Story c39_0823|Born to Fight for Success - A Journey with SA Redbacks, Innings 2 of WW Vs SA FC

[mattfb]

Good to see you aren't afraid to voice your opinions in the team.

Great update mate kiu!

 

[blake]

Another two superb updates. I am delighted that you are continuing this again.. brilliant stuff. It is really top quality.

Your graphics, combined with your writing, just draws me in completely. I am not sure why, because even some similar stories with graphics like this I don't really read at all... but this just has a great feeling to it.

Love the story, keep it up. :hpraise

 

[coolz_hari]

Great story.I can't believe that you are not a real TN Ranji player

 

[Left_Hander]

I don't think you'll be able to defend 123 but you should at least take some consolation in the great innings you had on debut.

 

[Ollie_H]

Lemme get this right? You scored more in the second innings than the opposition have to chase in teh 4th innings?!?!

That is quite some feat and congratulations on that Suren! I don't know wether you will be able to defend it but lets cast out minds back to the 2005 ashes when England nearly couldn't chase around that total and it was left to hoggard and Giles to take the English home!

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Unfortunate Suren, unable to win the game single handedly for Tamil Nadu, but a brilliant effort. You were the only one who played a sensible and good innings while the others just faltered around you. this innings will surely give a huge confidence and will also help the team. I think Tamil Nadu ha found their star and soon with some brilliant innings you will get your first Indian call-up.

Amazing graphics and writing. looking forward for more... :hpraise

 

[surendar]

:banana2 Thank you for the wonderful & magnificent comments and views :banana2
I have played for the updates & the updates will be coming tomorrow.

Lemme get this right? You scored more in the second innings than the opposition have to chase in teh 4th innings?!?!

That is quite some feat and congratulations on that Suren! I don't know wether you will be able to defend it but lets cast out minds back to the 2005 ashes when England nearly couldn't chase around that total and it was left to hoggard and Giles to take the English home!

Ya, thank you for the inspiration. :hpraise

Once again, Thank you guys for the excellent support which always encourages me to move on further & further. Thank you! :hpraise

 

[surendar]

(11) Tamil Nadu vs Maharashtra - Climax Revealed.
​

May 06, 2009
Time - 12:00 Noon​

With just around an hour to go for the lunch break, we came out from the dressing room & Maharashtra batters also joined us. Their body language seemed to be confident since, 120+ target on the local circuit is below par score. However, my captain Karthik has asked each and everyone of us to be up in our spirit and try the best. I was made to stand in the gully position. I was in the thoughts that Mahesh/Ashwin would open the bowling as discussed in the dressing room, but Karthik surprised me by giving the new ball to Balaji. " What, this guy? Hmmmm, it's going to be easy for the opponents! Let it go, what's my bother? ", I was boiling inside. : Seriously, Balaji is not at all fit to be a bowler is what I always think!

Mahesh's Brilliant Start.

I told you, Balaji is not the bowler we want!
"Lets give rest forever from cricket", was my thought...
​

Balaji's starting over was nothing special. The ball was just releasing from his hands & going straight to the batsman's bat. The batsman did not even get troubled by this bowler. He (batsman) was placing the balls comfortably and was giving us the fielding practice. We fielders were very much alert & tried stopping some boundaries too. Still, Khadiwale smashed couple of boundaries which gave us the impression that they wanted to finish this match as soon as possible. :

In other end, Yo-Mahesh started off brilliantly though. He got rid of Bhosale in the very second delivery. That was a magnificent delivery of around 145Kmph right in the block hole, & it struck the timber! Yes, the batsman got decieved and missed it & as a result, he was clean bowled. " Yes, this is what I told you in the dressing room! ", I jumped over Karthik!

However, on my way back to the fielding position, I was still cursing Balaji.

Ashwin's Spin created further Troubles.

Ashwin & Mahesh, Yes this is what I suggested
during the change of innings break! :banana2
​

Karthik's belief in Balaji continued however. He(Balaji) continued to bowl in other end & ended up as a non-threatening easy bowler. : The batsmen atleast had some scare against Mahesh's pace but were very much comfortable against this Balaji. The boundaries kept flowing from Balaji's spell & also from some of the loose deliveries of Mahesh.

