Friends 11 continue their success!

As the great American businessman Mr. James Cash Penney once said,

“Growth is never by chance; it is the result of forces working together”. This was
the case in the second league match of Friends 11 against the newly formed
Martians CC. It was a collective effort by the team which resulted in an emphatic
victory in which Friends 11 thrashed Martians by 71 runs.
Friends 11 were sent to bat after losing the toss. The opening bowlers
justified the captain’s decision to field first and it was a déjà vu when there was a
procession of batsmen to the crease at the hour mark. MCC’s opening bowlers
were miserly in the opening spell and their accurate line length continuously
troubled Friends 11 opening batsmen. The opening pair of Midlaj and Tobin
strangled the batsmen from both ends and it was last match’s batting hero Joxin
who made the long walk, first, back to the pavilion. Soon after that Sreekumar had
also left the crease when he nicked one to the wicket keeper of Tobin’s bowling.
After the fall of second wicket, there was a small effort by Salman and Jaimon to
resurrect and it was cut short when their partnership was broken by Tobin(again!).
Riju’s arrival at the crease brought in some stability to the team’s scoring. He is
known in the Malyali circuit as ‘Viru’ and boy, he clearly lived up to his reputation.
He bludgeoned bowlers across the field and his quick fire 32 was very substantial in
building the momentum at the half way stage. As the saying goes, ‘good things
don’t last long’; clearly Riju rocketed one in the sky only to be caught by Arafath of
Rafi’s bowling. It was Rafi who was the star with the ball in the middle overs as he
removed Riju, Shafeeque and Midhun in quick succession. It was Jomon, who
came in to the side for his first match for Friends 11, really peaked at the right time
by willfully scoring all around the park. He was the lone survivor of the team who
eventually fell for 149.
Martians’ fare share of luck rides on their super star opening batsman
Nasweeph and more often than not, he had proved himself in the past against F11
and Friends 11 was wary of him. On a ground where 149 runs was a very par
score and it might have the same cause which triggered their downfall. Skillful
bowling of Friends 11, led by their own captain Mr. Arun, clearly didn’t lend their
hands in handing Martians, their long cherished first win. The scorecard itself was
the greatest illustration how good the bowling was for the F11. Arun, Riju and
Midhun snared 3 wickets and Jomon had the remaining one to his name(His first
wicket of the UKMCL). All it took was just 16 overs and Martians were bowled
out for a meager score of 72 runs, a win by 71 runs! There was not much
contribution from any team member apart from Nasweeph, who was the only
batsman to score double digits.
At times scorecard doesn’t do justice to the teams. Even though it looks like it
was a walk in the park for Friends 11, there was a rollercoaster of emotions
throughout the match, especially during the first innings. Martians did strike in the
early part of the innings at the right time and if it was not for the innings of Riju
and Jomon, it would have been a different story. Thanks to the brilliance of Arun,
the captain and the bowlers who really rose up to the challenge and the situation
and produced a master class of swing, seam and fast bowling and took the team to
victory. It was the second win on the trot to the Friends 11 and it was a nice win
before we head to a week’s break.

Report by Antony