Lost against Mazda

I won't say that it wasn't expected. After all we are just weekend cricketers and seem to have no inclination on improving our game. We can only fare well against candies like Kandy boys, but if the teams are slightly better, then I see no hope. 

I don't think that any batsman or bowler is so good that he can just wash his face in the morning, arrive at the ground, pad up and start scoring or taking wickets against better line ups. 

Asif was late, so Waqar and Nisar had to open the innings. Nisar started playing his shots but his weakness on leg was exposed as the bowler changed his side and got him bowled. 

Asif went in next and had a golden duck as the bowler went through his defenses and uprooted the stumps. 

Waqar and Samir Bhai played watchfully initially and then Waqar started playing his shots. Samir Bhai got too defensive around the 10th over, and wasn't able to take singles and rotate the strike, which is a cardinal sin in any form of cricket. 

Samir Bhai was out on a very good shot, which was taken on the boundary, resulting in the start of Waqar's and Akmal's partnership in just around the 11th over. Waqar got bowled while trying to hit one in the orbit. Akmal looked good initially as he struck well timed boundaries on the leg side, but in the end he tried to force a shot on the leg to a ball which was either moving away or on the off side. He spooned a catch which was easily taken. 

Bilal & Zeeshan played and ran well to drag the score across the 150 mark. 

We could have only won the match, if we could have taken early wickets. But none of our 4 top line bowlers were good enough to do so. Waqar was unable to find his line and length against better batsmen, Anees Bhai bowled well, but managed to bowl a few half trackers in each over, which were immediately dispatched to the boundaries taking the pressure off of them, Akmal started miserably because of 'cold' shoulders (probably forgot that bowlers usually stretch and warm up before bowling, too good that we didn't bowl first, otherwise those shoulders might have stayed cold forever), Nisar started well initially and got a wicket as well, but couldn't maintain the pressure and was hit for boundaries as well. 

Catching was again miserable. Basharat was the first to drop one, but in his favor, the ball bowled by Akmal was too shot and the batsman had played a full blooded pull shot, and with the wind the ball probably travelled in nano seconds to Basharat on the square leg boundary, who in the end could only pop it out. Sameer Bhai dropped one, after judging it to perfection. Asif too dropped one at a very vital point, when we could have come back into the game. 

Akmal bowled well after those shoulders became warmer. He took the first wicket for us and continued to trick the batsmen, with his variations. Nisar got us the second wicket. He managed to weave a spin spell against the batsmen and was successful most of the times. But in his middle overs went for a few boundaries. Zeeshan too started well and got a wicket in his first over. But the batsmen grew braver as they approached the small target and hit him for a few sixes. He came back well to salvage some pride by getting one more wicket. 

In the end none of us were good enough to take the wicket of one of their openers, who played a very good innings with some calculated risks which he took only when they were required. 

In the end it was an enjoying day of cricket, as we shared a few laughs, discussed 'strategies', boasted about the old glory days and oh yes played some cricket as well. 

Facebook Panthers at Number 6

Facebook panthers are at number 6 of the Friend's league. Rizwan's Karachi Devils is at the top for the time being. This was a result of not playing any match for a period of 3-4 months; a deliberate ploy by the Panthers XI in order to encourage competition. But not for long. Keep checking for updates as Panthers XI climb up the ladder. 

Battrick Panthers @ #2 in Twenty20

Amazing Twenty20 group stage for the Battrick Panthers. Finally we ended up #2 in the group stage, ensuring our berth in the knockout stage. The crunch match was with Paki Blitz which was a better team than mine. A plan (not to be disclosed was put in place) and it worked like a charm. It was this win which ensured that my team is at #2. Looking forward to the knockout stage now. 

The comparison between the two teams. 

