Click on image(s) to view in detail.As a member of the opponent team Cricstars remarked “The best seats in the house seem to be taken !”, rightly so, the cheering squad and the reserved player section had already marked their territory with summer chairs, food (read : energy supplements) and the likes, all set in anticipation to be a part of the Bombay Boys second match Vs Cricstars.
Arvind and Ketan opened as usual, after BB won the toss and elected to bat. Witnessed some good hard hitting shots from both Arvind and Ketan and the partnership was just starting to look good when Arvind got bowled out in the 4th over by Sirag, one of the apparently good bowlers from Cricstars. Arvind’s score stands at 18 runs scored off 15 balls, which also included 3 well placed fours and good running singles, leading us to believe that if his current form continues, we can hope to see two additional supporters pretty soon. Ketan for his part scored 29 runs off 38 balls, playing some well timed shots, including 2 fours and one strong sixer ! The team looked strong at 51 runs in 8 overs when the BB captain’s wicket was taken by the Cricstar’s captain Deepak. Saurabh stepped in at the 1-down position and it was interesting to watch him bat. Inside sources had mentioned and I quote “Wo mast technical khelta hain" (read : technique) and Saurabh for his part delivered good on his expectations. At halftime, the BB score read 63/2. Comfortable deal so far.
The second half of the innings saw some good batting skills from players like Monty, Paras, Vikram, Arun and Chakra and sixers rained as well. Monty and Paras had 2 each to their credit and Arun had one outstanding (literally !) sixer on the offside, having come determinedly off his bat and timed perfectly. Tactful utilization of loose balls and due contributions from most of the batting segment put Bombay Boys at a final score of 129 at the end of 20 overs with a loss of 6 wickets.
Cricstars had lost one match and won one in this season so far with decent doable scores both matches, so it was an open match so far with this one went. The bowling innings of BB got off to a casual start as Ketan got pounded in the first over itself, including a sixer on a no ball. Nitin for his part tried to stabilize the opening overs delivering perfect line and length. The 3rd over, again bowled by Ketan, was very much controlled and added only two runs to the Cricstar’s scoreboard. Unfortunately, as Monty’s overs followed, the saga of full toss balls and wides continued. Every full toss and no ball was aptly converted to an advantage by the opponenents and the downpour of fours and sixes seemed to loom threateningly.
If there was any consolation, it was the fact that, despite the definitely-needs-work bowling, the wicket taking streak did wonders for BB. Perfect take-your-time catches by Arun, Saurabh, Monty and “bowled” wickets taken by Arun, Monty, Chakra and KT more than made up for the fulltoss fiasco. So, on one side though the wicket taking showed complete team contribution, on the other side so did the worrisome bowling and dropped catches. Paras, Monty and Chakra all dropped catches. The BB team did ensure that Cricstars was bundled out for a measly 98 at the end of 18.2 overs.
Post match : So far, we are good as far as batting goes. Team effort through and through. Bowling sadly is another story. Looking at this match in perspective, the dropped catches and loose bowling did not affect this match’s result but with the right opponent could turn the match around. BB won the match sure, but we need to use this match to learn from our mistakes.
Note : There also needs to be ready, a 12th player complete with shoes (chuckle !) in case of any emergencies pulling off a playing member. A special “Thank you” to Dishant whose extension promises to provide tremendous support to BB as he tried to keep the team going with his remarks ! Thank you also to the cheering squad and the rotating reserve section, who’ll always be there.
From the Bombay Boys Newsdesk,
One Team, One Dream.
