By Sudharsan Ramarao
Highlanders Steamroll Knights
Javed Safi is a man possessed with power. Power in his mind, power in his muscles and power in his wrists. It is one thing to have power, it is another thing to know how to wield your power. For power is a double-edged sword. Javed Safi knows how to wield his power. His power is the intense energy he creates every time he goes on to bat. The energy that he uses to hit the ball a long way. Really long way.
Ankur Singh picked up a six wicket haul. Javed Safi (right) struck 69 that included 6 sixes and 4 fours.
Irrespective of what the match situation is, that’s the only way he plays. He sees it. If it’s there to be hit, He hits it. He showed it again Last Saturday where He used his powers to help Highlanders steamroll the Knights. Promoted to open along with Mike Persaud, Javed Safi started with intent like he always does. But the damp pitch caused by overnight rains didn’t make batting easier. The ball just didn’t come on to the bat. Javed Safi stuck in. He started off his innings by stylishly flicking a leg stump half volley to a boundary. But otherwise the first few overs were not in his zone. He respected it and played it defensively. The field spread after the first 6 overs in which the Highlanders posted a steady 26 for no loss.
Javed was now settled in and waiting to explode. Mike Persaud held firm on the other end. The Highlanders were 51 for no loss at the end of 10. The waiting abruptly came to a halt in the 11th over as Javed decided to take off. To the zone that only few can go. The cricket ball suddenly became a football and Javed started giving a powerful whipping using his bat. The ball kept sailing in the air and over the boundary for the next few overs. Pitched up medium pace, six over long on. Good length medium pace, six over midwicket. Looped up off-spin, six over midwicket. Looped up again, six over square leg. Skiddy leg break in middle stump, swung away over midwicket. Short pitch on off, powerful stab over covers. For a matter of 4 overs, Javed Safi was only hitting. Hitting it to such extent, that he forgot to run. In all he made 69 powerful runs that had 6 sixes and 4 fours. 52 runs just came in boundaries. Javed Safi had done his job. Saurabh Verma then gave the innings finishing touches with 2 sixers of his own. Kamal Hussain and Shoaib Hassan made a helping hand with their brief cameos. The Highlanders made 138 in 20 overs, a fighting score considering the conditions.
Chasing 139 to win, the Knights had to confront another man with powers. This time it was Mike Persaud, the uncanny swing bowler, who can move the ball both ways at a gingerly medium pace. Plying his trade on the cricket field for more than 30 years, Mike can read the batsman like only the best can do. With subtle changes in wrist positions, Mike can bowl prodigious out-swingers and then can surprise the batsman that comes in. On this day, Mike was on top form slicing the Knights top order in no time. First it was Jayaram Manukonda who found no timing in trying to loft a ball over mid-on and was caught. Next it was Joseph Gali who kept reaching out to the out swingers and finally managed to nick one to the keeper.
Vamsidhar Varmakonda survived a drop chance at a short midwicket but he could not survive the lethal out-swinger the very next ball and was trapped LBW. Ranadheer Sammetta played away from the body and nicked one on to the stumps. Knights were reduced to 27 for the loss of 4 wickets at the end of the powerplay. John Florent then cleaned up Ruthvik Vemareddy and Siva Dharman in back to back overs. Razi Farooq and Hiren Kakadiya cleaned up the lower order. Knights were all out for 51 in 16 overs. For his brilliant power hitting that fetched him 69 runs and his excellent catch behind the stumps, Javed Safi was adjudged the Man of the match.
Maurice Persaud Empire Cricket League
Knights Thump RPI Despite Ankur’s Valiant Bowling Effort
Knights won the toss and decided to bat. Akshay Bestha and Jayaram Manukonda opened the innings for the Knights. Ankur Singh, playing for RPI, opened the bowling along with Navdeep Grover. Ankur Singh, born and raised in Niskayuna, is one of the few local products playing cricket in the capital region. His presence on the field is a vindication of all the efforts Capital District Cricket Association has been putting up to grow cricket in the region and have local products play the game.
And what a day Ankur Singh had by picking up his first ever wicket in the league while trapping Akshay Bestha plumb in front. That was not it. He went on to bag five more wickets to cap his best day on a cricket field.
Bowling from a short run up at a medium pace, Ankur kept the ball on a good length and managed to hold the seam upright and let the natural variations take control. The result of which was batsman trying to force shots that were not there and getting bowled or trapped in front.
His dream spell read 7.2-1-24-6. He is the only one to get a 6-for this season. Arun Baskaran, the off spinner, took a 3-wicket haul. For the Knights, it was their skipper Arun Ghanta who led from the front in playing through the innings. Giving him company at the other end was their all-rounder Vamsi, who gave up his attacking instincts to play solid cricket. Both Arun and Vamshi played straight and left a lot of balls alone. They rotated the strike and managed to get a very good partnership going. Whenever the opportunity was there, they did take advantage of them, evident from the 2 sixes of Vamsi’s blade. Apart from these 2, other batsman didn’t make any significant contribution. Knights were all-out for 129 at the end of 32 overs.
Chasing 130 to win from 40 overs, RPI batsmen went in to their shell trying to preserve wickets in hand. But that didn’t work well as they only scored 12 runs at the end of 9 overs. Nithyagopal Goswami played through the innings with a fighting innings of 20. But that was not enough as they were all out 59 at the end of 28 overs. For the Knights their mystery leg spinner Mithesh Jain Godha picked up 3 wickets while Jayaram Manukonda picked up 2 wickets. For his dream spell of 6 wickets for 24 runs, Ankur Singh was adjudged the Man of the match.