                PanthersXI        Pakiblitz

Top Order:         competent        respectable

Middle Order: mediocre        mediocre

Lower Order: abysmal        abysmal

Seam Bowling: competent        feeble

Spin Bowling: mediocre        strong

Fielding:         feeble        feeble

Nisar makes the difference for Agility Panthers

Agility Panthers finally had a win after a string of losses. Winning feels so good and the whole team is now relaxed and waiting for some more action. Nisar's return was a boost for Panthers, as he made both his bowling and batting count. With his wily spin and good aggressive batting in the beginning made it sure that there were no hiccups. 

Earlier Waqar and Anees started the bowling and left their batsmen clueless. Both bowled with pace and bounce and ensured that the batsmen couldn't break free. Kandy boys were only able to drag to 143 in 20 overs getting help from 9 dropped catches from us. 

Nisar and Asif started the batting. Nisar took the initiative early and made their bowlers pay a heavy price for their poor line and length. He ended up spooning a catch after making a quick 27. Asif then took the momentum from Nisar and kept on playing with watchful aggression. And the minute he got the ball in his slot he made sure that it fell out of the boundary. 

Waqar played himself in, but got out to a catch on the boundary; the difference between glory and guns turned out to be just a few inches. 

Samir Bhai made sure alongwith Asif and Zeeshan that there were no further candies for the Kandy boys as he hit boundaries at will and ran well. His wonderful cover cut drive is still a part of my memory cells. 

Man of the match: Though Asif had a 50, Waqar, Anees and Akmal bowled well, but the man of the match goes to Nisar, for his bowling and aggressive batting, ensuring that we finally break our losing spree. 

Good but not Good Enough

VS Abbasiya Royals

Such is the speed of Twenty20 games, that you lose concentration for a little bit and the match is out of your hand, you make one wrong decision and it becomes next to impossible for you to recover. We played well guys, but gave a lot of freebies to their batsmen. Its good that we fought till the end and it would be even better if we can judge where and what we lacked and not repeat the same mistakes. Its all about getting one good win under our belts. 

In this match there was a lot of pressure. The other team played well and each and every over, or more appropriately, each and every ball became critical. 

True that we ended up as losers but I enjoyed a lot. The initial sub dued approach of our batsmen and then tearing their bowling apart. The sixes from Asif and Akmal, their well time boundaries. The initial on slaught of their batsmen, scoring 37 off first 3 overs. Then our fight back, with field on one side and bowling accordingly. The sledging, the buck ups. I found out that in a cricket match there is a lot that can be enjoyed besides enjoying the win. 

Asif and Akmal opened the innings for us and did a good job of seeing off the new ball and then punishing the bad balls. Running between the wickets was a bit sluggish but when you can hit the ball like Asif and Akmal, then probably it doesn't get noticed that much. But running the first run and putting the pressure on the fielder is always the best thing to do. 

Asif played magnificiently for his 102. He creamed the ball on the off side for boundaries almost at will, but most magnificient were his sixes at long on. He made the most out of the chances he got and literally tore their bowling apart. His sixes looked effortless, highlighting, how well he times his shots. 

Akmal played well at the other end too. He batted sensibily and kept on rotating the strike. He put a high price on his wicket and chose carefully the balls he wanted to hit and when he did hit them, it stayed hit and were usually found beyond the boundary. 

When our openers eventually got out, they didn't leave much deliveries for the remaining batsmen to settle down. The remaining batsmen tried to make the maximum from whatever was left. In the end we gave them a target of 181 runs. 

We started the bowling miserably. The first 3 overs cost us 37 runs! Anees Bhai, Basharat and Akmal, all three of them bowled poorly and gave some easy hits to the batsmen. All of them tried to bowl at the batsmen strength rather than his weakness. A fast bowler is more like a hunter. He sets the trap and waits, patiently, for the batsmen, to fall into it. We initially made the mistake of trying to smash the wickets or the batsmen's rib cage, with our pace and forgot that the batsmen too has a bat in his hand and if your ball comes within his swing range, he will smash you out of the park. 

