Story c39_0823|Born to Fight for Success - A Journey with SA Redbacks, Innings 2 of WW Vs SA FC

[Roofrom50]

You'll get some confidence Suren. 25 from 80 balls is ok in the first session, but in this next session you'll be trying to look for 60-70 runs.

Wonderful presentation mate, mind blowing stuff

 

[coolz_hari]

surendar top class story .

 

[Gary123]

Brilliant mate........25 from 80 will be 60 from 111 i guess.......KIU

 

[Left_Hander]

A good effort for you to survive the whole session, and to think you could of been out first ball! . Lucky you have a stroke maker up the other end to score the runs while you try and give him as much strike as possible.

Great update. Had me on the edge of my seat after I thought you were out LBW first ball!

 

[KBC]

Just Sing, "I will survive!....Oh as long as i know how to bat i know i'll stay alive!"

Brill mate, no need to say again.

 

[surendar]

(7c) Tamil Nadu vs Maharashtra - End of First Innings, Day 1.
​

May 03, 2009
Time - 05:45 PM​

After the lunch, we came again to the batting crease. " Do what you can & enjoy as much as you can! ", the words of my coach before I left the dressing room kept on uttering in my ears. However, I was bit relaxed since I was in non-striker's end. I saw my partner in cool tempo too. Dole started the proceedings after Lunch and the ball was moving a bit. He wasn't as comfortable as he was before lunch. Enamul Haque Jr shared the ball with Dole after lunch.

Not that comfortable Vs SPIN!

The turn off the ball is bit too much,
its just that I am not getting where to keep my legs &
where to keep my bat! : :cool: ​

In my very first ball after lunch, I just played a blind defense and it did not make a proper contact with the bat. It went in air towards silly point. I don't even know the name of that fielder, he just made a huge leap. I got scared that he had caught the ball but fortunately, he did not get enough hands to it.

The spinner was just making me uncomfortable. However, I continued to be on the cautious side. In one of the deliveries, I padded the delivery for which I received some sledging from the silly point fielder. He told something something in hindi seeing my face. I was just clueless : " CAN I HAVE SOME TRANSLATOR! ", is what I felt in my brains. Seeing me uncomfortable, Badri quickly came towards me and asked me to be cool and ignore the sledging and all those stuff. I tried to give as much as strike to Badri because he was comfortable in taking on the bowlers.

I lost an Important Partner - Badrinath.

The guy who was giving me lots of confidence got dismissed!
: ​

Like how I felt uncomfortable against the spin, Badrinath was also impatience with that spinner. He tried to attack Enamul but he was not able to do that perfectly. It was spin which won every time. I had a word with Badri to maintain the patience level for next few overs, but despite my words Badri tried to attack again and fell in the trap set by Enamul Haque Jr.

Badri tried to dance down the track and hit a huge one.. but the ball comfortable went to the keeper and he did not have any problem in removing the bails off completely from the stumps. The thing which surprised me was, Badrinath did not even care to return back to the crease but he started to walk off instead.

I was feeling bit bad in my heart since he was giving me tips and guiding me properly. There was indeed a good understanding between us but it has ended up now. I saw Vidyut coming in as the new batsman. I explained him clearly the track conditions and we made sure to maintain our patience level for some minutes atleast without any risks.

Its Dole AGAIN!

The same chap who made me to struggle in my very first ball,
has trapped me even now very soon after lunch! : ​

It was Dole whom I was facing. He bowled a delivery which pitched near the off-stump line and moved towards the leg-stump. I tried my best to keep my eyes on the in-moving delivery and defend it but the ball just moved a bit too much and struck my pads.

Immediately there was a huge shout from Dole. I was bit confident that umpire won't raise his finger as I thought it was going to miss the leg stump anyways. The umpire took some time for his decision.

Shockingly, he raised his hands! : " Whaaaaat? ", I thought within myself and was not able to believe my eyes. " Am I given out? ", this question kept on popping in my mind continuously. I was just not able to believe that my time at the crease is over! :

Noooooo... Can't the time be reversed back?

I tried my best to stay at the crease for long time &
get some good runs in my very first game.. but its all over! ​

I started to walk slowly looking at my partner, Vidyut. He said, " Tough luck! ". I just watched at him and nodded my head and started to walk slowly. I was totally disappointed. I cannot believe that umpire has given me OUT! Again I paused on there for a second and looked back at my batting crease.

" Can't the time be reversed to make the things right again? :what :confused: ", those thoughts just kept on running in my mind. I don't want to leave back to pavilion, I wanted to bat for bit more time atleast. All my plans of settling down and then taking on the bowlers went in vain.

With my head down, I returned back to my dressing room. Coach just tapped my shoulder, " Better luck next time, Suren. You didn't have a bad debut either. In-fact, you spent nearly 100 balls at the crease which was not an easy thing for any debut makers! ". Those words from my coach convinced me a bit.

