[ L->R Table: Vijay Kumar, Satish, Jaggu, Ashwin, Appu(standing), Shiva, Kripa, Mummoorthy (Captain); L->R Floor: Parmesh (Wkt Keeper), Vishal, Raja(Bala) ganesh]Virtual Reality fielded its 3rd generation cricket team in the Spring 2009 PUCC Indoor Tournament. Having been in VR from Spring 2006 (when it was founded), I can say VR09 is my favorite along with the VR06. Well, VR06 is the unbeatable team in Armory in every sense of the word - no team can even come close to being at the same league as the first version, VR06. The ironic comedy is that these two best teams lost out in the semi-finals in their respective season. VR06 lost to GoCityBus in the Semi-finals. Batting first, VR06 scored 89 and still ended up losing due to insipid fielding and bowling. VR09 just scored 66 but almost won the match with some great bowling/fielding performances from every one.
This VR team of Spring 2009 put up a performance the Armory has not witnessed in many seasons - it is not one of those fluke performances. The team worked hard, practiced hard and played hard. I would say VR09 was qualified to be the Champion, but still ended up in the losing side - it is hard, but everyone should realize that the team which learns from a heart-breaking loss is the true champion team. Players from VR06 did just that. May be the history won't repeat itself.....or may be it will. Who knows!!!
Since some players are leaving this semester, let me comment about each player in VR09 ( follow the picture order).
Vijay Kumar is one of the dynamic opening batsmen in Armory. It is not only his range of strokes, but his running between the wickets, and non-selfish batting that always inspires others.
Satish single-handedly helped VR to register our first win in this season with some awesome batting. His QF bowling performance is a special and a match-winning one. If Satish
almost sealed the QF win, it was
Jaggu's bowling that really inspired us to win that game. Jaggu produced some amazing spells in QF and SF that set him apart as a champion bowler - his bowling showcased why VR won so many matches in our previous seasons.
Aswin started brilliantly with some nice batting at the top order. Lack of form towards the end didn't do much for his confidence but he contributed greatly by his athletic fielding.
Appu came to many practice sessions and even demonstrated batting skills for the players.
Shiva fit into the strike bowler role very smoothly for VR. His disciplined and lethal bowling at the start of innings provided great start to VR in almost every match. And he bowls those well-disguised slower balls ;). I personally think
Kripa exhibited only 10% of his bowling potential. It is just a matter of time before he poses danger to many batsman, probably in Seattle ;).
Skipping me (as this blog space is not enough....just kidding), we'll go to
Paramesh. I have often told people to bat naturally; hit the easy ball, defend tricky balls as you perceive in any instant. Batting natural is about trusting your instinct as you wait for the ball at the crease and playing accordingly. Well, match after match, Paramesh showcased the natural batting effortlessly. He is one of the best batsmen and allround cricketer I have ever seen in Armory, in the ranks of ex-Ashwin and Paranjpe. It was a delight to bat with him. Too bad he is leaving this semester.
Vishal's QF blast against Bullets was magical. I always thought he was highly gifted as a batsman but somehow didn't click until the end. His QF batting was flawless and his team spirit while fielding is an example for many others to follow.
Bala Ganesh (also known as Raja Ganesh ;) ) was an embodiment of VR spirit; unadulterated fun & energy while playing Cricket. Somehow I see some similarities between him and Sachin Tendulkar...wait a minute..let me explain. He opens the batting, almost always gets out by edging the ball on to his stumps or gets some real bad decisions and that too in the first over!!! :). He even plays soccer in the cricket field ( recall he kicked a ball to single which was a sure boundary in QF). He was one of our finest and reliable fileders. And finally,
Venkatt, our regular opening batsman missed most of the season to work on his defense (i.e. thesis defense...as his defensive techniques are already well-developed and borrowed from the great wall, Dravid). He's a very strong and reliable opening bat, plus partners very well with others. Any one can trust him in running between the wickets - if at all there's a miscommunication - somehow, he'll be the one to get runout ;).
According to me, there are two kinds of cricketers; the ones you want in your team and the ones you want in your opposition team. Well, personally, I'll not hesitate a moment to be team-mates with any of these guys!!! - MM
