ADF Tigers playing 6's in Bangkok Oct'16

We would like to seek for apology from ADF Tigers for this delayed post.


Here are some wonderful shots taken at Bangkok 6's held last October 2016.
Picture courtesy: Martin Bigg

Martin Bigg, ADF Tigers President, finishing with his stylish shot.

Captain of the Bangkok 6's, Dean Leck taking his shot.

Wooden pitch with matting on it as they had just dug up the cricket pitch so this was the work around so we could play. Interesting to say the least.

Bowling award to Martin Bigg with 18 wickets at 11.33

Batting award to Steve Tilbrook with an average 60.5

Finally,

 The ADF Tigers ...

ADF Tigers Team Photo

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PRESS RELEASE – MCA FAST TRACK INTER-STATE LEAGUE 2017

Penang will once again this year participate in the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) Fast Track State League.   This tournament which is a two (2) day innings format competition kicks off on 5 February 2017.  It will change to a 3 day innings format at the super league stage (upon qualification) whereby only 2 top teams from each group will take part. Among the participating teams are Selangor, Johor, Sarawak, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah and Penang. At the preliminary rounds stage, Penang will take on Kuala Lumpur on   4-5 February 2017, Negeri Sembilan on 11 – 12 February and Sabah on 18-19 February 2017.  

For this year, Penang  Cricket Association has managed for the first time to secure an official sponsor.  The official sponsor is Ming Engineering Plastic Sdn Bhd and this company has pledged to contribute RM15,000 towards Penang State team’s participation in this Fast Track League. This certainly goes a long way to enhance our participation & efforts to strengthen our State team, which comprises mainly junior local Penang born players.

Ming Engineering Plastic Sdn Bhd is a company involved in total waste management (dedicated to recovery & recycling of all types of waste materials) since 2005. The company is headquartered at Plot 167A, Lorong Perindustrian Bukit Minyak, Kawasan Perindustrian Bukit Minyak 13, Penang.  The company is an ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management Standard), ISO 9001:2008 (the Quality System) and OHSAS 18001:2007 certified.  The company’s network of operations includes a 50,000-sq. ft. purpose built processing plant and warehouse in Penang.  It also has facilities in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru and expanded overseas to Hong Kong and Thailand.

Penang will be skippered by the big hitting Pavithren Nadesan.  The team will be buoyed by current international players in the squad such as Kavintheran Kumar, Keithan Goonasagaran, Varun Nadesh and ex-international, Darvin Muralitharan. Penang have also secured the services of pacey, Ibrahim Hassan, whom is presently a Maldivian national player.

Penang Cricket Association

25 January 2017

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PCA Annual General Meeting

Dear Affiliates, Life Members and Members,

PCA Management Committee would like to invite you to the upcoming Penang Cricket Association Annual General Meeting.

The meeting details as follows;

DATE     :   Wednesday, 12th October 2016
TIME     :   7.00pm
VENUE  :   Multipurpose Hall, Penang Sports Club

Your presence is very much appreciated.

Thank You.

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Penang T20 Cricket League 2015 Summary Report

Penang T20 Cricket League 2015

Post Tournament Report 

(May to August 2015)

The PCA T20 Cricket League was organized by Penang Cricket Association. It commenced in May and culminated in August 2015. The month of Ramadan caused the delay in this league. The matches were played between five teams, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang Sports Club (PSC), India Pakistan Lovers Cricket Club (IPLCC), Penang Sports Development Team (PSDT)and Australain Defence Force (ADF). These matches were played on the USM and PSC cricket grounds. The teams were managed by their respective captains Muhammad Talha (USM), Shahul Hameed (PSC), Nadeem (IPLCC), Martin (ADF) and Vinay (PSDT). All the teams played one match each other and the final of the league was played between the top two teams. Eleven matches were played and one was washed out due to rain in this league. All the matches in this tournament were played on the weekends due to the unavailability of players and grounds.

