India Cements A squeaked home with a last gasp five-wicket win over Chemplast Sanmar, off the last ball of the match, to win the The Hindu Trophy for the 11th time in the tournament’s history.
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With one run needed for a victory from the final over of the 30-over-a-side match, R. Jesuraj had innings topscorer R. Prasanna (55, 62b, 2×4, 1×6) caught behind with the first ball; Chemplast captain R.Sathish brought his men in and new man M.K. Shivakumar was subdued and then dismissed off the fifth delivery. India Cements wicket-keeper Sadashiv Iyer and non-striker S. Sharath then raced through for a leg bye to secure the win. S. Suresh (38, 41b, 4×4, 1×6) and Sreekumar Nair (22, 31b, 3×4) had put on 45 for the opening wicket to set up what should have been a comfortable win; Prasanna’s innings was a minor gem that was only spoiled by the inopportune moment of his dismissal.
Earlier, India Cements A won the toss and elected to field; Chemplast collapsed from 99 for two in 16 overs to 120 for seven in 20, and it finished on 145. Sadashiv Iyer took four catches, including a top-edge that swirled high in the lights over midwicket. Man of the Match and India Cements A captain S. Suresh struck twice in the 18th over and changed the course of the match.
K. Balaji, Director, The Hindu, gave away the prizes. “The Hindu Trophy has a great history but in recent times it has lost its spirit with participation going down,” he said. “We have to revitalise it.”
The scores: Chemplast Sanmar 145 in 28.1 overs (Huzefa M. Patel 25, R. Ramkumar 40, R. Sathish 33, G. Vignesh three for 21) lost to India Cements A 146 for five in 30 overs (S. Suresh 38, R. Prasanna 55) at MAC A.
Source:The Hindu
