Manjith Nair and Suraj Menon write on the prospects of the freshie (HS17) team for the forthcoming Prem Ranjan Memorial Cricket Tournament.
HS 17: THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Captain: Sree Sankar A.
HS17 enters the Prem Ranjan Memorial Cricket Tournament as the underdogs. Up against teams that have a combined experience of seven years in the tournament, the freshie team is not a favourite to make it past the group stage. With the team’s inexperience, comes its unpredictability; the other batches do not know where the strengths and weaknesses of their juniors lie. And it is this ambiguity that HS17 should utilize, to thwart their opponents.
HS17 players have shown their ability to hold their nerves, in the football tournament. With the cricket line-up almost identical to the football one, pressure situations should not be a problem for the team.
Most importantly, this team has set the expectations low enough for them to enjoy their game and play a fearless brand of cricket.
THE TEAM
The team has no dearth of big hitters. Baladitya B. will hope to give the team an explosive start, that will help the middle and lower order forget the run rate and string partnerships. He is not short of form, thanks to his participation in the Kannadiga Cricket Tournament held at Sangam. John and Suraj will have to read the game and play according to the situation. HS17 bats deep and possess the luxury of a solid bottom order, with players who boast of having all the shots in the book. The spectators can look forward to catching a few shots sent into the stands by Manjith and Sarath Selvaraj. Sree Sankar though, will be key in the team’s hopes of having a good run in the tournament. His ability to both time the ball and dispatch it to any part of the field, will give the bowlers a hard time.
In the bowling department, the team will bank on the fast bowling duo of John and Suraj. HS17 will go to these two to bowl the crucial overs of their matches. Sree Sankar and Manjith will also chip in, with their pace. Indu is key to HS17’s hopes as her experience in basketball can give her an advantage over other bowlers in the tournament. And when runs are being leaked, the captain might hand over the ball to Surya, who can bowl good lines and lengths. The freshies lag behind their seniors in the bowling department and their fielding should be spot on, to cover up for the same.
PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR
John is the complete package. Fiery deliveries, solid batting technique and heroic dives on the field. Most coaches demand that all-rounders in their team should be able to make the cut, either as a batsman or as a bowler. John would not only make the cut, both as a batsman and a bowler, but he can turn around a game with the bat and ball. If he gets going, HS17 will already have a firm a grip over the match. The freshie team has no method to compare their star with the standards set by others in the department, but they will hope he meets those standards and that he shows up in the big games. His experience in representing the Insti Football team will help him stay calm in the most clutch moments of the tournament.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If there is a team that can be said to be in the wrong position at the wrong time, it is the team HS 17. With zero experience and completely no idea of the field, they are batting against two of the most experienced sides of the tournament, HS 13 and HS 14. Both these teams have strong reasons to go for the cup. The aggressive HS 14 team, having failed an opportunity to score a ‘Hat-Trick’ last year, will look for an opportunity to take back their position. They cannot afford any untoward incidents in the match against the Freshie Team, since the other team, HS 13, has some explosive players and is, in no doubt, desperate to lift the ‘Prem Ranjan Memorial Trophy’ in the last attempt to glory. In spite of all these ‘hallah-bulla’, there is the novice team, HS 17, trying to make their presence felt in Sangam.
HS17 will try to complete a historic double by emulating their success in the football tournament. Most of its players do not fancy their chances; but if they shed their insecurity and play bold, they can very well make it to the latter stages of the competition. One of their strong points is the ‘element of surprise’, no one knows what to expect of the team (even the Captain himself). The team will put up a good fight against the opposition if they are able to fully exploit this advantage. Winning a group match is more than enough for them as they have nothing to prove, unlike the other teams in the Group A. Even if they don’t, they will be proud of their performance, for there lies ahead of them, four years to improve.
Article 19 