A full range of cricketing ability was on show at the tournament from all the cricketers to the keenest total novice, with players of every ability able to soak up the atmosphere and give it their best out in the middle. The inaugural match of this league was played between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and India Pakistan Lovers Cricket Club (IPLCC) at USM cricket ground. The match was won by the USM cricket team. During the whole tournament, a number of people came to the ground to witness the true spirit of the game. They enjoyed the whole tournament under the outstanding weather conditions. 

The final match was the real crunch and nail-biting game played between USM and PSC. USM set a total of 93 on the board in 20 overs. Since from the word go PSC had been the hot favorite for that tournament, but USM could reach the victory stand by the margin of only 4 runs. The final match exhibited good cricket from both the teams with trophy falling into the lap of the USM cricket team. Mr Noor Hayat was the umpire throughout the tournament. Final ceremony was held at the end of the final match in which President of the Penang Cricket Association had given medals to both teams and trophy to the winners. Indeed, it was a successful tournament for Penang Cricket Association and an entertaining event for its participants.

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USM snatches victory from jaws of defeat

PSC Vs USM Match Summary 

(9th August 2015)

The final match of the Penang T20 Cricket League was played between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Penang Sports Club (PSC) on August 9, 2015 on the PSC Cricket ground. The coin was thrown in the air at 9:00am and the match was started after 15 minutes of the toss. Penang Sports Club (PSC) elected to field first after winning the toss. The weather was very much cricket friendly. This was the second time when both teams were playing each other in this league as previously USM had defeated PSC.

Najam and Junaid started the match, but Najam gave his wicket in the very first over of the innings. He was clean bowled by Lovely without opening his account. Ubaid came in and started crafting a partnership with Junaid. Ubaid hit two boundaries in the over of Arjun. They continued their aggression and perfectly utilized the first mandatory power play. They both played well and scored 15 runs each. Kashif and Irfan Shah tried their best in the middle overs of the innings to put a handsome total on the scoreboard. In the end, USM managed to put 92 runs on the scoreboard and lost 6 wickets. Lovely and Arjun took 2 wickets each.  

In reply, PSC openers could not provide solid start and lost their first wicket cheaply. USM kept on picking the wickets, even as PSC batsmen kept themselves within touching distance of the required run-rate. After fall of two wickets, Yasir and Lovely tried to come out from the pressure of USM pacers and started developing a good partnership for PSC. At that time USM took back their strength, but Shahul came in and hit beautiful shots and tried to drag back the match.  He set 25 runs. Junaid came on the strike with great energy and he sent two batsmen back to the pavilions and did great bowling by.  His over was a turning point of the match. This low scoring match turned into a thriller as in the last over PSC required 13 runs. PSC could not chase down the total and USM snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat. They won this final match by 4 runs.

                                                                                                

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Penang bowled Sarawak for 162

Penang Vs Sarawak Match Summary 

(30th May 2015)

It was a gritty day for the boys as the bowlers were ready to shoot the balls to the stumps and the batsmen were ready to watch the opponent’s ball go pass the rope. It was them against the Sarawak which previously ripped KL apart. Penang skipper, Darvin Muralitharan had won the toss and decided to let the team feel the ball before they could start hitting it. The game had then started and the first wicket was taken in the 4^th overs. Later, one wicket kept falling and they resulted in a decent target of 163 runs for the Penang thunderbolts to chase.

The openers, Varun Nadesh and the skipper himself  gave a good kickoff of 19 runs. Unfortunately, Skipper  was bowled in the 7^th overs. 2 other important wickets, Keithan Goonasagaran and Harventheran Kumar fell after him, which was a horrifying vision for Penang. But still there was one of Lanka’s best, Madushan Ravichandrakumar  who started back the confidence for Penang and made a good partnership with Kavintheran Kumar together spiking 70 runs on the board. Then again started the falling wickets and resulted in 110 runs on the board which was insufficient to feed the target by 52 runs.

The main highlights for Penang was Madushan Ravichandrakumar who made 38 off 49 balls and Senal de Silva, who scored 20 runs off 47 balls. For Sarawak, there was Shafiq Sharif, who made 51of 81 balls and HIA Jayaratne with his 47 off 37 balls. Sarawak’s reliable DK Ranaweera was awarded man of the match for his marvelous 5 wickets. Also Thevan Raj took 3 wickets, Baazegh 2 and Kavintheran Kumar 2 which was really outstanding and glorious for Penang.

