Following are the pictures from the finals which I would like to remember forever. If you want to check the complete list visit the offical Pic Site of Khurram: http://www.flickr.com/photos/khurramkhan/sets/72157604403535347/
Me In Action
Anees Bhai In Action
Nisar With His Power Throw
Tumbling Over
Basharat's Power Throw From The Boundary
Rizwan and his pouch
Celebrating an important wicket.
Basharat In Action
Suresh Bhai making his presence felt
Waqar In Action
Ahmed's drop catch. One amongst many dropped catches by us.
First time with a slip in place
Nisar spinning his web
Ahmed's spell completely dried the runs in the middle.
Team Huddle. Great to be part of the team
Preparing to start our reply
Spectators
Samir Bhai's solid defense
Ahmed Meditating
Asif's forward defensive stroke. No Gap for the ball.
Asif's power cut
Samir Bhai in another solid partnership
Our new slogan...
Ahmed the new 'finisher'?
Rizwan's solid defenses.
Instant Jubilation.
Mazda's hanging heads
Muslim celebration. Pepsi instead of Champagne
Match Saving Partnership
Our Whole Team
Brothers In Arms
Mazda hanged!
Waiting for the Cup
Man of the match Asif
Losing Captain Tanveer
Winning captain Waqar
Lifting the Cup
The whole team with their awards, none special than the cup
Monday, April 7, 2008
Pictures To Cherish
How We Feel
| Rizwan Javed (Wicket Keeper, Batsman) "It's like a dream come true" |
| Waqar Perwaize (Captain, Batsman, Bowler) "I was thrilled with the performance of our team and the outcome of the match. As discussed before the finals, we played according to our strategic planning, I was extremely pleased with our team unity alongside everyones contribution as a whole and moral support for each other. Our players made it extremely hard for Mazda (KAICO) and quite comfortably won the Finals" |
| Amad Uddin (Bowler) "Besides enjoying our first cup, I really cherished, the great Team Work and the effort put in by everyone. Right from the first ball we knew what we have to do and executed our plans to perfection. Alhamdolillah. I look forward to playing tougher teams and beating them with similar co-ordinated team work, Insha Allah" |
| Rejin Geo Varghese (Bowler) "Running out into the filed cheering the victory, lifting up Ahmed and Rizwan… Believably unbelievable moment, Should I say! A moment filled with a lot of emotions and joy when all our short practices and hard work paid off well and we lifted our first trophy. It’s a day to remember for the rest of our lives and to hope for more in the future. All of us had the winning spirit from the start as we knocked out our opponents to a small total in order to grab our first win. The moment of delight came when Waqar received the winners’ trophy and all of us lifted it up together cheering for Agility. This is just not a beginning, but the race to be the best among the best. " |
| Nisar Ahmed Khan (Vice Captain, Batsman, Bowler) "The taste of victory is truly amazing. Being our first season in this League, I feel we have achieved a milestone. As I always say "lets play to win" and indeed we did. Congrats to all that supported us, especially our families. " |
| Asif Mirza (Batsman) “Well, first of all congratulations to everyone, it was a nice team work; although we dropped few catches but it paid off well in the end. The crowd was excellent. It is a memorable match for me and will rejoice it for a long time. Thank you to everyone for their support on field and off field. Working hard & together as one team will always pay off well.” |
| Samir Bhatti (Batsman, Bowler) “I still remember that day when I sent an email to Bastaki requesting for our team to play his tournaments; I was a little skeptical as we are Corporate team (of young lads with the exception of me) that he might not include us. Well… Here we are holding a kick ass Trophy of Lawson final in our hands. Gentlemen: Job well done and the word is reaching out to everyone that “Agility team are Die Hard Fighters” |
| Adnan Shaikh (Batsman) |
| Khurram Khan (Bowler) “Being part of Agility Team is always great. Agility has proved that no matter how in-experienced you are, your hard work, thrust for success and “Agility” can give you everything you want. Agility’s success is like a dream come true. I remember when we started of as novice then turned into underdogs and now champions, a legacy proud to be part of. Some say “Fortune favors the brave” others say “Fortune favors the bold” but the combination of bold and brave can be called as “Team Agility””. |
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| Anees Majeed (Bowler) “I think it is a great achievement overall for the team which is only one year old. We played few tournaments this year, where we reached one quarter final, one semi final, and when we lift the Lawson Trophy especially from a team like Mazda, which has a history of winning last two tournaments, it’s an amazing feeling. We had once dreamt that we could win the Lawson Trophy and to fulfill that dream is just a great feeling. We have won the Lawson trophy and hopefully we will win many more (inshallah). We have the caliber of players to go on and win big games. We showed it to all in the last game.” |
| Bilal Saleem (Batsman) It have been just 12 months we all playing together and in this time we have matured and hope to carry on with our good performances till the season ends. We have certainly gained a lot of experience and we think we can use that. I am happy to be a part of the team and on our first trophy and hope to lift a lot more with this great team and team players. Good Luck as we should aim in playing at Ahmadi’s”. |
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Winner's Cup Finally
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
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Keeping the Tempo for the finals.
