Matches like these makes cricket interesting. Todays match was truly a nail biter (unless you have finished your nails in previous matches). Hash Browns coming from a comfortable win last week started off very well with a solid stand by Anuj and Rahul of 49 runs. Anuj was struggling in last few matches but boy, didn't he came back with all guns blazing. First pair had a combination of Anuj's hard hitting and Rahul's elegant play and ability to nudge the ball in a gap and keep the score board ticking.

After this solid stand, Divya and I went to bat but unlike last week, we found it hard to score as freely as Anuj and Rahul. For first 2 overs we struggled badly and only manage to put 10 runs. Some mindful play and with bit of luck, we managed to make 26 in our allocated 4 overs taking the total to 75 after 8 overs.

In this match, we had a player making his debut, Ashish. For those who don't know Ashish, he is a backyard cricket specialist (oh... you must come and see his batting and fielding class).  He went to bat with one of our hard hitter batsmen Deepak. But, it looked like today wasn't Deepak's day as he struggled from very first ball. For the first few overs, Ashish was only a spectator watching Deepak struggling on the other end, making him more nervous on his debut. It was only the last over where with the help of Ashish's first 7 in Indoor cricket they manage to score 15 runs in their allocated 4 overs.

At this point, we were 90 and we thought a score of 120 will be a winning total, with Sunny and Kshitij to bat for last pair, the score looked within our reach but with some ups and down, we could only score 22 runs in last 4 overs taking team's total to a somewhat defendable 112.

With our premier bowler Sirish not playing this match (but still coming and supporting the team, thanks Sirish), it was a tough choice for me to choose a bowler to start the inning. I decided to start off with Deepak and he surely lived to the expectation by only giving 6 runs. Divya and Rahul chipped in with their useful performances and only gave 9 and 6 runs respectively. On his debut, Ashish did took some time but quickly recovered and ended up with 1/26. Our bowing was tight and one good over could have changed the course of the game. Our opponent were 70 after 8 overs and at this point, the match was in balance. We needed a good start for the third skin but some nasty hitting by their batsmen swung the match in their favour by scoring 20 runs in 9th over. Some tight bowling by Anuj and Chris did brought us back into the game but it was bit too late as they ended up scoring 100 runs in 12 overs needing only 13 in last 4 overs. Sunny, Anuj, Ashish and I tried hard but really, 13 runs was very little to defend in 4 overs in Indoor Cricket. In the end, Strokers manage to score 120 runs in response to our 112, beating us by 8 runs.

Even though, we lost the game, there were some noticeable performances -

• A solid debut by Ashish.
• A wonderful display of bowling by Anuj (3 for 3) and Rahul (2 for 9)
• Top notch batting performances by Anuj (29), Rahul(20) and Sunny (19)

There were lots of positives from this match and we shouldn't loose heart. We'll be BACK so watch out for us :)

While we are still waiting for our wonderful blog writer (sirish) to shower some words on our last match performance, I thought why not I lead this time.

As expected, vibrant Vinay did contributed heavily with the bat scoring a brisk 30.

The pair ended at 48.

Now the total reads 119. Good performances from all the 3 pairs so far.

And our last pair (me & Sirish) only had to follow them & score at least 30 again.

We batted very prudently & never risked of getting out.

Our running between wickets was immaculate.

We end up making a respectable 35.

The best part of the pair, we never got out & neither of the batsmen scored a 3 or more.

A very good total to defend & with good bowlers within playing 8, the match was almost won.

But, their batsmen came out very strong with clever hitting & running.

Their first pair scored at a great rate & ended up making 47. We came back between 5-8 overs, conceding only 26.

The next pair scored 39. The last pair needed 43 to out past us.

Our captain did conceive the situation accurately & held the best bowlers till the end.

Vinay & Anuj gave away only 26 & sealed the victory for us.

A very good match which tested us till the end.

