 Vijay CC do it in style
A superb captain's knock by S 'Sweety' Suresh (90) and good batting by the consistent Jesubabu Honeymen (49) had laid the foundation, but Vijay CC suffered a mini-collapse thereafter in the final of the TNCA I Division league at the M A Chidambaram Stadium on February 1, 2 and 3, but a fighting rearguard action led by M K Sivakumar (49 n.o.) and G Vignesh enabled the team to reach a very respectable 332 on the second morning of the match. Vignesh then did the star turn with the ball, bowling his medium pace seamers to great effect and snaring 7 Jolly Rovers wickets for a meagre 34. It was an outstanding spell of bowling to which the rival batsmen except S Badrinath (69) had no answer. The match was all over bar the shouting, when Jolly Rovers were dismissed for 205, though they hit back claiming the first wicket before a run was scored in the second innings.
A further wicket fell to Jesuraj off the very first ball of the final morning, and Vijay were 27 for 3 at one stage, but after that they batted like the champion side they proved to be that day. With left-hander R Prasanna making 90 and J R Madanagopal an unbeaten 56, Vijay reached 162 for 4 and cruised to the league title, which had been Jolly Rovers' property for the last five seasons.
The result only went to prove what a mug's game this business of making predictions can be. After the semifinals, I had rated Jolly Rovers as the favourites, based on their amazing run of performances in the last five seasons, actually overlooking the stupendous ease with which Vijay had entered the final, beating Alwarpet by a huge margin. Skipper Suresh may be a state discard both as captain and player, but he has successfully demonstrated that he is a team player first and last by giving of his best for his league team, unlike some other cricketers who tend to lose interest once their first class cricket days are over. Loyalty and sincere efforts in the cause of your club and company are admirable virtues, and the Vijay players gave ample evidence of these traits. Their young batsmen and bowlers came to the fore in this very creditable victory of an underdog over a stronger opposition.
V Ramnarayan
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