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Its Penang boys against Selangor this time

Penang Vs Selangor Match Summary 

(6th June 2015)

It was an important match for Penang boys against Selangor which was played at Kinrara on the 6^th of June 2015 because the Penang boys previously lost 2 and drew 1. It was a perfect day for cricket with excellent conditions as the Penang skipper, Darvin won the toss and decided to bat first.

The innings started off with our Penang Ponting, Varun Nadesh to open with our skipper, Darvin Muralitharan. The opening pair started off playing some defensive shots. Not to play anything outside the stumps. As Varun was dismissed in the second over itself, leaving only 3 runs on the board. Then, Penang most promising batsmen Keithan Goona was brought into action to bat with Darvin. Adding to add, as the ‘Brothers of Destruction’ were batting really well, but somehow our Keithan played a really unlucky shot and got himself caught at the boundary line by de Silva. Penang upcoming young star Kavintheran Kuamr was up next to bat. Just when the right hand left hand combination was starting to look well our skipper was out in the 9^th Over and added more pressure, putting the runs on the board.

Then Penang’s Chocolate boy Senal de Silva came into the crease, but he didn’t last long as well as he was bowled in the 11^th overs. As the run rate was very low and having so much to offer Penang’s new promising Sri Lankan talent Madushan Ravichandrakumar was next to bat. Just when a partnership was started to get going Kavin was unlucky as he got out for a lbw. Vinay Singh was in the crease this time and he didn’t last long as well as he was bowled by the Selangor bowler. Madushan and Shahul Hameed, who came in the 19^th overs started to hit the ball hard and made batting look easy. Shahul’s experience and Madushan’s ability with the bat helped Penang’s run rate increase. As both were busy hitting the ball out of the park Madushan was unlucky this time as he got caught by playing a silly shot at the 36^th overs. Bazeegh Zaka came into the crease to bat and was looking to put a great partnership with Shahul but it didn’t end up well as Shahul was out in the next over itself. Youngster Harventheran Kumar was at this time, but he didn’t stay long as well. He got caught at square leg as he tried to play a flick shot. The final and last batsman for Penang, Thevan Raj Kumar came in the 40^th overs but was bowled for a duck.

Penang boys had to defend their total which was 178 runs. For Selangor side, their skipper Suhan Alagaratnam and Shankar Shathish opened the batting. Senal de Silva opened the bowling for Penang and bowled 3 overs. He gave away 23 runs. On the other hand, Kavintheran Kumar, who bowled 4 overs with the economy rate of 4.5. As the batsmen were only using those attacking shots, most of our bowlers had no choice of bowling on the off side. A spinner was introduced to reduce the run rate of the opposition. Madushan Ravichandrakumar bowled 5 overs and gave away 28 runs with 2 no balls and 1 wide. Our Penang skipper had no choice but he had to bring us Evergreen Bazeegh Zaka into the bowling attack. He bowled 5 overs really well and didn’t give away as many runs as we thought he would. Darvin Muralitharan our skipper with his experience wanted to bowl a few overs by himself, which turned out to be costly as well. He also introduced another leggie which was Varun Nadesh but he bowled 2 disappointing overs as he gave away 24 runs just in 2 overs. Penang dependable left hand, orthodox, Thevan Raj bowled a few overs well and got a wicket on the 17^th overs. Unfortunately, he got smacked as well by Selangor batsmen and he ended up with the economy rate of 7.94.

Finally, as the was two balls to spare in Thevan’s 6^th overs, he got hit for a four and a six and the match ended in the 25^th overs. The player of the match was rewarded to Tharanga from Selangor.

By,

Harven K.

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Penang kicked off Malaysian Premier League 2015

Day 1 Penang Vs KL Match Summary 

(23th May 2015)

Penang finally kicked off their Malaysian Premier League Tier A campaign when they hosted Kuala Lumpur at the Penang Sports Club on Saturday (23rd May 2015). Due to overnight showers and an overcast morning, the start of the match had to be delayed due to the pitch being damp. The delayed start resulted in the match being reduced to 42 overs a side.