Sanath - Swings At Nearly Anything That's Hurled
          Kambli - Killed All Mediocre Bowling, Left Immediately
          Kapil - Killed Aspiring Pacemen In Land
          Sohail - Swore Once, Heralding An Infamous Loss
          Prasad - Promised Revenge Against Sohail And Delivered
          More - Mouthing Obscene Rubbish Everywhere
          Gavaskar - Grafting Away Valiantly, Always Successfully Killed Any Result
           Goes Around Venting Angry Spiel Kicking About Rudely
          Azhar - At Zenith Had Ambrose Reeling
          Azharuddin - Almost Zaheer-like His Artistry, Rivetting Umpteen  ...Devoted  Doting Indian Nationals

          Vishy - Vodka Is Sweet, He Yells

          Tendulkar - Tiny, Exciting, Neverending Dynamo Undyingly Labours, Keeps A Record

          Amarnath - After Many A Reincarnation, Now Acknowledged Top Hand
          Prasanna - Prince Radiant Among Spinners, Astutely Nailed Nimble
          Attackers

          Bedi - Beautifully Executed Deliveries Indefinitely
          Chandra - Cleverly Hides Another Nagging Delivery Really Accurately
          Shastri - Shall His Achivements Still Truly Remain Interred?
          Srinath - Simply Ravishing Incutters, Not A Ten-wicket Haul |
          Kumble - Killer Universal, Makes Batsmen Leave Embarassed
          Sidhu - Shall I Drop Him Unfairly?

          Mongia - Many Of Nayan's Gatherings Instigate Admiration
          Chetan - Cantering Hurriedly, Ends-up Throwing Another No-ball
          Raman - Remember, All Madrasis Are Nervous
          Amol - Another Mumbai-ite Overly Lauded ?
          Muzumdar - Mediocre Underachiever Zealously Undertakes Many Drives And
            Run-outs

          Ankola - Another Non Karnatakan Obviously Lacking Ability
          Kuruvilla - Keralite Under Relocation Ultimately Vanquished In Lady
             Luck's
             Arena

          Waqar - With A Quirky Ambulating Run-up
          Qadir - Quirky And Dancing In Run-up
          Salim - Silken And Lovely is Malik

          Malik - Making A Little Illegally To Keep
          Miandad - Made India A Nation, Devastated And Demoralised
          Abbas - Another Batsman Better Against Spin
          Inzamam - In New Zealand A Magical Artillery Man
          Afridi - A Fabulous Record In Debut Innings
          Mushtaq - Maybe Under Shane, However Turns Amazingly Quickly
          Saqlain - Such A Queer Loser Against India Nowadays
          Saeed Anwar - Solid, Authoritative, Elegant, Energetic Destroyer And
          Never
          Will Act Rudely

          Muralitharan - Makes Umpires Really Anxious; Look Into The Hairy
          Annals,
          Read A Newsgroup

          Hadlee - Has Always Destroyed Lesser Experienced Enemies
          Botham - Bat Only To Hit Against Mediocres Brings Out The Hash After
          Meals

          Lara - Loutish Although Really Amazing
          Richards - Risk In Crises Has Aroused Rare Devastating Shots
          Marshall - Murderous Angry Rebel Shall Harm All Lily-livered Lilies
           Bradman - Brilliant Ruler Always Delighted Many A Newcomer - Bragging
          Rights Always Demand Magnificently Astronomic Numbers
          Gatting - Glutton Aiming Towards Tons In Numerous Grounds 

