By Sudharsan Ramarao
After winning a crucial toss, the JETS’ skipper Vishva Velichala put the Panthers in to bat. The decision was forced by a damp pitch and soggy outfield, courtesy of overnight rains. After waiting for a couple of hours for the pitch to dry out, the match eventually started at 12:30 with no loss of overs. Vishva and Pardha Phani took the new ball and as usual they were on the money putting batsmen under pressure with crippling line and length.
Sridhar Sagi was named man-of-the-match for his 6 wickets haul.
The Panthers batting unit, relatively inexperienced, needed this game more than anyone else as the luxury of having 35 overs would have given ample time for the batsmen to settle down and spend precious time in the middle. But the Panthers batsmen made the same mistake again by giving away their wickets to soft dismissals. Shravan Matham was run-out trying to steal a second run that never existed. Kushal Vaishnav was out second ball caught behind trying to fend a ball, and probably the unluckiest of all was Christopher Selvaraj who nailed a lofted drive towards long-on, only to find the fielder Bharathwaj Samavedam stationed there, and taking a breath-taking overhead catch.
The Panthers were 4 for 3 and their best batsmen Kiran Vishnu and skipper Harsh Jogi were in the middle sooner than they would have liked. Even before they could think of scoring runs, they had to first negotiate Vishva who was in the midst of a dangerous spell. A particularly telling over was the one he bowled to Kiran Vishnu. Every ball swung back in and pitched on the corridor of uncertainty, forcing Kiran to take long strides forward to negate the swing. Harsh and Kiran then settled down, moving the scoreboard slowly forward.
While Kiran batted conservatively for a long inning, Harsh played the aggressor. Whenever the ball was there to be hit, he hit it. The six he hit over extra cover was probably the shot of the day. Panthers moved to 38 for 3, and then came the most crucial and decisive period of play as Sridhar Sagi, the senior statesman of the JETS, came on to bowl his military medium. Sridhar, who is known to be the man with the golden arm, was cutting the ball away from Kiran Vishnu. Seeing this Kiran Vishnu played them all on the front foot with huge strides, offering soft hands. But the intelligent Sridhar surprised Kiran by cutting one back in. Kiran was caught on the move and out LBW. Sridhar then claimed the prized wicket of Harsh Jogi in the same over, courtesy of another excellent running catch at long-on by Pardha.
With both of their star batsmen back in the hut, the Panthers’ lower order didn’t offer enough resistance and the team folded for just 49 runs. Sridhar Sagi picked up 6 wickets for just 14 runs with his slow medium cutters.
Chasing 50 in 35 overs, the JETS sent Sridhar, the man who took 6 wickets, and Abishek Penti to open. Sridhar acknowledged this promotion by hitting a hug six over long-on. He eventually got out for 13 caught behind off Anvesh Chikulapalli. Abishek Penti was unlucky to play on to his stumps for 13. Bharathwaj and Vishva completed the formalities by the 14th over. For the Panthers, Venkat Nanda was the pick of the bowlers. Sridhar Sagi was the Man-of-the-Match.