Upon winning the toss, Kuala Lumpur put Penang in to bat. Penang’s innings got off to a sluggish start as the openers fought valiantly to weather the storm of KL’s opening duo of Neville Liyanage and Nazril Rahman. Harven Kumar’s dismissal in the 9th over with a mere 4 runs on the board brought Penang’s Mr Dependable, Keithan Goonasagaran to the crease. Keithan, along with Kavin Kumar put up a partnership of 89 runs off 22.1 overs which put Penang in a commanding position and on the course of a score in excess of 150. Kavin was run out in the 31st over followed by Keithan’s own downfall 3 overs later. Keithan made a fluent 63 which set up the innings nicely. 

However, the run rate slowed and wickets started falling regularly once he was dismissed. Madushan Ravichandrakumar’s 11 runs and Thevan Raj’s brisk running due to enhanced aerodynamics with his head ensured that Penang put up a total of 138-9 off their allotted 42 overs, 20 runs or so short of what would have been ideal on the turning wicket. In Kuala Lumpur, skipper Neville Liyanage picked up 4-13 off his 9 overs. Nonetheless, the Penang team was pumped up and determined to fight all the way.

Bazeegh Zaka opened the bowling for Penang with his customary in-swinging leg cutters and at the other end was Senal de Silva with his tricky pace and swing. The Kuala Lumpur batsmen managed to keep the scoreboard ticking as they were comfortable with the ball coming on to their bats with the extra pace of Senal. A bold move by Penang’s captain in bringing on Harvindran Rajendran paid off handsomely as he removed Fikri Makram, Virandeep Singh and Manjula de Zoysa within 4 overs, reducing KL to 31-3 after 11.5 overs. KL had a minor revival, but when Madushan was brought into the attack, KL suffered another collapse. He bowled Syed Aziz in the 20th over, bringing the score to 61-4 and subsequently got the wickets of Prashan Wickramasinghe and Nazril Rahman in the 24th and 26th overs respectively, leaving KL reeling at 84-6. Neville Liyanage and Hassan Ghulam then shared a partnership of 28 runs to put the game right back in the balance, but Madushan had other ideas as he dismissed Neville in the 30th over and bowled Shahrulnizam Yusof around his legs in the 32nd over, leaving KL 8 down for 118 runs. 

Madushan finished with a brilliant 5-32 in his 9 overs. Senal was brought back into the attack and bombarded the batsmen with his pin-point yorkers, dismissing KL’s 10th batsman, Hafiz Khair with an accurate yorker on the stumps. At 123-9 off 34.2 overs, KL’s hopes laid solely on Hassan Ghulam but were left distraught when Hassan skied Kavin Kumar’s quarter-tracker and the catch pouched safely by Madushan at long off. KL were dismissed for 123 off 35.1 overs, giving Penang a 15 run win. For his outstanding performance in match, Madushan was deservingly adjudged the man of the match.

Penang’s win is a clear statement of intent and capability of going all the way this season as long as they continue to work hard as a team.

Day 2 Penang Vs KL Match Summary 

(24th May 2015)

A perfect day for cricket with excellent conditions as the Penang skipper, Darvin eventually left the toss to fall upon Kuala Lumpur hands which led Penang to bat first. The first innings commenced right away as Madushan Ravichandrakumar and Harven Kumar led the batting attack for Penang. Opening pair started off with a sloppy performance having over Harven Kumar’s early dismissal on the 2nd over, leaving likely with 2 runs on the board later on brought Penang’s promising batsmen, Keithan right into action. Adding into the agony was the disposal of Madushan’s precious wicket on the 3rd over for only a total of 5 runs collectively next having skipper Darvin to walk into the centre. Keithan alongside with Darvin lit up a partnership of 39 runs in 12.3 overs which actually had the scoreboard ticking for Penang. Keithan had a total of 22 runs to himself and eventually had his wicket thrown with the follow up of Kavin Kumar’s wicket to a LBW over Shahrulnizam Yusof’s bowling. As the trumping blow of wickets flew all over the park, a heavy load of pressure was to be carried out onto the middle order batsmen as runs were not progressive. 