                      -  God ...Almighty,  that Tweaker Is Never Going |
          Gower - Gifts Of Willow Ever Resplendent Gentlemanly Outlook, Wants Easy Runs
          Garner - Giant Arms Really Necessitate Extreme Reactions
          Holding - He Often Laughingly Demolished Intently Navigating Grafters
          Border - Boisterous Old Rabbit Downed Enviable Records
          Boycott - Boring Old Yorkshireman Could Outlast Testing Times
          Hooper - Hopes Of Outstanding Performances Ever Ridiculed
          Illingworth - Idiotic Lousy Loser Invariably Never Grasped Worth of
          Ramprakash, Then Hick
          Sobers - Simply Outstanding Batsman Effortlessly Repeats Sixes
Supreme -
          Only Bradman Ever Rated Similarly
          Kanhai - King Amongst Noblemen Hardly Affected Invidiously
          Hughes - Hellishly Ugly Guy Had Excellent Spells
          Jardine - Jeopardising All Relations, Dastardly Introduced Neanderthal
          England
          Kalu - Keeping And Lashing Unendingly
          Donald - Don't Overdo, Nearly Another Ligament Damaged
          Rhodes - Rather Hyperactive Oddball Defies Expected Standards
          Wessels - Workmanlike Emigrator Scored Slowly Encompassing Lengthy
          Spells
          Lillee - Loves Injuring Lily Livered Earnest Englishmen
          Knott - Keeper Number One, Tried & Tested
          Miller - Movie Idol Looks, Leading English Rout
          Twose - Trier Who Only Succeeded Emigrating
          Adams - Another Dasher Against Mediocre Spin
          Browne - Bottom Ranked Of Wicketkeepers Nearly EVER |  Bringing Really
          Ordinary Wicketkeeping Near Everybody
          Crowe - Can Really Overdo Whacking Everything
          Nash - Narcotics Aren't So Hot

DIVORCE COURT SCENE :
The Judge (J.) asks the little girl (LG):
Now that your parents are getting divorced do you want to live
with your  mummy?
LG - No, my mummy beats me.
J. - Well then, I guess you want to live with your daddy.
LG - No, my daddy beats me too.
J. - Well then, who do you want to live with?
LG - I want to live with the Indian Cricket team, they never
  beat anybody !!!

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The cricketer was proud of his progress as a batsman and invited his mother-in-law along to watch him play, hoping to impress her.

At the crease, he turned to the wicket-keeper and said 'I'm anxious to do well and really hit this ball. That's my wife's mother over there.'

'Don't be silly,' said the wicket-keeper. 'You'll never hit her at two hundred yards.

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 What is the height of optimism ?
Ganguly coming out to bat applying sunscreen on his face.

What did the spectator miss when he went to the toilet?
The entire Indian Innings.

Where do Indian batsmen perform there best?
In Advertisements.

When would ganguly have 100 runs against his name?
When he is bowling.

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A cricket enthusiast had three trays installed in his office labelled 'In' , 'Out' , and 'L.B.W.' .

A visitor remarked as he could see the significance of 'In' and 'Out' but what did 'L.B.W.' mean ?

And the cricket enthusiast replied : "Let the Bastards Wait."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two aliens were visiting Earth to research the local customs.

They split up so that they could learn more in the time allowed.

When they met to share their knowledge, the first alien told of a religious ceremony it had seen.

"I went to a large green field shaped like a meteorite crater. Around the edges, several thousand worshippers gathered. Then two priests walk to the centre of the field to a rectangular area and hammer six spears into the ground, three at each end. Then eleven more priests walk out, clad in white robes. Then two high priests wielding clubs walk to the centre and one of the other priests starts throwing a red orb at the ones with the clubs."

"Gee," replied the other alien, "what happens next?"

"Then it begins to rain."

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Stats are moved under the page list on left menu.

Inspite of our valiant efforts we came up short last night against a good opposition. But the million dollar question is did they beat us or we beat ourselves?

'Cricket is not played between your shoulders but between the ears', a famous quote by yours truely. 

In my opinion it was a positive that we lost the game as it served well to highlight some of our issues. We hear the words "Shot Selection", "Cricket Brain" a lot on TV but now we actually know what it means. A little bit of introspection could go a far way to understand the reasons of the loss. Here's my attempt at it. 

Some of us (especially me) have limited ability and skill. The art of winning is to best channel this limited ability with some strategy. Without sounding provocative or boorish I am blown away with the way some of us played. Big booming drives and cross bat shots trying to send the ball into another orbit when all we needed to do is play of the side nets and back nets. Its 2 runs everytime you hit it. When pairs 3 and 4 came in to bat, they loaded up their field to protect the 3's and 4's. Instead of biting the bullet and nudging it around we fell into their trap of going for the big shots.

And the reason this issue reared its head was because we get away with this every game due to weaker oppositions who bowl 2-3 loose balls every over. This time when we faced a good opposition who consitently bowled line and length, our batsmen found it much harder to hit every ball for 4's and 6's. So instead of reverting to pushing and dabing they continued with their habit to go for it on every ball. Some real foot in the mouth cricket.

