First Match against Knights on 30th April (Saturday at 1.30pm)

First game for Super Kings.   Through my hour long drive from home to the ground,  various emotions were flowing along. First and foremost was the bitter cold weather (43 degrees) with steady showers in the forecast  from about 2pm.  Secondly, but for one game three years back, I have not played at Lincoln, needless to state for the rest of the team.  Thirdly,  this will be the first time we will be playing in a league match as a team and had lots of doubts as to how I can make sure that everyone get to do their best in a totally unknown ground with such a chilly and daunting weather.

Just as I was heading out of home,  remembered Shiv who has been umpiring on our behalf from the morning. Had the presence of mind to get a subway sandwich for him at the nick of time.  By the time, I reached the ground the first game of the season was done with MCC beating Lions handsomely.  

It was such a chilly weather that I had to rush back to my car to get my hat and ear muffs and sweater.  While driving, I was thinking that we should bat second.  This may sound strange considering the 100% chance of rain.  But,  I am an optimistic person and I have more than once seen the  weather prediction go awry.   It is no brainer that chasing is the best option on a rain interrupted game since we can go all out to win since our rule is that minimum 10 overs to be played and the asking rate will be just the RPO of the first batted team.  

To make it easy, Khawar won the toss and duly elected to bat with a wink in his eye.  Having lost the toss, I felt   that this is a great chance to get to bowl and field in this unknown ground. Batting skills can be practiced in any ground but bowling/fielding needs to be done at the actual ground to really evaluate your ability.  So qualms. After Neeraj gave some useful batting practice, we were onto the ground for the sharp start of the game at 1.30pm with Anil from Lions and another one from MCC being the neural umpire.  This is the first time we are having two neutral umpires at Regal,  which has expanded handsomely this year with the addition of two teams in Super Kings and Bangla Gladiators.  

With the gloomy and frigid weather, started the proceedings with Ravi.   It was very important that we start well as a team and it is all the more important to make the batsman play with the new ball.  Unfortunately, Ravi could not get his line right and the first over went for 10 runs with 6 wides.  Cant' blame him since we have never played in this ground and it is not easy to bowl in such wet and chilly condition. But the fact of the matter is that since the batsman could easily relax given that 10 runs were already scored in the first over and that the bowler is tensed, batsman inherently gets the confidence.

Venkat - Stylish 27 runs

Jayanth bowled in expected lines from the other end, keeping a tight line and length.   Ravi did far better in the second over and it was so great to see someone adjusting so quickly.    Venkat Chanjeevaram, who is a very stylish batsman as well as one of my best friends,  flourished in a wonderful opening partnership that lasted until the 7th over when the first wicket fell when the score was 51.  Venkat played beautifully and what I like about his batting is that he tries to play straight and infact there was a stand out straight drive for four which was hit with minimal fuss.    Venkat is one of the most vocal  person who supported the dreams of Super Kings becoming a new team this year. He also provided us with pads, stumps, gloves etc., to start our practice sessions.  It was all the more gratifying to see a very close and near friend play well against us.  Venkat scored a neat 27 runs before he was well caught by 'yours truly' at mid-off.  It was a well hit shot and someone I managed to cling on although I was left with a clotted left hand.  Venkat played like how a good opening batsman should play, presenting the full face of the bat and running well between the wickets.  Other opener Vinodh also played well to score 14 runs. 

Jeevan - Man of the Match

Jeevan who came in for Ravi after four overs, had two wickets in two balls in his second over, both LBWs.   Sumit, coming one down was LBW first ball.  Poor guy! Sumit and myself started in this league towards the end of the 2009 season, initially playing for the then Cherokee and then Apache which then became Knights.  I have a very special bond with him while I was his captain, making him bowl his full quota in every match since I strongly believe he is a very effective  spin bowler for the middle overs. Unfortunately, like many batsman, he tends to play across at the start of the innings and for Jeevan who has the knack of being at the stumps, it was easy picking.   Jeevan had a wonderful spell of bowling indeed (two LBWs, one bowled and one caught at mid-off)  His figures were 4 - 0 - 21 - 4.  Tremendous bowling indeed and just goes to show how effective one can be if he can stick to line and length, making the batsman play.  Although I thought of taking him off after three overs, given that he was bowling so well, let him bowl his full quota of overs.  A captain's dream bowler who makes things happen. Nice job Jeevan.