Came into crease later on for Kavin was Chocolate Boy, Senal de Silva. Not long after, the dismissal of Darvin took place which had Penang’s keeper, Vinay Singh to take charge. Manjula’s incisive bowling allowed him to bag Vinay Singh’s wicket which had Penang with a total of 59 runs for 6 wickets in 22.4 overs allowed Bazeegh Zaka to unleash the beast in him. The partnership of 13 runs from Bazeegh and Senal gave Penang a composition of 72 runs. Bazeegh Zaka’s tip top batting was demolished by Hassan Ghulam as he had the ball hammering into the stumps having Baz with a total of 4 runs and right came along Senal’s wicket too. Bottom order batsmen threw off their wickets and left Penang all out in 30.4 overs with a total of 77 runs.

Bazeegh Zaka opened the bowling and at the other end was Penang’s Deadly Swinga, Harvindran. Kuala Lumpur batsmen were putting up runs on the scoreboard with a quick rate. However a quick change of Harvindran’s bowling to Senal paid off as Senal’s pitch perfect Yorker got Fikri Rosdi walking off to the stands on the 3rd over and also the wicket of Syed Aziz coming in shortly after. Madushan’s bowling that bagged him 5 wickets the previous day seemingly did not work much as he only managed to seal off opening batsmen Virandeep’s wicket who had a total of 11 runs of 40 balls faced. Later on Orthodox, Thevan Raj decisive bowling spells had him bag Hassan Ghulam’s wicket from a marvelous catch by Madushan. Kuala Lumpur were on 4-48 in 15.2 overs. Penang lit up on fire as the game was back on Evens Stevens. Manjula came in and hammered himself for a total of 23 runs, leaving Kuala Lumpur on 5-58 after his dismissal by Thevan Raj’s bowling and to a catch by Harvindran. 

However, PC Wickramasinghe and Nazril Rahman finished off the game and gave KL the victory after surpassing the target at 21.5 overs. Deservedly, Manjula de Zoysa was awarded man of the match.

By,

Vinay S.

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Fighting Penang goes down to KL

Day 1 Penang Vs KL Match Summary (18th April 2015)

It was a big day for the boys as it was the semi-finals against KL at the Kinrara Oval. Penang loss the toss and was put into bat, which was what skipper, Darvin intended to do if he had won the toss. 

Penang openers, Harinder Singh and Harventheran Kumar walked in looking to torment the bowlers on a nice flat track. Unfortunately, Harinder was bowled of the 3rd ball of the 1st over by an inswinger. Keithan then came in at number 3 and had a small partnership with Harven before he was out caught making a positive 20. Darvin in at number 4 played positively against the spinners but didn’t last long either before he was out caught in the covers. 19 year old Harven was still at the crease and played a couple of elegant strokes before he was dismissed for a useful 23.

Vinay Flying Singh got off to a decent start, but an ugly mix up between him and Kavin resulted in a run-out. Wickets then kept falling at regular intervals for Penang and what was of our most concern is that most batsmen got off to a good start but fail to covert those starts to bigger scores.Penang was eventually bundled out for 129 runs.

The game was still far from over with the Penang boys taking the field and looking to strangle KL for anything below 129. Kavin and Baz opened the bowling and bowled with a lot discipline resulting in Kavin plucking the 1st wicket. KL batsmen were playing very safe trying to see off the bowlers till the end of days play. Darvin kept rotating the bowlers and has his field checked in an attacking mode. Vinay Flying Singh came to the rescue and snapped up 2 wickets in his first over, including the big wicket of Suhan. KL were immediately pushed back and sent in a nightwatchmen to see off the day. Just before the end of the days play, Keithan was introduced with his handy off breaks and bagged 2 wickets to leave KL at 140-5 at the end of day 1. Credit has to be given to KL’s opening bat, Virandeep who parried the team’s score and was unbeaten on 55 on day 1.

