The morning started as planned as we all came early to the ground and practiced our fielding, bowling and batting, which always proves to be good for our game. Before the toss there was a bit of confusion as to whether we should bat or bowl first, with both points of view holding some weight. Wicky won the toss and went with his instinct of bowling first. Anyways all of us knew that we have come too far to rely on the toss.
Playing a 35 over match was a bit of concern for most of us, since for most of us it was for the first time. But it turned out well. Considering the practice session we had in the beginning and the extra bowling Anees Bhai and I did before the match to warm up, I think we can handle 35 overs in the future as well.
The finals was with Mazda company and they had a strong young team. We had played Mazda twice before and hence knew a bit about them. Their openers were quite lethal and strong and had the ability to go at around 15 runs an opener. Zartab was the most aggressive one, while Tanveer (their captain) wasn't too bad either. I had planned to keep the bowl up around thigh height and to swing the ball into them, since I remembered that they were not that good on the leg side. My plan didn't get me a wicket, but kept them under check. I went for 20 runs in my first 5 overs. Anees Bhai was good as well but the bowls he bowled under Zartab's bat went for huge sixes, and hence reduced the pressure on them. Anees Bhai's one over was particularly good, where he bowled short to Zartab and exposed his weakness to the shorter deliveries. Zartab's footwork impressed me the most as whenever he came out of the crease, he managed to keep his balance and bring the ball under his bat.
Wicky came first change and bowled well but went for a few runs. Eventually he came round the wicket to cover Zartab's swing. This turned out to be a good move as Zartab continued to swing his bat, but just manage to send a catch to me at mid on. Basharat accounted for Tanveer as he brought one into him, which he tried to late cut. The ball came in and hit the off stump. The great thing was that we showed resilience in our bowling and kept on throwing variety at their batsmen and usually they succumbed to it.
Nisar was exceptional in his spin bowling. The way he controlled the flight and turn, I didn't know how any batsman could hit him while staying in the crease. Mazda's thoughtless hitting amazed me a bit. None of their batsmen, after the openers, used their brains. Rather they just preferred to keep on swinging their bat. If it not had been for a few dropped catches, we would have nailed them within 25 overs. Ahmed bowled well in tandem with Nisar to completely dry out the runs. We had a bit of bother with their last wicket partnership. Both batsmen blocked all that came their way without even lifting their bats. Nisar & Ahmed both asked for extra overs from the captain, but still no luck. As per popular vote the pace of Anees and Waqar was tried as well, but still no luck. Anees Bhai bowled a maiden over as well. I was brought in, but by that time the batsmen had done their job and given 40 precious runs to their team. I got the wicket, but it didn't feel very good, as we had lost the sweet feeling of bowling them under 200. Anyways 220 was a low but fighting target for Mazda. They had won the last finals while defending 216. Rizwan kept well behind the stumps, he took a catch and was aware enough to stump another batsman while he was appealing for his second catch. Basharat took an important and a difficult high catch as well. Bilal's catch was amazing as well. The ball was way high in the air, Bilal judged it perfectly, and made me an immediate fan.
We started our batting with disaster as Nisar disappointed his fans by playing one in the air and giving a simple catch to the mid on. Asif was joined with Samir Bhai. And a mix up in the middle brought all our hearts in our mouths. But in the end the fielder's throw was wide and at the wrong end, so Asif made it safely back home. This was the only false foot that Asif and Samir Bhai put forward. The rest was just purely amazing to see. Samir Bhai with his flicks, blocks and cuts managed to keep the scoreboard ticking without giving any leeway to the Mazda bowlers. While Asif showed them what 'thok do' means. His sixes were so huge that it took ages for the fielders to bring the ball back in the ground. He usually took 15-20 runs from each over. So blazing was his innings that Mazda tried around 7 bowlers in the first 10 overs.
Both Samir Bhai and Asif, kept up the good work and took the score to 110. Asif misjudged one and was out caught behind, while Samir Bhai played one in the air to be caught on the boundary. Bilal and Wicky came to the crease. Consolidation was required from both of them, and they started off well. But soon lost the plot. Wicky hit a six in the over, but tried one more in the over, and that too to a flighted delivery probably turning away from him. He got a thick edge and gave an easy catch in the covers. Wicky's wicket almost cost us the match. Rizwan went in next and both he and Bilal blocked a few overs. But Bilal missed a straight delivery and gave his wicket away. Adnan went in next and was looking good and almost set to take us home, when a mix up resulted and he was run out. The falling of 5 quick wickets put us on the back foot. Ahmed came to the crease next, with our backs towards the wall. Ahmed alongwith Rizwan both played another gem of an innings. Ahmed proved his reliabiity once again by not taking any risks and living up to the occasion. Rizwan on the other end, handled pressure really well. Wicky's decision to bring Rizwan in the middle order paid off as Rizwan stabled the boat and took it to the shores of victory. He was a calm influence and knew when to lift his bat and when to defend his stumps.
Suresh, Fareed, Serhan and Royven came to watch the match. It really felt great to receive support from your colleagues while the team fought hard in the middle.
The environment, the feeling, the pressure was absolutely great. The planning before the match and assessments during the match were great to be a part of. Everyone chipping in, in whatever department he could. Always being one step ahead of Mazda. So high is my confidence now, that I feel that if we continued this habit of planning and execution, we would be lifting a lot more trophies. Lastly
'Keep working guys, keep working, dheela nahee hona'
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