It was just some overs away from the lunch break. They were around 30 runs and their hard hitting batsman, Shrikhande was very comfortable at the crease. Karthik made a wise decision to stop Balaji finally. He introduced Ashwin into the attack & it got its reward immediately.

Aswhin got rid of Khadiwale as well as Shrikhande in successive overs. Shrikhande was the first wicket for Ashwin and he was trapped for LBW by Ashwin's beautiful arm delivery. It went straight and fast, the batsman made a mistake by trying to sweep that one to the boundary. The umpire had no hesitation in giving that out. Khadiwale became the second victim & he was trapped too by that sweep shot. It was flighted well by Ashwin and the batsman mistimed it. It got a good edge and the silly point field made a huge leap and grabbed the ball. It was an excellent catch and the umpire called for lunch.

So, we went inside the dressing room with our first target achieved. i.e. to get a couple of wickets atleast before lunch. Our dressing room looked to be on positive side for having the opponents down for 35/3. Everyone was praising Ashwin. After the lunch break, we came again to the field.

The SPIN continues to remain as a TROUBLE for Maharashtra.

​

After we came from lunch break, Karthik was very keen in trying the spin options alone. Ashwin & Suresh were asked to continue after lunch. I thought that even I might get a over or two like in the first innings. But, it seems to be unnecessary though. Because, Ashwin produced another double break through putting us in the strongest position.

Ashwin's clever variation of flighted deliveries, arm ball & normal offspin puzzled the batsmen to a good extent. Jadhav & Paradkar became the victims of Ashwin in similar style. Both tried to play a defensive stroke & got thin edges. Vidyut was sharp enough to take both the catches proving, " Catches win Matches! ".

Karthik got very much excited in being able to bring his team right on the track again by his good captaincy tactics. Ashwin and Suresh continued to bowl and we were expecting the wickets to fall further but Bawne and Waghmare turned out as the danger for Tamil Nadu.

Batsmen show NO-MERCY.

The game started to turn its face towards Maharashtra
​

It is to be noted that Waghmore played a dominating first innings & he continued to play a supporting role this time. Bawne looked very cool and attacked some good deliveries.

Ashwin and Suresh were bowling continuous long overs. May be they got tired, but I was able to see some energy level decrease in them. I was expecting a call from Karthik to bowl but it did not come only. Meanwhile, Bawne attacked the bowlers without mercy & the score approached towards 100. Karthik shuffled the bowlers by bring Ganapathy & other Suresh but was of no use.

The tea time was nearing, 100 runs mark was nearing, 50 partnership was nearing but we did not get any wickets! Bawne was also in mid 30's and looked so comfortable against our bowling. This was the partnership they needed & it seemed that they have got it in the right time! :

Another Turning Point?

Waghmare's run out, can this be the winning moment?
Oh yeah, I was once again involved in the crucial time - Catching
Bawne's furious shot & hence the wicket! :happy
​

It was Bawne who was trying to take more of the strikes. In one of those attempts, Bawne called for a double but Waghmare hesitated for a second. It was just a fraction of seconds hesitation, the running was not quick enough for the batsman(Waghmare) to reach the crease. The bowler took the bails off before Waghmare can ground it. The bat seemed to be in the air in the replay. The fraction of a second's hesitation have costed huge for Maharashtra now.

And Bawne continued his attacking approach against Ashwin. In one of the shots, he tried to clear the in-field for the boundary, but the ball came straight to my hands. I took a simple catch but the wicket of Bawne meant lot to our team. He looked so threatening but Ashwin has managed to send him back to the pavilion before Tea. Umpire called for tea & we went to the dressing room after that.

With just around 20 runs to get & three wickets left, the match indeed remained in balance. Both our dressing rooms sat tensed. Raman advised us to be atmost careful in fielding & asked us to do just the basics right. We went to the field to resume the last final session which should be revealing the climax of the match.