The next 3 overs, showed us the benefits of setting up the trap, bowling at the batsman's weakness, having patience and avoiding the batsman's swing radius as a result of which there remained no power in their shots. 

Anees Bhai after a bad first over, bowled with good pace, bounce and angle. The batsmen had no answer to his bowling. The pressure created by him in his over, bore fruit in the next over bowled by Basharat. Basharat looked well as he tried to pitch the ball and keep it outisde the off stump. By that time the batsman was under too much pressure, provoking him to play a false shot, and gave an easy catch was taken by Asif. 

The remaining overs saw an immense tussle. For the batsmen the game plan was fairly easy which was to try to hit whatever came their way. They used their feet and swung powerfully whenver they got a chance. Unfortunately we gave them a lot of that and bowled either short, full toss or half volleys. Towards the end we had some fairly expensive overs of above 15 runs, which basically cost us the match. 

The season has started poorly for us, but the good thing is that the only way to go is up. Let us learn from our mistakes, move forward and enjoy the game. 

Cement Pitch Bullies Flop on Turf again

It seems that the only thing that we learn from history is that we don't learn anything. After the 36 all out, our entire top order blew up once again and we would be having a similar score sheet if it weren't for Bilal and some resistance from the lower order. 

Our batting line up seems to be stuck in the glory days of cement pitches where they just had to hit through the line as the ball never did much off the seam and came at a comfortable height. Batting on turf is a bit different. Good batsmen (especially the top order) take into account pace, swing, seam and bounce of the pitch, before going for their shots. This is a lesson which we should learn immediately. 

The bowling was exceptional as the pitch offered variable bounce and swing. Each bowler contributed with wickets and/or maidens. Akmal bowled with lethal accuracy and often extracted venomous bounce from the pitch. He finished with 4 wickets from 5.2 overs giving 15 runs. Basharat playing his first game after a long break, took sometime settling in, but found his rhythym and bowled well towards the end. He took 3 wickets from 8 overs giving 15 runs. Zeeshan bowled well initially, but had no answer when the batsmen started attacking him. His last 2 overs went for around 26 runs, spoiling his over all figures. He ended up with 36 runs in 8 overs. Anees (3 overs 11 runs), Waqar (3 overs 4 runs), Faraz (1 over 4 runs) and Amad (4 overs 3 wickets and 15 runs), maintained the pressure and bowled Al Bahar out for 119 runs. 

Fielding was very good as we held on to our catches. Both Faraz and Bilal took some good catches. Rizwan was alert as ever behind the wickets with some good saves and a stumping off Basharat's bowling. Except for the sitter dropped by Asif the fielding was good overall, more so, because the bastmen rarely got a chance to go for their shots.

Chasing a very easy target of 120 runs in 40 overs, all that was required was to apply some common sense. But as they say, common sense is not very common. Rizwan and Asif opened the innings. Disaster stuck on the very first ball, as there was no calling and hence resulted in confusion and a run out. Akmal went in next and failed to read the pitch correctly as he played a cut shot way too early in his innings. He ended up giving a easy catch to the fielder he was trying to clear. 

Samir Bhai was in next and played his famous flick shot, which has given him many tonnes of runs before, but this time, he failed to spot the fielder, who took a good catch. 

Waqar was in next, and he too perished quickly as he snicked one to the keeper. 

Rizwan's was the unlucky next wicket, as a bat/pad was given as LBW. Bilal went in next and together with Zeeshan formed the first resistance of our innings. But Zeeshan lost the plot in the middle and gifted his wicket by playing a half hearted cut shot straight into the hands of the fielder. 

Basharat and Faraz were in next and resisted for 12 and 16 deliveries respectively, but eventually couldn't last long and came out empty handed. 

In the end Bilal was stuck with the tail and managed to take the score to 93. The more famous top order, can take an example from his innings as he put a high price on his wicket, read the pitch correctly, batted with patience and as the situation demanded. He faced 70 deliveries for 26 runs. He swung his bat on full tosses and solidly defended his wicket whenever the ball pitched. 

