 runs in 6 balls. Incredible tension. And a wicket ! 3 in 2. Déjà vu all over again. At the end, the last ball of the over ended with Company scoring 2 runs and the match ended in a stalemate.

BB needs a serious check on extras. We ended up giving 29 extras – that’s almost 5 whole overs. Even with the alleged poor umpiring which might have accounted for 6 at most, that is still a lot.

BB has been consistently reaching the top 4 in the group for the past few years, what remains to be seen is how we perform in the knockouts. BB retain their league group #1 position and now move on to their next much-awaited match against India-XI on July 24, 2011 9:00 AM. Watch at your own risk !

2011: Match 8: Vs Bhailog: Won: By 4 Wickets

Captain Ashish’s charmed luck continues as Bombay Boys defeated Bhailog – in a thrilling 4-wicket win with just 4 balls to go in their 8th game of the season. Bhailog won the toss and elected to bat first but with the EP fields bathed in sunshine, the players took some time to establish the expected tempo. However the players and the extended team went ballistic as KT clinched the first wicket of the tournament in the very first ball of the over dismissing the Bhailog opener Abhijit for a big fat duck.

Runs at the top of the order from the Bhailog opener Anil and 1-down Venkat Ramana put Bhailog on course to reach a staggering score. Incessant sledging by the Bombay Boys and responses in kind and beyond by the Bhailog did little to dampen the aggression between the teams as swear words, actions and A-rated dialogues all came into the picture.

At the end of 10 overs, Bhailog stood at 48 runs with the loss of only the one wicket. Their partnership saw Bhailog reach 52-1 before the departure of Anil, the first of the 4 victims, as Bhailog tumbled from 52-1 to 61-5 with AP2 securing 2 of those and Pramod the other 2 wickets respectively. Middle order batsman Rohit stuck to the crease as he started creating havoc raining 6s. Bhailog was eventually bowled all-out for 103 at the end of 20 overs with the last FOW on the very last ball of the innings.

On the positive side, of the 10 wickets, 8 were well-timed precise catches taken by Abhishek, Swaroop, Monty and KT – Swaroop taking the bulk of those – 5 catches. Data and stats from this match (in isolation) would show the fielding ability of Bombay Boys to have improved tremendously. KT who clinched 4 wickets this match, has secured his #1 position in the MVP standings.

Starting their batting innings, BB lost a quick wicket early in their dig with only 2 runs on the scoreboard, with Saurabh being given an out to an alleged ball bouncing off his chest. Saurabh’s dismissal brought Swaroop to the crease and together with opener KT, they steadied the BB ship with a 20-run partnership but Swaroop was out in the 7th over and it was not looking good for the BB at this point. The BB innings got tied down by some excellent bowling by the Bhailog players and progress was slow as the scorecard inched along over by over. At halftime, the BB score stood at 32 runs. To win, BB needed 72 from 60 balls. Certainly doable.

The fall of two quick wickets of Monty and KT over back-to-back balls (Monty - last ball of the 13th over and KT – first ball of the 14th over) brought Bhailog straight back into the contest and for a short period of time it did appear that BB might crumble under the pressure. But Paras and Milind had other thoughts as together they scripted an epic knock to pull Bombay Boys out of the bushes.

Their 28 run partnership put BB right back on course and saw BB reach 5-84 before the departure of Milind, in the 17th over. Needless to say another nail biting match, this time, with the added complexities of sledging and way-too-much aggressiveness both inside and outside the fields. Tension was rampant and a single spark could ignite the electric charge in the air.

Abhishek stepped in and between him and Paras, they managed to reduce the gap, however, there was still a ways to go. 20 runs needed in 18 balls. 16 in 12 needed. BB lost Paras in the 19th over and in stepped HappyDent who also came out as HappiestDent White having hit a brilliant sixer on a no-ball. 5 needed in 6 balls. Abhishek and Jitesh, though new at the crease, made the transition absolutely seamless as they hit shot after shot and also managed to run quick singles – at times risky but then very much needed. Abhishek finally sealed the victory with a 4 off his bat in the 2nd ball of the last over as the crowd went over the edge.

Bhavin met his first true opponent as Ms. Lady Bhailog walked over to give him a piece of his mind and also threatened to send an email to the board if he doesn’t mend his ways. Well, as an outsider not part of the playing team, an email to the board might hardly carry – considering that Bhavin’s not part of the roster anyway. It was an interesting conversation in its own way except that it went way beyond conversations as person after person got embroiled in the argument and at the end of the match, as KT rightly said, we ended up spending all our post-match energy trying to solve the problem rather than celebrate our well-earned victory. If this continues, BB might slowly be on its way to be known as the team winning on sledging tactics rather than fair play and that wouldn’t be right.

On the positive side, BB’s batting middle order clicked right when it needed to and this victory was through-and-through a complete team effort, giving my previous match summary observation a fitting reply. Well, none of the 4 options of the poll on bombay-boys.blogspot.com came true, but after such a victory, what more can one ask for.