Day 2 Penang Vs KL Match Summary (19th April 2015)

Knowing KL has surpassed our team’s score, mastermind Darvin came up with a game plan of trying to bundle out KL as fast as possible, put up a defendable score in quick time and then try to snap up another 10 wickets to seal the deal. As there was no other route, the Penang boys took the field with a positive intent of accomplishing the game plan. Virandeep was batting alongside the KL skipper, Neville and was very lucky to have survived a few drop catches early on. Penang looked a little sloppy at the beginning with a few missed chances and a brainless over-throw by Thevan Mangga Raj. Vinay Flying Singh came to the rescue again snaring Neville and in no time bagging Rosman to finish off with 4 wickets. KL was dismissed for 262 in 74 overs with opening bat, Virandeep remaining unbeaten with a sensible century to his name.

Penang is now looking to pile up quick runs in no time and decided to promote Pavithren up the order in an attempt to see some fireworks. Unfortunately, Pavithren continued his sublime form over the weekend with another duck to his name. Opening bat, Harven was a joy to watch with his elegant drives and flicks as he and superstar, Keithan put up a decent partnership for the 2nd wicket. They both played with positive intent looking to attack the KL bowlers resulting in a wide-spread field placement. 

The Penang dugout was anxious and excited as Harven was nearing his maiden fifty, but unfortunately he was dismissed for an excellent 48. Keithan and Darvin had another massive partnership as the two went past their fifties, scoring 63 and 60 respectively. Penang eventually piled up 209-5 in 40 odd overs when Darvin decided to declare upon his dismissal. 

Settling a tricky target score of 77, KL were sent in to bat with slightly about more than an hour of play left for the day. Kavin once again started the proceedings and bagged the 1st wicket as the batsman chipped the ball back on to his stumps. Vinay then trapped their number 3 batsmen in front and has KL reeling with 2 wickets down in no time. KL then shifted gears and were looking very defensive, trying to play for the draw. Bad light interrupted the last half hour of the last session and the umpires decided to call it off with the captain's approval.

It was the end of the road for the Penang boys as KL were through to the finals due to the 1st innings lead. Nevertheless, Penang had a lot of positives to take from this tournament and as Penang’s trademark is always fielding a young side with homegrown talent, this could be a learning curve for the boys. The boys are still fired up as the MPL kicks off end of next month.

Stay tuned.

By,
Pavithran.N

(Pictures credit goes to the Malaysian Cricket Association)

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Young side emerged as Runners-Up in Finals

PCA 35 Overs League Finals Summary

(5th April 2015)

I have been honored the privilege of another year of addressing a very important area of cricket in Penang, the 35 OVERS PREMIER LEAGUE COMPETITION organized by the PENANG CRICKET ASSOCIATION (PCA). On an annual basis, this particular tournament is to form a major factor in encouraging playing numbers and giving opportunity to cricketers to excel in their sporting field. In addition to that, for every year this event has been held out, the atmosphere has always taken up a notch higher. It is great to see people from all ages to come together and play this magnificent game. It is also great to see that all participants reiterate preparations for this event to be treated with utmost importance and urgency so as to ensure that it is not taken for granted and never without a fight. This inauguration event was organized from November 9th 2014 to April 5th 2015.

The matches were played between 4 teams, namely:

1) TENTERA LAUT DIRAJA MALAYSIA (NAVY)

2) PENANG SPORTS CLUB (PSC)

3) AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE FORCE (ADF)

4) PENANG SPORTS DEVELOPMENT TEAM (PSDT)

Having defended champions, NAVY clenches it away once again with a clean sweep of five wins from six matches. NAVY as always came up with their ever tight fielding and a pretty solid batting lineup. And next up having PSDT as defending runners-up having a go with a silver medal once again. Never for once forgetting a team that played off with only youngsters from the age of 14 and so. PSDT heavier on their bowling managed to pull it off with the advantage they had. Besides that, PSDT boys also had a solid batting side having one of the most promising batsmen with consistent performances coming from here. These boys are ever energetic and ever burning spirits infield as well as the outfield. Lastly, having PSC consists of ex state players finishing off third in the table and ADF, the white men on fourth.

By,

Durgesh T.