Responsibility shown all around in batting, bowling and fielding gave us our first win in the RP Sharma tournament against Horizons, and kept us in the hunt for the semis of this tournament. The win was important for us as we needed to keep ourselves motivated for the finals of Lawson Memorial.
Winning the toss, wicky decided to bat first in order to give some batting practice to our batsmen. Bilal and Nisar opened the batting. Bilal's short stay at the crease was torturous to say the least. He seems to be having some technical difficulties in posture, shot selection and shot execution. But then all these things go un noticed when a batsman does the most basic thing right i.e. hitting the ball in the gap and running like crazy. Rizwan can be rated as another anomaly when it comes to technicalities but no matter how he stands he knows where the gaps are and he does hit the ball in them. I am sure Bilal too would realize that the best advice he can take would be from himself and would somehow figure out how he can do the basics right.
Nisar continued to build on his batting form and continued on his merry ways but his running (or rather jogging) between the wickets felt way short of expections. 3s were converted into 2s and 2s into 1s. His innings was a mixture of sweetly timed power shots and some deft touches for singles and doubles. In the end he top scored for the team and for the match by reaching the 70s and would have been much closer to the as yet elusive 100 runs, if we had been more aggressive in running between the wickets.
Samir Bhai came 1 down after Bilal came back and seemed to time the ball from the word go. His flicks and cuts were a treat to watch and his running between the wickets was like fresh air. In the end he flicked one to the fine leg boundary only to get caught. The shot was on but unluckily he found the fielder.
Adnan was next in and seemed to be a bit stuck in his crease. In the end got bowled out. Akmal came after Adnan and laid the match winning partnership with Nisar. Akmal sweetly timed 3 sixes over the long boundary. Both Nisar and Akmal batted responsibly while always keeping an eye on the run rate. It was a very mature partnership and took the team to the much needed comfort zone. Akmal scored his first 50 for Agility. Eventually Nisar played a tired looking pull shot and was bowled. Wicky went next in and tried to keep the momentum for the remaining few overs, but got out as he played one in the air.
Rizwan went in after Wicky and joined Akmal. Both managed to take the score to 195 in 25 overs without any further jitters. The ground was tricky as the pitch was on a slope and we reached a good score courtesy responsible innings from Nisar, Akmal and Samir Bhai.
Bowling was a bit tricky on this pitch as well and their batsmen came strongly at us. Their batting and our bowling seemed closer to a boxing match. Where both boxers are strong and landing punches on each others faces. A six there, a 2 run over here, a few boundaries there and a wicket here. That continued for most of the match till in the end our punches were more frequent and more lethal.
Anees Bhai and I started the bowling. Anees Bhai was a bit expensive as he came up the slope and against the wind to bowl, whereas I too had a mixed early spell, but managed to get a wicket. The wicket was courtesy brilliant fielding from Khurram which allowed me to give away only 2 runs in my 2nd over. This made their lethal opening batsman to play squarer which is more risky. In the end he tried to pull a ball, which he could have easily played in the covers, got a leading edge and was caught behind by Rizwan. A lesson to all, that how important good ground fielding can be when it comes to taking wickets.
Wicky and Nisar were first change and did manage to keep things under the lid, but the honors stayed even between bat and ball as at all times their batsmen were close to the required run rate. Their other opening batsmen who seemed to have only one boundary shot, kept playing it to perfection and kept on getting boundaries for his team. But Nisar undid him with his wiley spin and caught him off his own bowling. Meanwhile their 1 down batsmen who also was playing very well on both sides of the wicket, mistimed a full toss from wicky and Nisar took a simple catch. Both Wicky and Nisar bowled 5 overs each on a stretch and kept on dishing variety to the batsmen to prevent things to get out of hand.
Akmal and I, took the bowling from them, and kept things simple, prevented boundaries to build pressure on them, which made fall deeper into abyss. Anees Bhai and Bilal finished off the bowling for us and prevented any further jitters. Rizwan kept well on a tricky pitch, although there were momentarily lapses.