TCC crushed ROCC by 56 runs in their penultimate game (prior to playoffs) played at the ROCC grounds. Thanks to the inclement weather, courtesy Hurricanes Charlie and Bonnie, both the date and venue had to be switched to 8/15 and Salem, VA respectively. TCC would like to thank ROCC for obliging and also for the good food. I have to mention that ROCC ground is one of the most picturesque grounds in the league with the Blue Ridge Mountains serving as the back drop. The weather up there was an absolute contrast to what we had all the way up while driving and also back in Shiloh. In short, it turned to be an awesome summer day for playing cricket.

ROCC won the toss, deliberated for a while and then put TCC into bat. It seemed like a good toss to win since both our openers were back in the hut with just 16 on the board. Nimesh, the left-arm seamer bowled with good rhythm and accounted for both our openers. The situation demanded for a partnership. Shibu and Syed stuck to the basics by carting anything loose and running 1s and 2s otherwise. The outfield had a lot of grass and boundaries were hard to come by unless one took the aerial route. Shibu continued his dream run by timing the ball beautifully in the gaps while Syed used his muscle power to good effect. They accumulated 116 runs in just over 20 overs when Syed was bowled for a well-made 38. In trying to flat-bat the bowlers on a hard and nippy concrete surface, he found it hard to accelerate and frustration got the better of him. His upper cut six past point was a shot worth remembering. Charan walked in and made life miserable for the ROCC bowlers from the word go. His 29 off just 10 balls catapulted TCC to 169 in no time. The duo had plundered 40 runs in 3.3 overs. Charan’s inside-out six over extra-cover stamped his class. Finally, he was bowled off Harry and the last few batsmen pitched in to carry the score to 190 which at one time seemed improbable. We had accomplished our goal of improving our net run-rate having batted first and 190 looked like a solid total even on a small ground. Shibu, the architect-in-chief remained unbeaten on 62 (7 delectable boundaries). Nimesh and Harry were amongst the wickets for ROCC.

We treated ourselves to the good food. Syed was reluctant to leave helping himself to some more. Restricting the opposition seemed to be the approach to follow instead of going all out for wickets. Sundar and Aravind shared the new ball for TCC. ROCC never seemed to be in contention since their batsmen were connecting hot air all the time. The openers fell early. Shibu’s catch to dismiss Hiren was an absolute blinder. Just when the top-edge seemed out of reach at backward square-leg, he lunged forward and took a one-handed beauty, underlying his effectiveness on the field. Ashutosh was sent in as a pinch-hitter and he slogged around a bit before Aravind caught him in the deep off Charan. Hemant was out for a duck. Harry and Atul tonked around a bit prior to getting out. Ravi took a good catch at short third-man off Sundar to dismiss Harry while Rajesh juggled and held on to the catch from Atul off Shibu. In a lighter vein, Ravi and Rajesh have been accused of “catch-fixing” since they station themselves perfectly and the ball seems to follow them as well. They have exemplified what good fielding is all about time and again. Pinkesh threw his bat around before the innings folded at 134 off 25.3 overs. Aravind topped the wickets tally. A whopping 43 extras were conceded which I think is unpardonable (reminiscent of the SCCA game) and should be ironed out as soon as possible. Nevertheless, it was a comprehensive win!! Go TCC!

MoM: Shibu Vachery