I dont agree with the others that our fielding was poor. I think it was average to every other game, nothing special though. I think they out did us by some consistent running and pushing the ball into the gaps.

On a more postive note, it was good to see everyone got behind each other and really craved for success.

And success we shall have if we player smarter....

Hash Browns were on a roll coming into this match backed by their 5 straight wins, but, I think tonight we took things for granted and showed a somewhat sloppy display of batting, bowling and fielding.

I won the toss and chose to bowl first, we didn't started well and I missed a runout chance in the very first over which can only be described as one of the easiest runout chances you will ever get. Throughout our bowling, we consistently missed the stumps and after 12 overs our opponents were 104. Anuj and Sunny brought us back into the game by only giving 6 runs in last 4 overs, they restricted the opponents to an achievable total of 111.

Divya and I started off our innings but after getting out on very first ball, we never looked like making lots of runs. We did manage to post a somewhat decent total of 20 runs but it was definitely an under par score. Chris and Sirish, our star pair for tonight's match, once again brought us back into the game by scoring 40 runs for their skin. Both Chris and Sirish showed some intelligent batting by placing the ball in gaps and hitting 4s and 6s whenever they got a chance. They showed rest of us that what Indoor cricket is all about. Indoor cricket in not about hitting 4 and 6 on every ball rather it is played well when you construct your inning by placing the ball in gaps and lookout for 1s, 2s and 3s. As history shows, players who use their brain and look for hitting the net for 1s, 2s, score more than the those who try to his 6 on every ball.

After this comeback, match was equally balanced and we needed 50 runs of last 8 overs. Rahul and Anuj, who were our star performers for last few matches, could not play their best cricket and could only manage 16 in their 4 overs quota. After 3rd skin, all eyes were on Sunny and Rakshit to see us through by scoring remaining 34 runs. 

Batting last is always difficult so we knew scoring 34 runs in last 4 overs were not going to be easy but, it was achievable. Both Sunny and Rakshit tried hard but in the end we were short by 11 runs.  

Even though, we lost this match, we can take lot out of it and be ready for a strong comeback in the next match. 

From my point of view, I would encourage each of you to think about your performance in this match and post any suggestion you may have for the team. I would also encourage you all to give bit more thought for your next match and think about how will you go about constructing your inning and what area would you like to target when you get a chance to ball.

In the end, I would like to say that tonight we tried hard but as everyone will agree with me, we are definitely a better team and are capable of playing much better cricket than we did in this match.

Looking forward to next match.

Before you guys get exicted and start commenting about us not being Zulus, Bravo Zulu is a call sign for "Job Well Done". Our opposition were called the "Nobbers" and as true nob-heads they were pissed and didnt have a clue. Overall it was quite a scrapy affair and our bowling really come through. It was the Chris and Dan show. What I found really interesting were the contrasting styles, Dan was trying to outsmart the opponent by spinning the ball on its head where as Chris was sucking them into a false sense of security by his flight and thus getting them stumped in the process.

Was quite refreshing to see only 3 wides from Sunny who was Kumblesque. High arm, really quick, no spin and down leg. Jokes apart he batted really well and stabilised the innings. D-pak (aka 2-pac's brother from another mother) was at his consistent best and was rotating strike quite well. Our fearless leader not only stole the jackpot ball from Dan but seemed to have stolen the oppositions wits. They didnt even look like they could defend Vinay with a 5m bat.

Unfortunately Anuj (Jat on a mission) had an off day but with the HashBrowns in a commanding position it didnt really matter.

I am going to make this blog different because Cricket aint all about results and performances. Its about people and what they bring to the party. The MVP (Most Valuable Player) award goes to Rahul (AKA Heavy Mobile) for always being on time and bringing all that passion and enthusiasm to each game that really motivates everyone. Kudos to you bud.

Before I sign out, I have been reading other comments posted and would like to remind everyone what Confucius said: "Overconfidence breeds Carelessness".

Leaving you with one my original favourite quotes, May your glasses be always full and fun be aplenty.