Nawaabs Rule !
The San Ramon Nawaabs were crowned the TCA-SRCA 2010 Winter T20 League Champions when they beat the Piccadilly Pacers by 4 wickets in an exciting final that was a total "paisa vasool" match for the sizeable crowd as well as the sponsors and City officials that had gathered on a sunny Saturday morning at the picturesque Monarch ground in San Ramon to watch this encounter between the top two teams in the League.

Captain Sandeep of the Nawaabs called correctly at the toss, and decided to put the Pacers in, much to their discomfort. Sumeet and Bhavani opened the attack, and the first 11 balls didn't yield a run. On the twelfth ball Bhavani struck when he induced Randhir to try and hit him for a straight six, only to loft the ball into the safe hands of Bala waiting near the boundary behind the bowler. 0-1, and the Pacers had begun their slide. Bhavani struck again in the fourth over when Hitesh flashed at one outside the off stump only to get an edge that went straight to Sumanth at second slip. Sumeet kept up the pressure and induced an edge from Manoj which Sandy pocketed behind the stumps and then Visu pushed the Pacers further down when he had Phani holing out to an excellent catch by Mallesh, who didn't let an injured finger bother him at all and the Pacers' score was a miserable 13-4.

One reason the score was so low was that the Nawaabs fielding throughout the match was very sharp, and everyone was throwing themselves around. At the 10 over break the Pacers were 24 for 4 and the Nawaabs were well and truly on top. After the break, the Nawaabs kept up the pressure, despite a counter attack by Sunil and Chirag for the Pacers. However, both of these danger-men were dismissed by some very clever bowling by Biren, who fooled them and clean bowled them both. Once again the Nawaabs bowling unit of Sumeet, Bhavani, Biren, Visu and Bala was awesome, and even in the absence of key bowlers Vinay and Santosh did not allow the Pacers to breathe easy.

Special mention needs to be made of Bhavani who not only took 3 key wickets but also had the unbelievable economy rate of 5 runs in 4 overs. His tight bowling at the top and middle of the innings, not just in this match, but throughout the tournament, has been instrumental in keeping one end tied up, and opening up opportunities for others to take wickets at the other end. Also a word about Visu, who was entrusted the task of bowling the last over when the batsmen are going after the bowling, and who kept his cool and bowled the appropriate length for each batsman he faced. For example when he faced the Pacers' Praveen, his knowledge of the opponent was clearly evident, as he kept the ball on a good length, instead of full because he knew that Praveen found these types of balls harder to hit. It paid off when he had Praveen swinging wildly and missing, in the process nearly spinning around 360 degrees. By restricting the scoring to only 5 runs in the last over, and inducing a stumping and a run-out Visu ensured that the Pacers ended up with only a modest 66 in their 20 overs.

Sumeet and Sandy opened the batting for the Nawaabs and the pair played unhurriedly but solidly to take the score to 14 in 6 overs, before a very good piece of fielding and a bit of hesitation in running saw a well settled and determined looking Sumeet run out for 6. Now Bala joined Sandy and the two played some very responsible and sensible cricket, taking quick singles and twos, and scoring the odd boundary when the opportunity presented itself, like when part-time bowler Naren was given the 9th over and was taken for seven runs, including a boundary from the flashing blade of Sandy. However when regular bowler Srini bowled the 10th over, Bala calmly played out a maiden over, resisting all temptation to smash the bowling out of the park.

At the 10 over mark the Nawaabs were 26 for 1, only 2 runs ahead of where the Pacers had been at the same point, but much more importantly with 9 wickets in hand compared to the Pacers who had lost nearly half their wickets by that stage. In the end that made a huge difference, as the pressure began to mount, and the crowd began to grow, and support for each team grew louder.

In the 11th over Sandy, once again reading the game beautifully, smashed Murali for 8 runs including a trade-mark pulled six over mid-wicket. In the next over, when the score read 38 for 1, against the run of play, Sandy was out caught behind going for his favorite leg side shot. Befitting a team that made it to the finals of the tournament, the Pacers now saw an opening and took full advantage. Chirag first got one to rise unexpectedly and take the handle of Bala's bat on its way to the close fielder on the leg side, and then he delivered another big blow when he induced an edge off Sumanth's bat for wicket keeper Sunil to do the rest. With two big hitters now out, the pressure suddenly shifted back to the Nawaabs.

However in Lucky and Biren, the Nawaabs had the right men for the job, and they went about repairing the damage with deftly placed singles, to keep the strike rotating and the runs ticking. When Lucky was bowled by Chirag, trying to force the ball on the off side, the Nawaabs were 51 for 4, and needing 16 runs in four overs for victory. The 17th over yielded only 3 runs, and now 13 was needed in 18 balls.

This was the key moment of the match. The Pacers had one over each left for their two strike bowlers, Randhir and Praveen, with three overs to go. They could try and attack and push the Nawaabs further down, or they could try and get in another over by their 5th bowler and hope that the pressure of the occasion and match situation would get to the Nawaabs. After the first two balls of the 18th over, which were both dot balls, the Pacers looked to have made the right choice. However the next ball, Biren turned the whole game around when he smashed the slightly over pitched delivery out of the ground, shocking the Pacers with a six, one of the most crucial sixes ever hit by a Nawaab, to the delight of his teammates and to the amazement of the crowd. The very next ball in typical Biren fashion he calmly bunted the ball on the leg side for a single. Even in the midst of this adrenaline inducing moment, he displayed a cool head as well as his no-nonsense approach. He figured that after altering the equation to 6 needed in 15 balls what was the need to take any unnecessary risks? The runs could easily be gathered in ones and twos. During this period Biren was accompanied at the crease by Anil, who only played two balls, but did his job by taking a run off each. With the match coming down to the crunch in the penultimate over, Anil then sacrificed his wicket when a mix up resulted in a run out. Now Visu joined Biren and 5 runs were needed off 9 balls. The first ball Visu faced from Randhir he pulled around the corner powerfully, but could only pick up a single, which Biren followed up with another single.

As Praveen began the last over of the match to Visu, the Nawaabs needed 2 runs to tie 3 runs to win the match. The safest approach would have been to get them in singles, however Visu had other ideas, and when Praveen bowled a full toss, instead of the yorker he was probably attempting, Visu smashed the ball out of the ground on the leg side for a ground-ruled 4 which saw the Nawaabs win the championship. The celebratory roar and dance by Visu was quite a sight, though he was soon engulfed by all the other Nawaabs who rushed onto the field, in an unforgettable moment that all of them will remember forever.

In the final analysis, what led to the Nawaabs victory in the finals were the same things that had been the strengths of the Nawaabs through the season. Excellent bowling, brilliant batting, superb fielding and catching, all brought together by mature leadership and great team spirit.
The large haul of Man of the Match awards, plus the bowling and fielding awards were the just reward for the incredible dedication and hard work of all those who earned them. No wonder the

Nawaabs had the most number of players in the Top-5 for batting, bowling, fielding and wicket keeping. If one were to dig a bit deeper, though, the true success of the Nawaabs was that unlike many other teams the "Top-5" players had plenty of support from the rest of the team, and everybody took pride in the achievements not just of themselves, but of the team as a whole.
A word must also be said about the wonderful support of family members, who not only came out to the ground and cheered, but all the quiet support and sacrifices they made, behind the scenes.
The standard set by winning the Trophy is a high one, and all Nawaabs will have to re-dedicate themselves to not just maintaining, but raising the standard, as they defend their Title. But for now, it is time to savor the sweet taste of victory. There is no doubt, the Nawaabs Rule!

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