Game 15: Semi-finals - WVUCC versus Hurricanes
In the summer of 1997, WVUCC narrowly lost to Ohio State University in the semi-finals of the MidWest Cricket Tournament. Since then the team had managed to reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals on two other occasions but got thumped very easily. This year, one of the strongest Mountaineer squads ever assembled stood a very good chance of improving on previous performances. Facing them were the newly-formed Hurricanes team.
Naveen Peiris won the toss and, not surprisingly, elected to bat. Venkata Sathi bowled an inspired spell, completely tying down the batsmen, yielding just 5 runs (of which 3 were wides) in 3 overs. However, it was Ajay Nayak who made the first breakthrough, trapping Vinod Nair in front of the stumps (18 for 1). Ajay is an infuriating bowler (for his teammates). The 6 balls that he lands within reach of the batsman always has them hopping around, but he is a hit-and-miss with his radar, bowling as many wides as good balls. While Venkat was tying up one end, Ajay was helping the scoreboard along, but he vindicated Sohail Chaudhry's faith in his bowling by prising out Krish Kalyanaraman, who began with a well-struck four, but could not keep down a cover drive and Sumanth Dommaraju snapped up the chance. Prasad Joshi faced the brunt of Venkat's bowling and did not have too happy a time with it. Eventually Venkat's perseverance paid off and he bowled his man.
The loss of three quick wickets for just 24 runs brought the two best Hurricanes batsmen to the crease - Naveen and Anu Chopra. The two of them took a very cautious approach, not attempting anything risky (the semi-final was a 30-over affair, so they had more time). Sohail, Amol Bhavsar, and Nishit Banuri continued the good work, keeping things very tight and the Hurricanes played into the Mountaineer hands by not taking them on. It is easy to bowl well when you know the batsman is intent on defence and the 'Eers took advantage by rushing through their overs quickly.
The introduction of Avinaschander Manivannan, inexplicably held back by Sohail, eased some of the pressure as Naveen found Avinash's line (left-arm over the wicket) to his licking, flicking and cover-driving for a few sixes and fours. The score had reached 113 when Nishit induced a leading edge from Naveen and when Sumanth settled under the catch the Mountaineers began celebrating even before he caught it - Sumanth rarely drops anything and he didn't this time either. Naveen made 30 of his runs in 6 balls (3 fours, 3 sixes) and only 9 in the remaining 39 balls, indicating how he was biding his time and was held in check by some exceptionally tight bowling. 113 for 4 and only Anu Chopra stood between the 'Eers and a big total.
Anu Chopra is one of the best all-rounders in the PCA. A slow left-arm bowler and a right-handed batsmen, Anu's batting style is not necessarily one that you'd drive a 100 miles to see, but it is a very effective one - fetching him over 400 runs this season alone. His biggest weakness is to be told that he cannot bat. He tends to lose his cool and focus, upon hearing that. When Naveen got out the Mountaineers vociferously reminded everyone that the lone batsman for the Hurricanes was gone, and the need to dispel this notion got to Anu, as expected. After a fabulous innings under the circumstances - 41 runs in 58 balls, with 7 fours - Anu was bowled by Arvind Thiruvengadam and at 125 for 5, the Hurricanes were in deep trouble.
Sohail came back to finish things up and, apart from a couple of lusty blows by Upinder Bhat, the Hurricanes could not really accelerate and finished at 155 for 9 in 30 overs. A decent total, but one that should not have posed a challenge for the Mountaineers. The Hurricanes only hope was to take 3 or 4 quick wickets and let the pressure of the situation get to the chasing team, as it so often does.
Iftekhar Kazi produced just the right start for the Hurricanes, having Arvind Thiruvengadam caught at mid-off off a full toss. Ashok Varadarajan walked in and eased into the role of the sheet anchor. It was the month of Ramzan, Sohail was fasting and, consequently, fading in and out. He told Ashok that he was not sure how much longer he could keep playing, so he told him to farm the strike and give him some rest, while Sohail attacked as and when he could. Ashok proceeded to do just that, giving Sohail valuable resting time during an over.
In his undefeated innings Sohail had just 6 dot balls, and hit 10 fours, 3 sixes, 16 singles, and 4 twos, indicating how strong his control of the game was. In contrast, Ashok sedately collected 26 dot balls, against 5 fours and 3 sixes. Between them the duo put on an unbroken 146 run partnership and took the Mountaineers to victory in just 15.1 overs. Sohail finished on 82 off just 39 balls, while Ashok made a career-best 60 off 51 balls.
The best indication of the dominance of the duo - they hit at least one boundary in 13 of the 15 overs they faced!
In the other semi-final, the SteelZags had a chillingly clinical performance in defeating the Gladiators and the stage was set, rightfully, for a clash between the two best teams in the league in the grand finale. The SteelZags came in secure in the knowledge that they had a mental edge over the 'Eers having never lost to them. But the Mountineer team that had lost to them in the past was not the same one that had made it to the final. Sohail Chaudhry was back at the top of his game, the top order batsmen had all struck a purple patch, Ashok Varadarajan had finally fulfilled the potential he had shown all these years, the bowling displayed menace and control in equal measure, the fielding side was easily the best in the league, and a nearly-forgotten veteran was going to come back for one last fling.
Destiny awaited the 'Eers and they had no intention of disappointing her. Only the SteelZags stood in the way. Tune in shortly for the last match report of the season...
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