Game on August 4, 2024 at PHS
Ater going around Irvine and checking various fields we finally arrived at PHS’ baseball diamond, thanks to Nanda. The ground seemed good and after electing our captains and selecting their teams we started to play.
Santa gave the ball to Elango to open the bowling spell. Pankaj F started from the striker’s end. True to his style he targeted the off and scored quickly. Elango got a wicket in the first over, but this didn’t put Pankaj F under any pressure, he continued hitting the ball. In the first 3 overs he and his partner maintained a run rate of nearly 7.5 per over. The former declared his innings in style by driving through covers for a boundary. It was a splendid shot. In the middle overs Nanda, Khal and Karthik added some valuable runs. Towards the end Pankaj F returned. But Santa’s bowlers did a great job, especially Elango and Abhi J, who conceded only 2 runs in the final over. Santa’s bowlers were able to apply the brakes and dry up the runs in the last 3 overs reducing the run rate to just 6.5 per over. Nanda’s boys made 63 in 10 overs.
Santa sent Maharaj and Radha to open the innings. The former started well, he was targeting the on side and the bowlers were thinking twice before bowling anything on the middle and leg. Just when he was about to get into his element he nicked one which went towards the slip. Abhi J showing great agility bent and leaped ahead to pull off a one handed catch. Disappointed Maharaj returned to the dugout. Nanda’s strategy seemed to be to get the players out, as he knew hosscore was a bit low and short by about 15-20 runs. In the first 3-4 overs his changes yielded great results. Khal along with the new guy Harshad were able to weave a web of spin around the batsmen and the flighted deliveries kept them guessing. There was a top edge, a run out and a clean bowled and suddenly Santa wasn’t feeling so well. In this situation he sent Elango to bat and he didn’t let down his captain. Elango didn’t let the current equation bother him much and he played his natural game. It buoyed his team mates’ hopes. He was soon joined by Abhi J who seemed to be in a devastating mood today. The only bowler who kept him tied down was Karthik. His deliveries were coming on to the bat so hurriedly that the batman didn’t have any time to steer or do anything with them but just stop them from knocking down the stumps. Batsmen’s old demons suddenly made a comeback and they remembered why they didn’t fancy Kathink to be on the opposite side. But Abhi was smart, he chose discretion over valor and was playing out Karthik defensively. Rather than go for the glory shot, he was patiently waiting for the loose ball and giving it the treatment it deserved. He pulled one for a six over square leg, sent another over the ropes after a few bounces. He and his partners were running well between the wickets but now taking any chances. They were paying very calculably with an eye on the required run rate. This made Santa very happy as the score started climbing. At half mark Sata’s team was 32 and needed 32 from the remaining 5. They finally needed 19 from the last 3 overs. Santa gave the ball to Pankaj F who went to his runup not too happy as he saw Maharaj join Abhi J join in the middle (since the slip was not supposed to be there when Abhi J caught Maharaj earlier in the innings, Maharaj’s dismissal was deemed incorrect and he came back to strike terror in the bowler’s hearts again). Earlier Radha played a great cameo in his second stint. I always feel that Radha plays much better lower down the order than at the top. His earlier jitters gave way to some fine hitting in the end. Pankaj F maintained his line and length beautifully and gave just 5-6 runs in the third-last over. He kept both the batsmen tied down bowling fuller deliveries. Next came Karthik. True to his reputation he troubled Abhi J and got the best of him. Santa’s team missed a heartbeat. Their only hope was Maharaj and they begged him to play cautiously. They now needed 7 from the last over. Maharaj ended the game in style when he heaved one over mid-wicket for a huge six. It was one of those shots from which a bowler never returns and continues to falter. Thankfully that was the winning shot and so the bowler now has 6 days to recuperate and strategize for the next Sunday’s game.
Overall it was a great game. After initially running around we found a good ground, but it seems we cannot frequent it and have to maybe rely on our tried and tested Deerfield. Please join us next Sunday to partake in the fun.