Then only I realized that I scored 30 runs from 96 balls. With only 3 fours, definitely, it would have been one of the most boring innings for TN. But since it's debut, I optimistically believed that its ok for the new comers. I removed my pads and changed on to fresh dress and sat near the coach with one magazine in my hand. I was bit hungry too since I ate only less during the lunch break. Hence I took a cup of coffee too and sat with a magazine (India Today is the name of that magazine) near the coach.

Karthik and Vidyut were batting. But THEY WERE TOO BORING TO WATCH! Both of them went on to too much defensive mode. They were defending as much as they can. That time only I realized how boring it would have been for others when I did the same thing. Atleast in my partnership with Badri, he was going wild helping the scorecard to keep on ticking. But in Karthik/Vidyut partnership, both the players were enjoying their time at the crease.

I started to feel sleepy. To prevent a bad impression from my coach, I just stood up from there and took a small walk around the stadium. When I came back, I got a shock again! Karthik was walking back towards the pavilion. I heard from my coach that it was Fallah who dismissed him. Then Suresh spent some time with Vidyut. He was also looking too much defensive. Then they came for a tea break. It was a short break though. I was simply bored to sit idle and watch the boring innings. Suresh and Vidyut did not attacked the bowlers. After a boring innings, Suresh also came back to the pavilion.

Vidyut, finally went to Attacking Mode!

Suresh and Karthik were too boring to watch, atleast
Vidyut has now sensed the urgency to score runs. ​

It was when I was telling my captain that one of the players should be scoring freely while other should be of supportive role, Vidyut smashed one short pitched delivery of Fallah to the boundary. I stood up and clapped from my seat which Vidyut also noticed.

After that, he switched to the attacking role. He tried to keep the scorecard moving quick as much as he could. He even smashed dangerous looking Enamul Haque Jr. He played lovely cover drives, pull shots and leg glances which were wonderful to watch.

I was just jumping and applauding him when he raised his bat towards our dressing room for his fifty. At this time only I realized that my sleep ( which existed when Karthik and Suresh were batting) had gone away from me.

Wicket after Wicket!

Except Vidyut, others were fond of our dressing room!​

Vidyut turned out to be a complete entertainment all of a sudden. After seeing him, I was thinking about my batting because I also had same plans like Vidyut i.e, to settle down well and take on the bowlers. It was when I was thinking about my own batting, Ashwin also came back to pavilion.

Our team started to fall like a pack of cards after that. Vidyut alone was the exception. He took on the bowlers and tried to take the scorecard of Tamil Nadu go past the 250 mark atleast but it did not happen. Enamul Haque looked too much threatening for the tail enders and he just destroyed our tail.

End of First Innings, TN : 243 All Out!

Bravooooo Vidyut/Badri! :hpraise ​

Our tail enders had no answers to Enamul Haque's deliveries. Vidyut was completely disappointed as he was left alone in the battle. The situation which looked comfortable to us, suddenly it's looking other way to us. Tamil Nadu was all out for just 243 runs. This indeed is not a good performance considering our position during lunch. Its just the matter of time which the things changed.

We gathered together and tried to convince Vidyut who ran out of partners. However, Coach and captain stayed positive and were giving us the strategies. We got the information that we had to bowl 2 overs before the end of day's play. Karthik was telling the strategy for the bowling/fielding.

I interrupted my captain and said, " How about having a go on spinners today and start with pacers tomorrow? " and added my point that the pitch seems to have something for spinners. " Not a bad idea,Suren! ", my coach said and they were likely to try the option which I suggested.

Though the things did not go in the way which I thought, my chemistry(understanding) with the team members seem to go good now in the dressing room." Better luck next time, Suren. You didn't have a bad debut either. In-fact, you spent nearly 100 balls at the crease which was not an easy thing for any debut makers! ", my coach's words continued to stay on my mind still.... I was getting hungry for some success! :upray

 

[Roofrom50]

Not a bad debut Suren. Although from 100 balls, shoulda been a whole lot more mate.

Good update, wonderful graphics. What font are you using on your graphics as well?

 

[surendar]

Not a bad debut Suren. Although from 100 balls, shoulda been a whole lot more mate.

Good update, wonderful graphics. What font are you using on your graphics as well?

Thank you It is Willy wonka font.

Willy Wonka Font | dafont.com

 

[Roofrom50]

Thank you It is Willy wonka font.

Willy Wonka Font | dafont.com

Cheers mate, i liked the look of it, will certainly be using that in future updates

 

[surendar]

(7d) Tamil Nadu vs Maharashtra - End of Day 1.
​

May 03, 2009
Time - 06:02 PM​

It was a short break for the change of innings where we made our strategies clear. It was when a minute left for the umpire's call, I started to think about my dismissal. I got this thought all of a sudden because in a television, which was nearby me, they were showing the wickets package. When all my team mates gathered together for a huddle, I stood near the television.

It was disappointing to watch my OWN dismissal!

Why this TV set should appear in my eyes! :
Please wait for the animated image to load.. Thank you for the patience
​

My team mates started their huddle also. But I was still near the television. They showed several replays of my dismissal. It made me to curse myself for not making any contact with the ball. The hawkeye replay also confirmed that it would have struck the leg stump.

