It was very crucial for the team to bounce back after losing the first game of the season. So everyone in the team was looking forward to give their best performance and get the team back on track. We were playing Wenty Leagues in the second round.

What a fantastic day it turned out to be in which the team posted the highest score for the club as yet.

The day started with the captains alerting the players about the last minute venue change. Most of the players reached on time in spite of the last minute change – which showed the commitment from the players.

Wenty Leagues won the toss and elected to field even though they were short of few players. Roshit and Avinash started the proceedings for SSSCI Storm slowly yet steadily. Avinash started methodically and played the balls on merit. The way he handled the new ball bowlers was a treat to watch. He did not let the good deliveries disturb him and let them through to the keeper watchfully. On the other end, Roshit was settling down very well except for few early swipes but he kept the score board ticking by finding gaps in the field. The aim was to see off the new ball which they both did splendidly. Runs were coming at a good pace and the openers posted the first 50 runs opening partnership for the team. Roshit and Avi complemented each other very well and got the team off to a solid start. Fantastic effort from Avi in spite of playing with an injury. The only rash shot that he played claimed his wicket but he did a fantastic job to see off the new ball and set up a platform for the batters to follow. Superb work Avi.

Rajiv went in at No.3 and played well within himself. He got a peach of a ball from the opening bowler and was bowled. Good effort from him to hang in with Roshit and put on some partnership.

Suraj went in next – his customary position at No.4 off late. He continued from where he left in the previous game. He played confidently and middled the ball very well from the word go. His partnership with Roshit set the tone for the match and the way he played was heartening to see. Bar the tough chance that he offered to the keeper, his innings was purely elegant and a treat to watch. He compiled a polished 50 before getting out when he wanted to increase the tempo. Well played Suraj.

The way the team was going, the captain thought of declaring midway in the final session. Roshit and Suraj got the team over the 200 runs mark almost at the fag end of the third session and when Suraj got out there were just four overs and a ball left to finish the session. 25 balls to be exact. That’s when Kannan walked in and took the opposition by storm. Words cannot describe the brutal innings that he played which left the opposition totally demoralized. Out of the remaining 25 balls, Roshit faced 8 balls and in the remaining 17 balls, Kannan scored exactly 50 runs off 14 scoring shots. We were looking at the score of about 250 runs to declare but with Kannan’s blitzkrieg 50, the team declared at 298. Kannan needed 6 runs of the last ball of the session to score his second fifty in as many innings, and he did that in style. Amazing innings from an amazing player. Kannan showed his master class once again. Superb show Kannan.

Amid all the carnage, Roshit continued on with his own way of scoring runs. At times he was little edgy but he played a superlative innings studded with boundaries. He scored all around the park and his favourite area was the point and gully region. Any width on offer was feasted and his square cuts were impeccable on this day. He realized his dream of scoring a hundred for the club which he narrowly missed last year. He didn’t throw away his wicket after reaching the milestone but cleverly rotated the strike and gave chance to Suraj and Kannan who went after the bowling. In the end, Roshit scored 154 valuable runs for himself and for the team which was just over half the team’s score. The best thing about his innings was that he didn’t flinch or go into a shell when he played few bad shots. His determination to stay till the end was visible and he carrying the bat all the way showed his self-belief and commitment towards the team. What a superlative innings, Roshit. Fantastic achievement from a fantastic player.

We declared at 298 for 3 and asked the opposition to bat in the final session. Murugs and Subbu started the proceedings with Subbu getting the first breakthrough for the team. It is difficult to comprehend that Subbu hasn’t played the game for a while. He bowled superbly with good control. He uprooted the off stump with a fantastic in swinging Yorker, right after he was hit for a boundary in the previous delivery. Murugs then followed with a beauty of a delivery to send the batsman on his way back and the resultant edge was caught by Suraj at second slip. Subbu then claimed his second wicket courtesy to a fantastic running catch at mid-on by Rajeev. Subbu delivered what he is capable of and it was heartening to see him on the field. Good effort Subbu.

Due to bad light, Murugs and Subbu had to stop so Siva was brought in to bowl the final over. Oh boy, he delivered exactly what the captain wanted, thanks to a stunning catch by Suraj at slips. All the three bowlers got wickets on this eventful day. It was a great effort from the team with bat, ball and on the field. The opposition is reeling with 4 wickets down with not many on the board.

The agenda for the second day was to go for an outright win. We had the score to back up the aggressive captaincy. One man stood tall on the day when the team wanted. Subbu bowled brilliantly to pick up a five-for, the first of the season for him and for the team. Wenty Leagues were all out for 135 and the follow-on was enforced by Murugs. The team wanted an outright win and the hunger is even more after getting them out cheaply in the first innings.

Having consumed a healthy share of overs in the first innings, Wenty Leagues had the opportunity to deny us an outright win with just 25 odd overs to bat through. It was very clear from their approach as they just wanted to bat through the day and deny us an outright win. That’s when Subbu stepped in and demolished the opposition. His 8 overs spell for 21 runs with 7 wickets destroyed them, pretty much a wicket per over! Amazing spell from an amazing all-rounder. SSSCI just managed to get the outright win at the dying stages of the day which was a well-deserved one in the end.