Biyas Muhammed writes on the prospects of the third year (HS15) team for the forthcoming Prem Ranjan Memorial Cricket Tournament. 

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HS 15 : TOO MUCH DEPENDENCE ON THEIR CAPTAIN

Captain: Aswin Prabhakar

HS15 is chasing a target of 109 in a do-or-die match. Their captain has given them a great start, punishing the opponent team’s lead bowlers in supreme fashion. Then, something silly happens. Going for a needless run, they lose their captain. And, there ends the team’s 2017 Prem Ranjan campaign. It’s indeed a heartbreak moment for the team as they were in the driver’s seat on two occasions in the match. As another Prem Ranjan tournament approaches, it is important that they leave those disappointing moments behind but still reflect on what needs to be done at a tactical level.

LAST YEAR’S STORY: KNOCKED OUT IN GROUP STAGE

The team’s first match was against the defending champions HS14 who had defeated HS16 by a huge margin in their first match. Bowling first, in spite of a very good bowling effort by Aswin (22 runs and a wicket in 3 overs), they were set a target of 114 to upset HS14. In a ground where 100 (in 8 overs) is a winning total more often than not, 114 was a daunting task for the weak HS15 Batting lineup. They could manage only 66 runs in reply.

Their second match, against HS16, was a match they should have won. Aswin and Avinaash ran through the opposition’s top order and put their team in a winning position early on in the match. But, it was followed by a poor bowling performance as bowlers went wayward with their line and length. By the end of the first innings, HS15 had not only given up their winning position but also gave away the advantage to the opposition. But, HS15 soon did come back to the match in the early part of their chase. But, as discussed in the introductory paragraph, fate had other plans.

THE TEAM

4 wickets at an economy rate of 9 and 61 runs at a strike rate of 226 : These are Aswin’s stats from last year’s tournament. Now, contrast it with the team’s overall batting run rate of 8 and economy rate 13.18 and you get a clear picture of a team which is unable to catch up with the standards exhibited by its captain.

A generation of cricket fans in India admits to switching off their television sets when Sachin got out. As far as HS15’s batting is concerned, this seems to be an appropriate analogy. No one apart from Aswin could make a mark with the bat in the last year. It is high time HS15 find their Dravid and Ganguly to support the master blaster. The team could expect two from Avinaash, Deva, Karnalius, Melwin, and Bitthal to fit into these roles.

Bowling seems to be the stronger forte of this team. Though not the strongest, their bowling attack is the most unique in the tournament. Apart from Aswin, Deva, Karnalius, Sridhar, Avinaash, and Ramya are the bowling options.  Karnalius is among the fastest bowlers in the tournament and has a slingy action which makes things more difficult for the batsmen. Both Deva and Avinaash take the ball away from the right-hander. While the former bowls fast leg cutters, the latter is a more conventional slow leg break bowler. Sridhar fits into the role of a fast medium bowling option. Karnalius and Deva, the team’s two regular bowlers missed out of last year’s tournament due to injuries. Their return is expected to strengthen the team’s bowling department. Aswin will be hoping for consistency from his fellow bowlers in the tournament.

Though not a good catching side, the team is fairly decent when it comes to ground fielding. The likes of Vimal, Aswin, Karnalius, and Sridhar are the ones to watch out in the field. Avinaash is the wicketkeeper.

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR

During their first year, HS15 pulled off a major upset by defeating the current final years in a comprehensive fashion. What made it possible was that Aswin was ably supported by his partner Avinaash in putting up a big opening partnership. Avinaash’s risk-free yet decently paced hitting could be the perfect foil to Aswin’s flamboyant and aggressive style.

FINAL THOUGHTS

You may write off the HS15 team who had a tragic 2017, but not the exciting HS15 team which almost made it to the finals in the 2015-16 edition. Waiting for the return of that champion team. Write them off at one’s own risk.