It was Mahesh's Pace once again, keeping the Match in balance!

Even now, I was standing there with my heartbeat
going fast & I ... I have no words to say! I was just as tensed like you readers.
​

Inspite of we getting 7 of their wickets, there was still a recognizable batsman left with them - MOTWANI. Yes, Motwani & Dole continued to maintain their patience against the spinners and was slowly accelerating the score. In one of the occasions, Ashwin's wide delivery decieved Karthik too & it resulted in 5 wides. : We went so mad that, we wanted to reverse the time back to make the things correct.

I was shouting, " com'on com'on " to the bowlers from the sides. Karthik brought back Mahesh at the right time. And it seemed to be a right decision. Mahesh was getting some reverse swing. He was getting the balls right on the block holes & hence the batsmen were not able to free themselves. The score moved slowly to 120 and at the right time, two good reverse swinging yorkers were produced from Mahesh. Those got rid of both the batsmen - Motwani & Dole.

The scorecard showed 121 runs for the loss of 9 Wickets. It means, Maharashtra needed 2 more runs to win, 1 more run to level the scores & we need one more wicket to pull a historic win.

Tension WIDESPREAD.

I was not able to stand there watching the deliveries,
I was thinking like what happens if I happen to miss a catch or misfield!

​

It was Fallah facing Mahesh. I was praying that Mahesh should produce another yorker. There were field adjustments done by Karthik. I continued to stand in cover position. And the captain brought the boundary fielders close. Even the fine leg was brought inside. I found it risky but at this stage of the game, it's worth to be taken.

I was experiencing such a tension in the game for the first time. I have played some close matches for my clubs but not in the test levels. I was rubbing my hands and watched Mahesh to start his runner up for the final delivery. He attempted a good yorker but the batsman got it as low full toss and he tried to guide the ball between short leg and leg gully.

I thought that it was a boundary for a moment. Fortunately, Ganapathy saved the four runs. He made a huge leap and save the certain boundary. However, single was taken and it leveled up the scores.

Ashwin continued in other end. Each and everyone of us looked so tensed. Even the batsman was tensed. Fallah was on the striker's end. The very first ball of Ashwin turned out to be as a close call for the LBW. But the umpire remained unmoved. I was keeping my hands on my mouth and hoped for the umpire to raise his hands but, he didn't!

Tension.. Tension... & all tension was widespread!

Ashwin Spins Maharashtra to TIE the game!

What a climax we have had.. At One moment,
we looked to win with ease.. Again, they looked to win... Again,
It was Us, them.. continued & continued & finally, it was a TIE!
Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooof! :
​

Ahswin's arm delivery have turned out to be handful once again. Fallah tried to strike it in offside but, it was mistimed & edged. Vidyut's sharp eyes didn't failed to take the third catch of the day! Yes, it was over.. The last wicket was gone & we managed to TIE the game :happy

:banana2 Yipppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :banana2 We ran here and there, we jumped over each other. I closed my eyes and jumped on the group of guys who were celebrating already. Karthik gave handshakes to the batsmen and umpires. After a short celebration we went inside and the coach lifted Karthik and we continued to celebrate. There was a short match presentation!

Karthik was speaking about Ups and Downs of our side. And he praised my innings, Ashwin's bowling and Mahesh's bowling along with some handful innings of Badrinath/Vidyut in the first innings. He claimed it as a good team victory. However, the MOTM went to Ashwin for his splendid 6 wickets hold and it helped to defend such a low total. My heartbeat was raising fast as I was having a small thought that I could win the MOTM in my first match straight away, but it didn't happen! Ashwin deserved to get that MOTM for his brilliant bowling in both the innings. After the presentation, we continued to celebrate. :happy We were indeed happy with the result, that too after that terrible batting display in third innings.