Khawar - Professional 41 n.o

Khawar,  coming in at 2 down, stayed through the innings to score  a very polished 41.   He was as usual, very methodical, milking the runs.  He is one of the mainstay of our league and another great friend of mind.  Not once was he fussed and played ever so coolly taping the ball here and there.  The calm and serene manner with which he accumulated the runs was there for everyone to see.   Although he was dropped a few times (off the bowling of poor Jayanth), he just kept going calmly. Even when we were bowling well in the middle overs onto the stumps, he just waited for the ball and tapped at the last minute and scampered around for singles and twos.   In a 20 overs game,, the manthra is to make run a ball.  Just tap in a gap and run.  With the occasional extras from the bowler, such no fuss approach can easily get to 7 runs per overs.  Nice batting buddy.   An object lesson on building the innings and ensuring that the run rate is kept at around 7 throughout the innings.   Hopefully our batsman will take this lesson to our games.  Just play straight at the start of the innings and then start taking singles and twos before trying anything extravagant.  So long as we keep wickets, we can always accelerate at the end to put in a good score.

Coming to Arvind Iyengar, although he made only 7 before being LBW, he is one of my very special player.  When I was the captain of Knights, I used to call him as "Bhisma" one of the most loyal character you will see   Just like the great Bhisma, Arvind Iyengar used to handle everything in the field, nonchalantly stopping great shots with his chest, taking impossible catches, taking wickets  and knocking the ball around the park. He is absolute embodiment of confidence all around, making my job so much easier.  Although he was playing good second fiddle to Khawar, he perished while attempting a flick.  I was a little disappointed to see him get out since he was quite well forward.  Of course umpire is the best judge and I belong to the old school of thought where umpire is the ultimate and one should abide by his decisions.

Arvind Singh, Knights captain, gave good company to Khawar, making a polished 19 before being bowled by the brilliant Jayanth.  Arvind Singh is one who always makes it to practice and really uses those sessions to the fullest advantage by experimenting various options.   It is always good to see practice being rewarded.   Hard work always pays indeed.

Jayanth bowled a fantastic last over, giving away just three runs despite the opposition only being five wickets down.  He bowled such a nice yorker length balls and was so hard to get away.  It was good to see him get two batsman out (bowled and LBW) by  bowling that tight and fuller length. Am glad to have a tremendous opening and death end bowler in him.  It is great bowling by Jayanth who is becoming very much in the mold of Arvind Iyengar, by being so dependable and making this happen.  He did bowl a couple of above the waist no-balls while attempting yorkers.  Unfortunately that costs the team since we have the "free hit' for every no-ball.  Hopefully he will cut it down in the next game.  Nice spell Jayanth 4 - 0 - 24 -2

Jeffrey also bowled very well for good figures of 4 - 0 - 28- 0.  He gave away only 8 runs in his first spell of  two overs.  Just to evaluate how he will do from the other end, asked him to bowl one over from the other end. Unfortunately this over resulted in 13 runs, inclusive of a boundary.  No issues.   It is very important that we get to measure the suitable end for each bowler since almost all our games will be played in this ground.  Overall, yet another good bowling performance by Jeff as well where he maintained good line and length. With his abilities, I consider him not only as a stock bowler but also as a strike bowler.  Once we have warmer weather, he will be such a vital asset in our bowling strength.

Subbu, Krishna and Jeevan

One guy who lost out in the game was poor Krishna, who had a not so good day. To start with, he missed two catches at square leg, both of when were hit high.   With good practice and even ground, should have been straight forward.  But that part of the ground is tricky with a great slope, making it all the more harder to judge the ball with uneven elevation.    Further, we had a wet ball which was so heavy.   Again, with a bit of catching practice and better understanding of the ground, he will take these catches with absolute certainty.  He is a great trier and really motivated to perform well.  His one over spell also went for  14 runs, inclusive of a six over fine leg by Khawar of a full toss.  Poor guy! He was trying hard and just could not hold the ball with wetness all round and it is certainly not easy for a spinner to bowl in this frigid weather with rain all around.  I took him off after only one over since I did not want  my spinner lose confidence. I firmly believe that spinners are a key aspect of T20 and once he begins to bowl slower and fuller in the coming games, he will be a big asset to the game. Just to ensure that he does not feel too bad, had a snap with this motivated buddy and the man of the match

Apart from those dropped catches, there were also catches dropped at long-off and deep mid-wicket.  But these are expected since all these folks are playing their game after many, many years.  Add the fact that we have had very limited fielding practice with a totally new ground which is so uneven with a small matter of wetness all around with frigid temperature making the ball drop onto your hand like a rock.  I don't want any of these guys to feel bad at all.  It's just that this is our first game and it is better to have these deficiencies understood at the start of the season rather than later when the game are so much critical.

Since Krishna bowled only one over, I bowled three overs and tried to be as tight as possible without experimenting anything.  One of the reason that I could bowl better was because these white balls do not swing as much as the red balls.   Despite that bowled a couple of wides. Still not bad to give 22 runs in 3 overs.

