Season 14 - The cricket is speaking for itself!!!

Seems like I have forgotten that I have this blog anymore. Writer's block, not getting inspired to write, has the cricket got humdrum or just plain inertia. Anyway the real reason I finally decided to write a piece was because 5.1.25 witnessed something special on the maidaan. It was also the day, the woeful Indian team lost the BGT to the Aussies after a decade. 

Before I get into the details of the game itself I needed to level set that we have been having a great season. After a mid season stutter, the Hurricanes are back and are currently leading 12-11 over the Wolves { I had to go check what this team was called :-) }. This season has seen a few new stars firmly establishing themselves. NRI boy Apoorv clearly leads the way and the man has game for sure and a mouth to match it too. Akshat has slowly started making very useful contributions with the bat and all and Ayush now has become a real enforcer with the ball making an impact in every game. 

Some of the more established performers have also continued to do what they do every weekend but Samir stands out for sure. He has found his mojo this season after a few quiet seasons where he was underutilised. Dhruv is doing some crazy things with the ball and Harsha has been doing super human things whenever he is in town. For the Wolves, Gopi has now become the brute he was a few seasons back. His long game has become devastating and pure. KG has been a bit of hot and cold but his hot is quite a sight a watch. Sameer with all his broken bones and muscles has been a sheer joy to watch as long as you are a Wolf and Vicky has suddenly figured out that his bowling is not something to be taken lightly. 

For sheer impact, I need to make a shout out to the most dedicated and honest cricketer in our group and also Captain Courageous Satya. The man is a real gem. Apart from motivating the team, he sends personal notes to folks asking them to keep their chin up. I have received quite a few and cant thank him enough for that. But what he has done to HK is now legend. 4 times this season he has made him fall to a plan including one which has an unpaid wager still riding on it. I had to place this on record for future generations to understand what a bad debt means. 

Anyway the real reason I decided to write this piece was because of some individual brilliance that we got to witness yesterday. I call him a dear friend and if you want to have a good time, anytime, Vik is the guy you want on your crew. Unfortunately he carries that Party like a rockstar attitude to cricket which sometimes infuriates his teammates and captains. And because he is bestowed with that laugh, you always wonder if he is even serious about his game and what he derives out of it. 

But all the naysayers can now take a hike. What he did yesterday blew not only his own mind but everyone watching. A middling score but a tricky chase with the Wolves having a number of bowling options and a great fielding unit meant that it was anyone's game. 

Vikram even made a comment to me before he went to bat. " I have not done much all game and just cant feel it." I did not say much but could empathise with him.  He went in when the score was around 18 for 3 after 3 overs. Still needing another 80 to win it was anyone's game when Vikram joined Samir. What happened in the next 10 overs was nothing short of mayhem. Vikram pulled into every ounce of his inner belief and bashed every bowler that bowled to him into submission. There were no mishits, just pure plain and simple hitting which left no doubt where the ball was heading. You could see the enthusiasm on his face with every shot he played including a walking down the pitch six and that is why players like Vikram are fun to watch. They raise the entire teams energy levels and make everyone believe in themselves. 

Vikram got out with the Canes needing another 10 runs off 3 overs but the game was pretty much done and dusted long before. Kudos to you Vikram on stitching together such a special knock. It made me smile for sure and I am sure a lot of other folks felt the same. 

" Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE. The word itself says, I'M POSSIBLE"