Scores as always have been uploaded on http://www.cricketmn.com
For more on the Bombay Boys: http://bombay-boys.blogspot.com

BB stays at the top of their group and now moves on to their 9th match – against Company on Saturday, July 16th 2011 9:00 AM at Eden Prairie.

2011: Match 7: Vs Pinch Hitters: Won: By 7 Wickets

Bombay Boys sealed their 7^th victory of the season playing against the Pinch Hitters in an absolute firecracker of a match on Wednesday June 29^th  at the Eden Prairie, Flying Cloud Airport fields. Playing compressed 15^-over innings on a weekday wasn’t easy for both teams, but Bombay Boys managed to nail it proving to themselves that Oh Boy! Yes, we can chase huge scores just fine !

After winning the toss and electing to field, Bombay Boys started their bowling innings with a seemingly glaring absence of their 2 mainstream bowlers – Chakra and Abhishek. However, new players for the season, Pramod and Milind seemed absolutely gung-ho and in form for their part. 

Going from 20 overs to 15 overs was like moving from the 50 over ODIs to the T20 matches. Gutsy shots, risky singles, well timed fours, thunderous sixes were all expected along with the increased probability of catches as batsmen went in for the kill. Pinch Hitters started their batting innings with a good amount of agression and despite losing a couple of wickets in the initial overs, kept going strong. The run rate trend was a steady climb as the team continued to amass 6+ runs in every over, primarily owing to contributions from the Nikhil and Nikhil duo who hung in there and went in to perfectly time and hit loose balls. Aided by Nitin, the “Ni-teen” combination seemed confident of securing their victory.

Bombay Boys bowlers for their part worked extra hard at securing wickets but in the process also ended up bowling expensive extras. Despite this, Pramod for this part, was instrumental in damage control as he took 2 wickets superbly bowling out the batsmen as the cheering team yelled their heart out. (Special appearance by Shilpa and Saachi). Passionate fielding also went in tow with the bowling as we witnessed a brilliant catch by HappyDent Whtie and a superb run-out by KT and Nitin. Pramod and Vijay took some well-timed catches soo. At the end of 15 overs, having lost 8 wickets, Pinch Hitters had set a tough but achievable target of 93 to win.

The second innings of the match commenced with KT and Swaroop opening up the BB batting innings playing for a RRR: 6+ per over. However, BB experienced a very early FOW as Swaroop’s shot went for a neat catch in the second over itself. Jitesh too, unfortunately, was in and out in a jiffy. It wasn’t looking good for BB at the end of 5 overs – 18 runs in their kitty at the loss of 2 wickets. The revival by Paras and KT was thrilling enough as Paras hit a couple of hard power-packed sixes, sending the crowd roaring and upping the BB score in a very short period of time. But the batting partnership performance between KT and Monty was exceptional and a complete treat to watch.

Despite their best contributions, the BB score stood at 58 at the end of 11 overs. 35 required off 24 balls. The last 4 overs triggered off multiple nail-biting moments as the equation seemed like a mirage. Doable but something that could just as easily slip away as sand. 28 in 18. 14 in 12 as the players and the spectators all held their breath. The Pinch Hitters were at their fielding best. A couple of mad hits in the air as BB also tried their best to hit every ball. Ultimately, Pinch Hitter’s score of 92 for 8 proved woefully inadequate in the wake of a dominating batting display from Players of the Match (if I may say) Monty who finished with an unbeaten, 31 off 25 balls, and KT, in his 3^rd consecutive notout 27 off 36 balls. Monty proved his mettle yet again with 3 astounding sixes and a clean four – perfectly timing shots on loose balls and scoring singles as and when they could.

Just the previous match had been termed “boring”. This match however, was anything but. Complete with a nail biting finish, the match was splattered with just enough edge-of-the-seat excitement to keep one’s attention always on the field.

Bombay Boys has now succeeded at a high-speed chase and are confident that they can repeat the magic if required. From the sidelines, excitement was rife as the crowd went into an animal frenzy during major shots by the BB batsmen – what with someone even jumping on the fence at one point in time (chuckle). This probably was also the first match in years when I “ran” into the field at the end of the match. No victory dance or Cadbury’s ad mind you ! (contrary to what Chichi might have been saying !).

We have started encountering tougher teams and will continue to. Lets not forget the extras which might prove costly and gutsy as this may sound, we need to have an overall stronger batting line-up. KT notout for the 3^rd consecutive time is both a very positive thing and concerning at the same time (coz it only means that the non-striker end kept changing). Hang on to your seats folks, this was just the trailer, the real movie now begins ! BB bid Adieu to Vijay as he played his last match of the season and moved back to India this past weekend.

Scores as always have been uploaded to : www.cricketmn.com

For further details on Bombay Boys, http://bombay-boys.blogspot.com