Tri-City De-Claw Bears Youths

Commonwealth Cricket League
Schenectady, NY – The weather cleared just in time for a glorious August afternoon of cricket at Grout Park, and Tri-City came away with a hard fought 80 run victory over Bears Youths in a 25 over Commonwealth League match on Sunday 8/17/14.

Fizel Husain scored 70 which included 3 fours and seven sixes.

After making the trek northward to Schenectady and subsequently winning the toss, the Bears opted to field instead of bat.  A very unusual decision in some ways, but understandable if a team is unfamiliar with the quality of the wicket and is confident in their bowling side.  The Bears appeared to be both and their opening pair of Zadd Singh and Jason Heywood strode to the crease as if to prove that their side had come loaded for…well,.. bear!

The youngsters surrendered some runs early to Tri-City openers, 22 year old Richie Persaud and the almost 17 year old Mahesh Ragunandan, one of the teams up and coming young stars.  Heywood drew first blood with a wicket on just his second delivery.  He managed to entice Persaud into a shot that was well caught at mid-off and sent the slugger back to the pavilion with a measly 5 runs, well short of the blazing hundred he had made just last weekend.

Ragunandan soldiered on with patience and maturity, not letting the loss of his teammate shake his confidence or deter him from his plan.  For it appeared clear that the youngster had a plan: take the quick single when offered, drive the loose deliveries when able, and don’t give away your wicket.  Pretty simple, basic stuff, but many older players fail to grasp this simple concept, and as a result, get out cheaply.

Not Ragunandan.  Batting with a maturity far beyond his years, the Schenectady high schooler was indomitable.   Steadily and inexorably, the run rate began to move upward.  Like a dreadnought menacingly prowling the Atlantic, Ragunandan deflected delivery after delivery from the Bears on way to an unbeaten 67, including seven boundaries.  It was a remarkable performance.

Steven Mangal has figures 4/16 in five overs.

Continuing with the naval metaphor, if Ragunandan was a dreadnought, then teammate Fizal Husain could best be described as a destroyer.  After entering the fray in the 11th over, the Tri-City slugger wasted no time in crushing the Bear’s bowling to all corners of Grout Park.  Fours and sixes erupted from his bat like cruise missiles.  With the steady, unflappable Ragunandan at the other end, it was a withering assault that pushed the run rate to a little over 9 per over.  Husain’s 70 run knock in eight overs consisted of 3 fours and SEVEN sixes before he was caught off the bowling of Bear’s opener Zadd Singh.   Tri-City’s final total of 234/6 was bolstered by Ajai Ishmael’s 25, including two fours and a six, as well as Anil Sahaman’s 23 run knock which featured two sixes of his own.

The Bears were then faced with the daunting target of 235 runs to win.  More daunting than that was the prospect of having to face Tri-City’s dominating bowling attack of Ryan Girdhary and Anil Sahaman.  Both Schenectady pacemen were virtually unhittable in the early going.  Two wickets fell in the first four overs, followed by two more in the seventh and eighth with only 42 runs to show for it.  Girdhary finished with 2 of those, for just six runs in 2.1 overs!

Mahesh Ragunandan struck an unbeaten 67 with 7 boundaries.

To their credit, the Bears refused to go into hibernation.  Instead, Sam Velusamy and Naresh stiffened their resolve and fought to make a game of it with an 82 run, fifth wicket stand.   It was a valiant effort, but they had to do it in the face of some very stingy bowling from the rest of Tri-City’s attack.  Chief among them was another Schenectady youngster Steve Mangal, who continues to show why he too is a rising star for Tri-City.  In his five over spell, the recent Schenectady High grad took four wickets for just 16 runs, effectively cutting off the Bear’s air and sealing the win.  Naresh finished on an excellent 47, with four boundaries and a six.  Velusamy added 32, with two fours and a six to his credit.  A good effort, to be sure, but not enough on this day.

All in all, a great day of cricket in Schenectady once again.  Special thanks go out to the Bears Youths and their skipper Ganesh Bheir for making the journey upstate, and for playing with such great sportsmanship and energy despite the difficult task they had before them.  They are a great bunch of guys, and it was encouraging to see the nice blend of veterans and youngsters in their side.  That is what Tri-City is committed to as well, fielding a number of talented high schoolers and twenty something each week on our team.  After all, this great game must be passed on to the next generation for it to thrive, and it’s phenomenal to see another team with the same philosophy.  Well played, sirs!

So it’s on to the playoffs, and who knows what awaits us there.  Tri-City are in terrific form right now, and it should make for an interesting end to the season no matter what.   Stay tuned to Newyorkcricket.com to follow the latest news in  and around the Commonwealth League.

SCORECARD
Tri-City vs. Bears Youths
Type: 25 Overs
Date: 08/17/14
Ground: Grout Park
Toss: Bears Youths
Umpires: Ashwin
INNINGS OF Tri-City
Duration in Minutes:
Batting:

Extras 20 (17 wd, 3nb, 0b, 0lb)
TOTAL 234/6 in 25 overs 
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): 1/11; 2/38; 3/89; rest not recorded

INNINGS OF Bears Youths
Duration in Minutes:
Batting:

Extras 35 (31 wd, 0nb, 0b, 4lb)
TOTAL: 154/all out in 24.5 overs 
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): 1/1; rest not recorded