Well, fortune of luck along with some good field & magnificent bowling from Ashwin/Mahesh helped Tamil Nadu to tie the game atleast & thus, keeping the pride of TN still HIGH in this Ranji Trophy. I should say that, I was very fortunate enough to get that 176 runs & a wicket & a catch & a run out in this match. I was happy with myself and was feeling good on my way back to the hotel from the stadium. We never stopped celebrating in the bus too. But our tour to Maharashtra for this starter of Ranji Trophy came to an end. Our next match is in Tamil Nadu, but we did not plan up anything for the departure from Nasik. Celebrations continued, continued & continued.........



TN : 236/10 & 243/10
Maharashtra : 122/10 & 357/10

Bawne : 36 Runs.



Ashwin : 6/28
Mahesh : 3/38

Tamil Nadu Managed to TIE the game with Maharashtra.
MOTM : Ashwin

 

[treva]

What an end to a fantastic first game in the TN side. Who would've thought there would be a tie when they needed just 123 for victory? Will almost feel like a win for the TN lads.

Superb update as always, Suren. You just keep banging out the quality

 

[Left_Hander]

You couldn't of planned a better way to end the game. Ties are rare in cricket but you guys must of felt like you won after defending a low total.

Well done and another great update!

 

[OffCutters]

Brilliant update mate, loving your presentation and the pictures, good writing as well. Keep it up mate, very good story.:happy

 

[Ollie_H]

OMG!! Suren how did you and TN manage to pull that tie off? THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! Ashwin deserved the MOTM with you coming in a close second, but bowling his team to the tie was an incredible feat! I would have gone mental if that had been real life and I had just tied that game!


That must have been an epic to be playing on the computer! Excellent work Suren

 

[Pakistani Army]

Not been viewing this story a lot and I made a huge mistake.

What a fantastic fight back from Tamil Nadu. I had them written off however Ashwin's terrific bowling managed to bring a halt to Maharashtra's onslaught. I feel Mahesh bowled a fantastic line and especially length towards the end of the Innings as tailenders find it difficult to dig out the yorker.

One question Suren, was Mahesh getting reverse swing?

The presentation and the write-up are flawless. I really can not see any error. Fantastic works over all Suren. Keep up the god damn fine works. :banana2

 

[surendar]

(12) Preparation for Match 2, Ranji Trophy, TN vs Karnataka.
​

May 07, 2009
Time - 9:00 AM​

With an exciting tie over Maharashtra, the result was flashed in almost all the newspapers the next day. I received many calls from my family, friends and my previous coach ( local club's coach ). I felt very happy while speaking to them and shared all the exciting moments of the game. That includes how I frustrated Balaji during the dinner in one of the days. The very next day, i.e May 7th 2009, we left from Maharashtra and reached Tamil Nadu in the evening. My family came to receive me and I introduced them to my coach, Raman. He was very happy about my attitude and other stuffs. :happy I was feeling so glad.

Official Mail from TNCA.

​

May 07, 2009
Time - 11: 15 PM​

I was very tired when I returned. I was more hungry too. It's been more than a week since I ate properly because of all these match tensions. Hence as soon as I went home, I was literally hunting for food. After the dinner, I was watching TV for quite some time. Then my body demanded me a full proper sleep. I went to my room.

As soon as I saw my computer, I was tempted to switch it ON. Then I connected to my net and started browsing for few minutes. When I opened my mail, I got delighted. Yes, it was official mail from TNCA. The mail congratulated me for my debut performance.

The thing which delighted me was, the mail was CCed to krishnamachari srikkanth and some Ranji Trophy officials. :banana2 :banana2 :banana2 The happiness flooded me & I got rid of that tiredness & sleepiness because of the excitement which the mail gave.

Later I struck my bed and I didn't realized that I slept off.

Next Day Training.

​

May 08, 2009
Time - 07: 15 AM​

The training session was made optional the next day. Still, I managed to get up at 6:30 and reached Chepauk cricket ground at 7:15 AM.

Very few players came. All I can see was Badrinath and some bowlers like Mahesh, Balaji, Suresh and Ashwin. They were all practicing in nets. Coach joined us only few minutes after. As soon as he came, he called for all the players present there and started discussing about the next game.