Suddenly my mind went so much disturbed. Noticing this, my coach came towards me. Suddenly I felt some hand on my shoulder. It was none other than my coach, Raman. " What are you thinking about, Suren? ", he asked me.

" If I would have stayed at the crease, myself and Vidyut would have taken Tamil Nadu to a healthy position... ", I said in a sad tone. " Hey hey hey, it's not the time to think about all these things now. Past is past! Lets hope our spinners can be our pillars in this innings. Lets see what happens. You better go and join your mates there..", he said.

When I turned my face towards the ground, the players were already half way to the pitch. Batsmen were coming out. " Damn! : ", I felt and I ran immediately overtaking the batsmen.

Ready, Set & Go for Innings Two.

I managed myself to come back to normal state of mind &
started to cheer our team lads! ​

Balaji was given the new ball to bowl. I went to Karthik and asked, " what about the idea of spin bowling which we discussed? ". But he wanted only Balaji to take the new ball. I just asked about my fielding position then since I could not bother to argue with my captain.

Karthik made me to stand in gully. I was happy to field there though I always wanted to stand in first slip. The very first ball of Balaji was smashed to the boundary by Khadiwale. I expected this. : I was internally applauding the batsman though I didn't express it out. " He didn't listen to me, let him take this! ", my mind cursed my captain.

After all, Balaji was the bowler who got smashed in first over.. when he was introduced in Indian side, smashed in first ball when I was asked to face Balaji for the first time in nets.. and now getting smashed in first ball again by Maharashtra batters.

In the same over, batsman tried to play in the gap between slip and my position. I don't know how it happened but I just dived watching the ball alone and in the end, I managed to stop the ball and thus saving a certain boundary. :happy

I started to run here and there shouting and applauding and cheering other team members. Hope I would have come nicely in the TV telecast. Karthik was surprised to see my attitude. He just applauded for my fielding. However, there was another couple taken by the batsman in the last ball.

Really, A PRIZE Wicket!

This was what I expected too.. i.e Spinners having a good impact! ​

After the end of Balaji's over, I stressed Karthik again to bring on the spin bowler. It was anyways, the last over of the day.. So what's there to experiment something new? Karthik gave the ball to Ashwin. :happy I felt happy for my captain's decision. The fiedling was very attacking. I was shifted to stand in point in Ashwin's over.

Bhosale, the another opener however stayed cautious and gave strike to Khadiwale. And that guy smashed the very first ball of Ashwin to a FOUR! : I was wondering that Khadiwale must have been a aggressive batsman. However it was just a delivery before the end of day's play, Ashwin got his reward.

It was a straight quick delivery which Khadiwale tried to defend. Unfortunately, it went straight to the slips and Badrinath did not find any problems in taking a simple catch. :happy We all gathered and celebrated this wicket. We did not expect this to happen but we were happy with the prize wicket. The new batsman just defended a ball and umpire announced the end of the day's play.

We started to walk back to our dressing room again! Before we went in, we had some catching practice for 10-15 minutes. The coach was a happy man because of that wicket. Karthik praised me to the coach and said, " I had no intentions of bringing Ashwin today .. it was because of Suren's bugging, I did not hesitate to experiment and it worked well. Suren is a good team man! ". Those were words told by Karthik to the coach.

I wasn't standing there but I somehow overheard that conversation.

Match Summary.

​

With Tamil Nadu collapsing in the middle, only 243 was scored in 87 overs. But the real bonus was the wicket of Khadiwale. With Enamul's 5 wicket haul and Ashwin's early break through, the expectations on spinners in this match have increased further...

" I had no intentions of bringing Ashwin today .. it was because of Suren's bugging, I did not hesitate to experiment and it worked well. Suren is a good team man! ", those words, which I overheard when Karthik was saying to my coach, kept my mind happy despite of many disturbances during that whole day. My partnership with Badrinath, coach's confidence in me & now Karthik's confidence in me are the best moments of the day. But, I am yet to quench my hunger of the success...

 

[Roofrom50]

Another wonderful update Suren. Keep the chatter and bugging up in the field and one day a batsmen will focus on you and try and kill you with the ball and bat

Love the hawkeye graphic too mate. keep up the good work

 

[shantanu_rooney]

243 is not at all a very good total in first class cricket you all need to bowl really well. nice to see you get 30 odd runs on your debut as nice innings by Vidyut. Its always great to get a wicket at the end of the day and Ashwin got that for you. Now hopefully the second day is good one for the bowlers.

Nice presentation and writing as usual mate. KIU

 

[MuchMore]

LOL, have some respect for your strike bowler dude

But awesome story, just read it from first page and it is as good as, if not better than, the journey to WC story.

Nice pics, nice story line. You get reps. KUTGW

 

[MuchMore]

This awesome idea just struck me, will Suren Ram by any chance get a lucrative IPL contract?

 

[MWaugh]

Great work Suren. I love the planning that has gone into this story thread. To use 2004 so well is a huge credit to you. Keep it going mate, again its the benchmark. Any other story writers have a good read of surens stories, it will help you with your own.

Cheers buddy,
MWaugh