The semi-final game was scheduled to start early morning at 7:30 and most of us couldn’t sleep the night before. Almost everyone dreamt about the game and few shared their dreams too. We all know that we are addicted to this game and we can’t help it. After preparing the field for the most important game, the nightmare toss time came. I went for the toss without any hesitation or drama, for some reason luck favored us and I won the toss. It was a crucial toss to win. Everyone knew that whoever wins the toss, they will take fielding due to dew on the field. We did the same. Team was in a good spirit and we had the best 11 on the field.
#SeriousGuy started the bowling and as usual drew the first blood of opponents in his first over. We got a good start and from there they started losing wickets in regular interval. We were not letting any batsmen settle down until 7th wicket. In the middle phase #SivaAkhtar had a good bowling spell which includes a maiden over as well. We were fielding good too and had first 6 wickets for 39 runs in 10 overs. Things turned south right after that, opponents had a good 7th wicket partnership, they started rotating strikes and hit occasional boundaries. We kept 2 of our best bowlers to finish the quota but nobody expected the way we finished the last 2 overs. They had just 50 runs until 13th over, we gave away 24 in next 2 overs bowled by #TitansMcGrath and #DelicateGuy. It was just an off day for our most dependable bowler #TitansMcGrath and later on we found out that #DelicateGuy is good only for 2 overs at once 😉 Anyways I am sure it will not happen again. #SeriousGuy and #SivaAkhtar had an amazing spell under pressure.
I knew that 74 is not a big score considering the batting lineup we had that day (I am not even remotely kidding about this). We started our batting and as expected one of our openers was back to pavilion before we even start scoring 😊 Someone in the dugout made a comment and it is so appropriate, this year we are giving our first wicket to God. We are not surprised anymore; I am not talking about just one batsman, this happened with most of our openers this season. Anyways we moved on and #TitansStud was unlucky to get an edge this time. #HumanComputer, #MadCaptain and later on #SeriousGuy started accumulating runs and we reached 48. We lost 2 big wickets of #MadCaptain and #SivaAkhtar at the same score of 48. Timing couldn’t be perfect than this, Navratri time going on and we saw some Dandiya dance from #SivaAkthar in the middle of the ground 😉
The next best thing that happened was the way #TheKiller went to bat, we already know that he is a gutsy player, but this time he went with an intent and mission of not coming back without a win. It was awesome to observe that expression. The name is so apt for him … #TheKiller 😊 #DelicateGuy joined him after the wicket of #TitansMcGrath and it was proved that it was truly not #TitansMcGrath day. Anyways second time in the game the last 2 overs changed the momentum of the game. We saw misfielding and overthrows in 14th over and we got 9 runs from probably their best bowler. It would be an understatement if I mention that the entire dugout was tensed. We all were screaming and biting nails and doing all sorts of things. I am pretty sure nobody remembers what they were doing. We were optimistic as one shot will put the opponents in backfoot as ball was travelling as ground became dry. First ball of 15th over went for boundary and that almost seal the deal. But #DelicateGuy had different plans and wanted to send all of us to ER with heart failures. He waited for the last ball to score the single most valuable run in the entire game. After that all ran to the pitch as if they were getting out of jail. It was a nerve-wracking game and glad to finish on the winning side. It was not an easy task to beat the unbeaten team and it took the best out of all of us. It was clearly the best game of the season for us (so far). If this will not give us the confidence and momentum and what else will 😊
https://www.cricclubs.com/TennisCricketLeague/viewScorecard.do?matchId=991&clubId=2235
Special Thanks to all our supporters #MrCouchPotato, #TitansSehwag and #BrahmanandamFromUSA for showing up on the field.
Guys get ready for the final game of the season … one final push … give your best. We have the team this year to beat any team. Don’t be complacent and practice hard.
If you are looking for a reason to win the TCL tournament this year, here is a good one 😊
This club/team formed in 2001 and I have been part for this team since then. Who are you calling old 😃 I have 2 dreams since I started playing, to hit a century and win a cup/tournament as a captain. First dream is almost impossible now and I have no regrets. I was always a middle order batsman and scoring a century is very tough and as they say scoring half century is almost like a century for any middle order batsman 😉 Jokes apart, I know I don’t have the skills to hit a century and I am talking about leather ball games here. In leather ball league, I came close once as a captain to win the tournament, but we failed to cross the line. In tennis ball league, we won couple of times in this tournament, but I was not the leader back then. Now I got the opportunity again and can't fulfill this dream alone, I need help and support from all of you. So, here is a sincere and honest request to win this year for me as you never know what will happen to this old guy 😊 Hope you got the hint 😉