Conclusion: Come on Guys! Everyone knows that we are way better than this. Turf or Cement, we are capable of beating any side. We just have to concentrate and adjust according to the pitch and situation. We are a team and we can only win as a team. Scoring a 100 or taking 10 wickets looks good in the scorebook, but sucks if the team has lost the match. Remember this hurt and do everything and anything to avoid this in the future. Keep on learning and improving, no matter how good you already are. I feel that we need just one win and then sky is the limit for us. 

Match Pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/amad.uddin/KCA40OverVSAlBahar#

Score Sheet

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

Asif --> 0(0)

Rizwan --> 3(20)

Akmal --> 2(7)

Samir --> 2(4)

Waqar --> 4(4)

Zeeshan --> 3(20)

Bilal --> 26(70)

Faraz --> 3(12)

Basharat --> 6(16)

Amad --> 2(17)

Anees --> 1(4)

Bower - O-R-W

Anees - 3-11-0

Amad - 4-15-3

Akmal - 5.2-10-4

Basharat - 8-15-3

Faraz - 1-4-0

Waqar - 3-4-0

Zeeshan - 8-36-0

Please note that wides are not included in the bowling figures. 

Facebook Panthers Reach Level 4

Panthers XI has reached Level 4, miles ahead of other teams in its league. Experts say that the Panthers march was so rapid that the other teams couldn't even catch up with the dust trail left by the Panther Paws!

Panthers rapid ascent had already been highlighted by experts and competitors alike because of the well balanced team effort that was on display in all of their matches. The players backed each other up and the confidence that the each player got from his partner resulted in the all round stellar performances. On this momentous occassion, the board announced prizes for best performances. So lets go over to our Presenter 'Shakki Khan Shakki' who is going to present the awards.

SKS: Thank you, Dube Lal Naan-chunk-pandora-bhuttan for finally giving the mic to me, I thought you were going to take it home. Fans I am sure you want me to go right to the prizes as you are already yawning and looking repeatedly at the lunch table. There are 11 prizes to be given today, but I am going to speed things up, since I have an ample stock of eggs and rotten tomatoes at home. First of all I am going to call 'Samir Bhatti' on the stage.

FANS CLAPPING.

SKS: Samir Bhatti actually only gets one prize of the 11, for scoring the most runs in an innings. 225. The highest for Panthers XI. Samir how is it possible that you were able to score 225 runs in a 20 over match?

SB: Well I took my chances early on. The team was not so good so I told myself that I am going to bat the whole 20 overs, selfishly, and not going to let anyother batsman face these minnows. I backed myself, hit my shots and left everything else to God.

SKS: It was one amazing innings SB. So moving on to the next prize. I am going to call to the stage. Munir Faruqi. Oh WOW. With the applause I am hearing for him, it seems that you have woken up. It seems that the star of Panthers XI is Munir Faruqi and his performances show that as well. He is the highest run getter with 10,723 runs, he has the best average 57.04, best strike rate 197.55, most centuries 25 and most 50s 68. How do you feel Munir

MF: Well I had a scratchy start to this facebook Twenty20. But I knew that I will find my rhythym. My captain backed me up and spent time with me in the nets and concentrated on my fitness. And when I had doubt in my heart, my captain said don't worry, start taking English Classes, I know that you are going to succeed.

FANS GOING BONKERS....

SKS: Are you a bit sad that the only batting prize you didn't get was the highest score in an innings.

MF: Well I was at the other end when Samir Bhatti was involved in carnage at the other end. I was begging him to let me play a few balls but he flatly refused. I tried to get him run out a few times, but that didn't work out as well. Sucker played the whole 120 deliveries in the innings. I will get back to him. I have good relations with the captain, I know him personally, I will ask him to let me face the first delivery in all matches in Level 4.

