Whiteley VillageWhiteley Village vs Frimley Green Cricket ClubFGCC

The opposition won the toss, and that was the last thing they won all day. They decided to bat first and opened with a big bang by smacking Rohit for a boundary on first ball. Next few balls: more runs. Rohit didn’t like this disrespect, so he unleashed an in-swinger so beautiful it should’ve been framed. The batter left it like a gentleman, the ball took his stumps like a thief. Everyone was shocked, including us. Test-match vibes unlocked.

That one delivery traumatised them. 3 Maiden overs from Rohit and cautious pokes from everyone else kept their run rate lower. They batted like they were protecting family heirlooms, not wickets. We kept them crawling at 4 an over, taking wickets whenever they dared to breathe. By the last over they were 9 down, and on the last ball of 40th over, Manoj finished the job with his secret slow ball that he was practicing in the Nets, a masterpiece that floated in like a confused butterfly and landed straight in Rohit’s hands. All out for 162.

Chase should’ve been a walk in the park. Instead, we turned it into a walk through Jurassic Park. Early wickets fell, but things were steady, until Swaroop arrived, who decided that chasing 163 should feel like climbing Everest without oxygen. Dot balls flowed like a charity drive. Dot balls, more dot balls, and a few bonus dot balls for flavour, resulting in a run rate slower than M25 traffic on a bank holiday. Initially, it wasn’t an issue as the target was low but at 75/4 in 20 overs, tension started to creep in. The only calm person was Swaroop, who was apparently auditioning for a Test match.

Overs were vanishing, runs were not adding. The dressing room aged 10 years. When Manoj came in, he hit the accelerator. Later however, while attempting a reverse sweep, he got lbw and went in reverse gear to the pavilion. When only few overs were left and enough tension was built up, Swaroop decided to stop torturing us and started cracking and collecting runs. He got out though in 39th over, when it was too late. While we initially thought that we’d finish the game in 30 overs, it went on until the last over.

Last over: 5 needed. First two balls: dots (thanks to nerves and unnecessary pressure created on batsman). Then a no-ball that Balaji smacked for 2. Finally, he ended our collective suffering with a four on the next ball.

Easy win? No. Though it could have been easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Memorable win? Absolutely, for a different reason.
Moral of the story: Never let Swaroop control the run rate.