Special compliments to Abhijit who is probably keeping in a match for the first time with cricket balls rather than tennis balls. He moved easily around and was stopping the balls nicely.  Although he could have stopped a couple of wides, it is a high ask for someone keeping after a while.  Good work Abhijit.

Looking at the score card, there were 33 runs in extra. I could count 22 wides and two no balls.  Bulk of these wides happened in the first few overs.   We have to be tight with wides and am sure that with more practice and rhythm, we will cut down on wides.  Not only do they result in extra runs, they also make the batsman all the more confidence. Plus the extra ball that needs to be bowled. If we take away those 33 extra runs,  Knights scored only 115 runs.  Not a bad bowling performance at all on a rainy day on an unknown ground by a bunch of folks playing their first Regal game.   Hats off boys.

Special mention about Neeraj.  He was braving a very bad sickness over the last week or so and stayed through in rain to help us out.  Our team is fortunate to have someone who is been in the thick of things of the Regal league.  He himself had formed teams in the league before and I think that Warriors was started by him.   He is not only a great team man but also a wonderful batsman as we will see in the upcoming games 

Knights made 148 for 5 in 20 overs.

----  Super Kings batting -- ------------

We were bowling the last 6 to 8 overs with increasing rain and it was still drizzling steadily as we were preparing to bat.  Umpires gave us the option to abandon the match but I was insistent that us having bowled through the same steady rain should get to have some batting as well.  Although we could have split points,  we only had to make 74 runs in 10 overs with all wickets in hand if the game were to be washed away after 10 overs.   I know that it could backfire also.  But the point is that we are here in the Regal league to play games and not just to get points.  So, I insisted that the batsman go and make an assessment after two to three hours. Sunil and Sagar opened the batting and played reasonably well to take the score to 10 for no loss in two overs when we had to call off the play.  Only while driving back home, realized how much rain had fallen seeing the roads water logged right next to the ground.   

Summary:

Good bowling performance.  As we saw from the ground conditions, uneven outfield with balls easily rolling across once they are hit uppishly, 150+ score is easy on this ground.  Like Khawar and Venkat demonstrated, batsman just need to bat sensibly.     Running between the wickets is a key element and am sure that our batters will do well. 

Of course we dropped quite a few catches. But they are totally understandable.  It is not easy to field on a frigid day with incessant rain.  All of us were playing as a team for the first time on a ground where we have never played before.  Once we understand better, am sure that we will take the catches.  

Although am not worried about the catching aspect, ground fielding can improve a lot. Batsman were able to scamper through for lots of ones and two.  With fielders anticipating a lot better, these extra runs should be reduced.   Although I could have tried to get the fielders get a little closer to stop the singles. having no measure about the capability of the fielders to anticipate, had to have them little deeper.   Again, we are defining the fielding positions for each one of us and am sure once guys know where they will field, they will improve upon their anticipation 

Every run counts.  A run saved is a run scored and I trust each one of our members to realize this and make every effort to anticipate balls coming and save runs. Probably we could have saved to 5 to 10 runs today itself but again who cares on our first game with such a bad weather and unknown ground. 

Special mention about Shiv and Moiz.  Shiv stayed from the morning (neutral umpire for the morning game), braving such a chilly weather and really stands out as a great team man.   Such players are vital for not only the success of the team but also for comradeship we can develop because of this great game of cricket. Thanks Shiv.   Moiz could not bat although he fielded right through manfully patrolling the cover region.  He will get his changes soon and am sure to see him do well.

Lots of positives from a great start to Super Kings.  Am so proud of my beloved Super Kings who gave an excellent performance n their first outing.  Mighty proud first game for the Super Kings.

Go Super Kings

Knights - 148 for 5 in 20 overs

Batman	How out	Bolwler	Runs	Balls faced	Strike rate
Vinodh	LBW	Jeevan	14	14	100
Venkat C	C. Subbu	Jeevan	27	32	84
Sumit	LBW	Jeevan	0	1	0
Khawar	Not out		41	36	114
Wajahat	Bowled	Jeevan	7	6	117
Arvind Iyengar	LBW	Jayanth	6	10	60
Arvind Singh	Bowled	Jayanth	19	16	119
Musfafa	Not out		1	2	50
			115
	Knights	Total	148 for 5 in 20 overs
		Extras	33 (22 wides, 3 no balls)
Bowler	Analysis	Wides	No Balls	RPO
Ravi	4-0-39-0	11	-	9.8
Jayanth	4-0-24-2	1	3	6.0
Jeevan	4-0-21-4	1		5.3
Jeffrey	4-0-28-0	4		6.8
Krishna	1-0-14-0	1		14.0
Subbu	3-0-22-0	4		7.3