 Rovers to meet Vijay
An interesting innovation in the TNCA league has been the introduction a few years ago of a knockout round after the completion of the 11 league matches of the season to decide the champion. The top four teams play a semifinal round to decide the finalist and the eventual winner. This novel variation to the league has served to ensure the absence of hanky-panky on the way to the title triumph. This way, no champion team can be accused of gaining the advantage of fixed encounters en route to the title, especially as the knockout is played at neutral venues.
This year the semifinals produced one-sided contests, even though one of them featured a first innings total of 470 by the MRF-sponsored team Globe Trotters, with several good batting displays by Vidyut, Dinesh Karthick, Hemant Kumar and Sriram. Unfortunately, that score proved inadequate against a strong Jolly Rovers batting line-up. The five-times-in-a-row champion made light of the target, making 474 for 4 in 116.5 overs before play was called of. Left arm spinner R Ramkumar who had earlier taken 5 wickets on a plumb batting track, also made a useful half century, while the consistent S Badrinath and R Satish scored centuries, the latter remaining unbeaten. Opener Noor-ul-Riaz made a solid 82, while Hemang Badani made 84 delightful runs. The Jolly Rovers batting as a whole was a model of sensible, focused batting.
In the other semifinal, Vijay CC registered a huge win after bowling Alwarpet CC out for 211, with M Vijay (40) and Arun Karthik (53) the only batsmen to offer any resistance to the Vijay bowlers who shared the spoils more or less equally. Vijay’s response to that model total was a whopping 524 for 8 declared, with the Kerala batsman Sunil Oasis (139 not out) doing the star turn, well supported by an excellent exhibition of positive batting by J R Madanagopal (75), S Suresh (67), and S Sharath (53).
Jolly Rovers must be the favourites to clinch the title, as Vijay’s is an ageing combination in comparison with the young, fighting fit outfit that sets its eyes on a record sixth consecutive title victory.
May the best team win!
Alwarpet CC, like Jolly Rovers, is a team sponsored by the Sanmar Group. It is a relatively inexperienced team that surprised everyone by qualifying for the last four. Its opening batsman M Vijay had a wonderful season. He was unlucky not to be chosen for the state. For the club, the season ended on a sad note, with the death last week, of its secretary from inception, V A Parthasarathy. VAP, who had been ailing for a few months, was recently honoured by the Sanmar Group and TNCA at well-attended functions to recognise his contribution to cricket.
V Ramnarayan
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