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Penang Finishes Second in Group A

Day 1 Penang Vs Sarawak Match Summary 

(28th March 2015)

Both teams were greeted with typical sunny and partly cloudy weather at the Kinrara Oval, Kuala Lumpur. The wicket looked like a beautiful batting track, but unfortunately the Penang skipper Darvin “dolly-dropper” Muralitharan lost the toss and as expected Sarawak had no hesitation in electing to bat first especially with National skipper Faiz Noor back in their starting XI.

Penang came out to the field pumped up and ready for battle! The first two wickets fell in quick succession with the score at 5 and 6 respectively. Opening bowlers Kavin “guns blazing” Kumar (6-0-16-0) and Baz Zaka (15-4-29-2) provided Penang with the perfect start. A gutsy decision by the Penang think-tanks who brought in the ever-so deceiving Harvindran “swinga” Rajendran (11-0-29-2) took two crucial wickets in his spell, the first coming in his very first over. At this stage Sarawak were reeling at 43/4 with Maxwell Stephen joining Faiz Noor in the middle. The introduction of Thevan “Mr Reliable” Raj at this stage further slowed down the scoring rate with a fantastic spell of 15-0-38-0 with an economy rate of 2.53 an over. Mr Reliable was unlucky not to pick up a wicket even though he frequently troubled the batsmen who got away with playing a few false strokes.The only noticeable partnership was 143 runs between Faiz and Maxwell. 

Faiz remained not out with a brilliant 114 runs while Maxwell Stephen chipped in with a edgy 67, frequently playing in the ‘A’. Keithan "air ball" Goona (12-0-33-0) was brought into the attack but proved to be just as useless as Kevin Pietersens talks of a return. Vinay "Marilyn Manson" Singh (11-0-35-3) came on later in the day to claim 3 quick wickets to help reduce Sarawak to 208/7 in their 75 overs.Due to Penang's extremely good over rate, they were required to bat out the last session of the day. 

Openers Varun ".98" Nadesh and Harven "silly" Kumar put on a solid partnership of 73 before Varun was out followed shortly by Harven with the score reading 79/2. 

Nightwatchman Baz who went in at one down was joined with Harinder "satay-man" Sekhon who provided a calm and cool Dhoni like presence out in the middle to ensure Penang did not lose anymore wickets. The day ended with Penang at 91/2, still 117 runs behind.

Day 2 Penang Vs Sarawak Match Summary 

(29th March 2015)

It was another good day for cricket as the sun was shining down on the Kinrara Oval, Kuala Lumpur. Continuing where they left off from Day 1 Baz and Harinder gave Penang a good start by picking up singles. 

A bad call from Baz left him stranded mid-pitch and a cheeky bit of foul play saw him given out “obstructing the field”. In came Keithan who didn’t last as long as she’d like, getting out on 5.Darvin then chipped in with a quick and confident 20 before getting caught at cover to Penang’s utmost surprise and horror Harinder was stumped the very next ball for 22. Vinay Singh (27) and Pavithren “monstah” Nadesen (31) then helped Penang revive their innings with a partnership of 41 runs with Pavithren smashing two huge gayle-like sixes to keep Penang well in the chase. 

After putting up a good fight Vinay was bowled and Kavin Kumar joined Pavithren in the middle with Penang needing 10 runs from the last over to gain a first innings lead. Unfortunately Pavithren and Kavin (01) both got out and Penang were three runs short of gaining a first innings lead. Sarawak then started their second innings by losing an early wicket to Kavin Kumar with only 18 runs. 

The Penang bowlers bowled very well considering it was their second consecutive day on the field and took regular wickets. Varun “.98” Nadesh picked up 3/54 in his 14 overs, Vinay Singh picked up 2/23 in 5 overs and Thevan Raj, Kavin Kumar and Baz picking up 1 wicket each to leave Sarawak at 220/8 before the umpires called off the game as no result besides a draw was possible due to the time. 

Result:
The game ended with a draw, although Sarawak led by 2 runs in the first innings.Congratulations to all the Penang players who fought hard and never gave up till the very end! 

By,

Harinder S.

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