I thought it was a home game, but it was an away game. Yet another away game for us? :what Consecutive away games really irritates, you know! He started addressing the bowling weakness in team. He kept on suggesting that practice had to be taken more. Since myself and Badrinath were the only batters who came to practice, we were asked to padded up in adjacent nets. Mahesh, Balaji, Ashwin and Suresh were asked to take continuous bowling practice.

I was facing that Balaji again! He bowled a slow delivery as usual :doh and I was really bugged up in facing the no-challenging deliveries. Still, I only defended them. I went and spoke to Balaji in front of the coach that the variation is really lacking with him & the deliveries weren't threatening either.

He was bending his back very much that day. Mahesh and Ashwin also bowled to me. These two TN heroic bowlers were very challenging to me & I paid full attention to them and was very careful in my shot selection. We took a heavy practice and after an hour or so, we winded up the practice session.

I can't believe that my Coach actually Observed my batting!

I was shocked when he showed this,
to me in his laptop!
​

After the practice session, I went to my coach to speak personally and to tell about the appreciation mail. He was a gentle man is what I should say. :hpraise He heard everything with patience, & said, " You have just stepped onto the first step of the ladder, & the height to climb is still looking like a cloud. So you have to be best in each and every innings you play. Since is Indian domestic circuit, getting selected in Indian team is not an easy job. Even when you get, 3 double centuries and a fifty in 4th match, you might not get a place because someone from some district would have scored higher than yours. So, you have to be spot on in each and every match you play, otherwise, you would have had to spend most of your time in Tamil Nadu team. Badrinath is a classic example, though he is very much talented! ".

I felt that my responsibility have increased. After his suggestion/words, he asked me to pull a chair and sit. He took his laptop and did something and finally asked me to see his system. When I went and saw, I was .... astonished! He has indeed tracked my way of batting in the practice nets. He identified the areas which I was comfortable with & the areas which I got decieved.

It was nice to see my own self analysis. I got some picture where I have to be careful. I recollected the deliveries which I missed in practice nets & it was similar one where I got out in my second innings vs Maharashtra too.

Raman did the tracking job for Bowlers too.

Raman showed a map which showed
the bowlers' bowling to me.

Bowler 1 - Ashwin | Bowler 2 - Mahesh | Bowler 3 - Balaji
​

He showed the map of the bowlers pitch map to me. He also kept adding the ways how I addressed those deliveries. He helped me in identifying some of the minor flaws in my foot movement.

When the ball was short pitched, my hand, foot and eye co-ordination seem to go out of synchronized and he kept giving some tips. He also told about Karnataka bowling line up and added that, our domestic bowling quality is different from international ones. " You have to outsmart the domestic circuit bowlers to live up to the hopes of international level bowlers! ", Raman said.

All the tips were very much helpful and I took all those notes in my mind. When I was about to leave, he added my statistics in his local database.

My Stats in Raman's Database.

I felt like gifted to have such a wonderful coach!
He maintains each and every damn thing that helps the players.
​

All the figures in the database looked impressive except for the fact that, I have played only a couple of innings. Well, I had a wonderful training nets and it gave me extra satisfaction. In particular, Raman assisting me in identifying my own flaws gave me special satisfaction and confidence in me. With having climbed the first step of my ladder successfully, all I hope is, to climb the next coming steps also with same success. :upray

But.. Wait.. Nothing lies in our hands. It all depends on the way things happen. I wanted to make sure that, from my end, I had to be at my best. Thats what I can afford to do and I convinced myself by saying, " Lets try our best & keep our fingers crossed for the best to happen! ".

With next match against Karnataka coming soon, I had to prepare my mind to be mentally strong. All the things seem to happen fast...A Day quickly went by and finished!

 

[Prithvi]

Great mate... Good to see you again updating. But Don't defeat karnataka as its one of my home team..

Just joking, run your story how ever you feel..

And, I even have a small suggestion.
Do change the practice kit and even you may use the Chepauk stadium by me in C2K7.(It has correct model.