2007

28 October 2007 - JHC OBA vs. Hartley College OBA Annual Cricket Match
Nimalan & Prushothaman scores 137 & 79 - Jaffna Hindu College beats able Hartley College OBA and won Trophy

Much awaited, Sydney's Cricket event, Jaffna Hindu College Old boys' association Vs Hartley College Old boys' association annual cricket event was held in Strathfield park today (28th Oct 2007). Jaffna Hindu College oldboys team won the Trophy while, Nimalan & Prushothaman scored 137 & 79 respectively to guide them to an easy victory. Prushothaman from JHC OBA Sydney was given the best all rounder award for his excellent batting and his two wickets. Sutharshan from Hartley College OBA was awarded the best bowler for his timely contribution with the ball to peg back the JHC batsmen in crucial moments.

Full account of the match follows;

Hartley College won the toss and put JHC in to bat. JHC openers had no trouble handling the pace bowlers and Nimalan in particular, took the attack to the Hartly College by clobbering the bowlers all over the park and mainly dealt with fours and sixes. On the onslaught, Hartley bowlers were given no time to settle down or to find a rhythm and the run rate was soaring above 10 and a massive total was on the cards.

JHC lost their first wicket on the tenth over when Ranjithan went for a pull off Kandeepan's bowling and miscued the ball high in the air and was caught. Hartley's celebrations were short lived though as Prushothaman, the next batsmen in, maintained the run rate above 10 by playing some lovely shots both on and off the wicket with authority.

He continued to flay the attack to all parts of the ground and together, Nimalan and Prushothaman made the ground look so small and reduced the fielders to mere spectators. Finally when Sutharshan got Nimalan out caught and bowled, he has already scored a whopping 137. The damage was already done and the writing was on the wall. It was a top class innings with some brutal hitting combined with beautiful timing. Niranjan came in next and straightaway got in to the action. However, his eagerness to play the shots too soon was the undoing of him as he tried to sweep the spin bowling of Kannan and gloved it to the keeper. Murali came in next and played across the line too early and was given out lbw and became Sutharshan's second victim. Gobishankar came in next and played some beautiful strokes to score a couple of boundaries but his innings came to an end when he was caught off the bowling of Mayooran.

Mayooran struck again in succession, this time getting the price wicket of Prushothaman who pulled a short ball and was caught in deep mid wicket for a well made 79. Rest of the JHC batsmen didn't really trouble the scorers much except for Kajan who played intelligently with the tail enders to get the score close to an impossible 300. Sutharshan was the pick of the Hartley bowlers. He bowled exceptionally well and picked up a couple of important wickets in key moments.

Both OBA members, family members and well wishers break for a social lunch and mingled together in true sportsmanship spirit.

When Hartley began the chase they knew they have to play their skins out to get the result in their favour. JHC bowlers operated on a good line and length and made the job difficult for Hartley. There were only a few loose balls on offer and Hartley batsmen played some excellent shots to get some boundaries but they were few and far between. The pressure was always on the batsmen and trying to up the run rate, one of the openers perished gloving the ball on the leg side and was caught behind off the bowling of Prushothaman, who bowled excellently with pace and control throughout. Next man in was Kannan and he played well and scored some beautiful boundaries down the ground but finally succumbed to the pressure when he completely missed a fuller ball on the leg side and was given out lbw giving Sanjayan his first scalp.

Opener Mayooran also played some crispy drives but the pressure of ever increasing required rate got the better of him when he was bowled beautifully by Sanjayan. Sutharshan came in next and mixed caution with aggression and kept the scoreboard ticking with some excellent strokeplay. His timing was precise and he placement was even better.

He scored a 50 in little time and gave Hartley some hope. Despite that, Hartley was never in the hunt and some lusty blows towards the end took them to 194 and JHC won easily by a massive 100 runs.

At the end, presentation ceremony took place and JHC was presented with the trophy. There was no quarrels about who qualified for the best batsmen award as Nimalan was awarded the trophy for his excellent match winning 137. Prushothaman was given the best all rounder for his excellent batting and his two wickets. Sutharshan was awarded the best bowler for his timely contribution with the ball to peg back the JHC batsmen in crucial moments.

Write-up by Ranjithan (29/10/07)