FANS are trashing their seats. Calling for blood and immediate sacking of Samir Bhatti from the team. This is not a good sign for Panthers XI. But after all there are 11 Pakistanis playing in the team and its only a matter of time, when the team is going to self destruct.

SKS: Fans, fans lets move to the bowling awards. Please calm down. Now that you have thrown your seats at Samir Bhatti, please sit on the floors. Yes yes please. This what you deserve actually. So now I am going to call on to the stage, the charismatic Nisar Ahmed KHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN.
FANS are chhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeaaaaaaaaarrrrrriiiiiinnnngggggggg. FANS actually do know who their real heroes are. Nisar is rocking on towards the stage, with cool goggles, which he might have borrowed from his son. He is a babe magnet and girls are cutting their veins just to get one look from him.

SKS: Don't worry guys for all of your fainted dates, we have called the ambulances. Those who have cut their veins, I am sorry, we have no hope for them, for we live in a country where blood sucking politicians have already sucked all the blood out of us, so we have none to replenish you with. Land mafia have already occupied all the plots in the city, so either you would have to bury them in another country or you can burn them. If you can get petrol that is.

SKS: Okay so Nisar, you have almost captured all the bowling awards, you get the award for most wickets in an innings 7 Wickets for 16 runs, best per wicket average of 16.73 runs per wicket, most 5+ wickets in an innings i.e. 4 times. How do you feel?

NAK: aray kya bolta ray. Humko nahee maloooom wicket shicket. Hum aata hay, bowl phaikta hay aur baytsmaaan ko ghooorta hay. Baytsmaaan khud heee bhaag jaata hay.

SKS: Fans, he is saying that its not his Mendis turn but rather his stare that gets him all the wickets. Amazing, Amazing. First time a bowler is saying this. How did your stare get so much power???

NAK: aray Naakoooo. Bachpan say pracstissshh kya hay hum. aray paympar say hum larkeee log ko ghooor raaha hay. Abheee ackshpert ho gaya hay.

SKS: Amazing Amazing. He is saying that he has spent years, infact since he was in his pampers, he is practicing this art, standing outside a girls college in heat, staring at them. Now he has become expert in dish, I mean this. So now we are going to call... Nakooo Bhai you can go on your seat.

NAK: Aray shit hay kidhar?

SKS: oh oh oh. Not Shit sir, seat seat. There are expensive persian carpets you can have a seat there. I will call on the next man on the stage. He is the captain, manager and owner of Panthers XI. He is Aaaaaaammmmmmmmaaaaaaaadddddddd UUUDDDDDDIIIIIINNNNNN. No Fans not yet, its not lunch time. Please stay in the hall. Those containers are empty. Yes yes, please come back, come back now. Please thank you. So Amad you have the higest number of wickets 212 and you have the best economy of 7.46 runs per over. You are also the captain and owner of the side, how do you feel.

AU: Well actually its amazing. Initially we didn't do so well, as we were playing individually and I told these guys that individual glory can only come after collective glory.

SKS: WOW amazing words. So after that they started pitching in.

AU: Well not really, actually I bribed each one of them. I fired all the extra players and told the main 11 that this is it. So the firing and bribing part was the key actually.

SKS: How do you feel about your bowling.

AU: It felt good to be amongst the wickets. Actually I would have a lot more wickets, hadn't been the sitters dropped by Nisar. yeah. Look he is still shaking his head and smiling. You won't be getting your paycheck sir. So keep on smiling. Yeah good. I would also like to ask all my team to come on the stage. Yes please, plese come on the stage. We will collectively bow out. Yeah come on come one. Thanks. Now I will ask Waqar Perwaize to lead them out quickly since there is no food in the containers and the fans might want to kill us for that. RUN RUN RUN!!!!!

SKS: Fans are chasing the team, and if they are alive, they would put up a better show on their way to reach Level 5. Stay tuned...