Sports
Central stage dramatic final day fightback to win Battle of the North
Central College produced a remarkable final day comeback to win the Battle of the North Big Match, defeating St. John’s College by three wickets after an outstanding eighth-wicket partnership between Murali Thison and Jesuthasan Nitharsan.
Central had been playing second fiddle to their arch-rivals for most of the match until the morning of the third day, when Thison and Nitharsan turned the game around with a match-winning unbeaten stand of 93 runs.
At the start of the final day Central were in a difficult position, trailing by more than 120 runs with only four wickets in hand. Overnight batsman Iyathure Kabishek, who had scored 21, was dismissed after adding 37 runs for the seventh wicket with Thison. From that point onwards, Thison and Nitharsan combined to frustrate the St. John’s bowlers, batting together for 12 overs to guide their team to a memorable victory.
Emmanouil Karalis in action in Rouen
Thison had already been a thorn in the flesh of the St. John’s batting line-up from the opening day, capturing 12 wickets in the match, including seven in the second innings. However, his superb bowling effort initially appeared likely to go in vain due to Central’s poor batting performance.
Central beat St. John’s by three wickets at the Battle of the North Big Match.
Central had struggled in their first innings, being bowled out for just 95 runs, with the highest individual score coming from Antanareshan Abishek who made 23. Only three other batsmen reached double figures, while Thison was dismissed for just one run.
In contrast, Thison rose to the occasion in the second innings, producing a magnificent unbeaten 81 that proved to be the cornerstone of Central’s successful chase. His innings came off 126 balls and included eight boundaries and a six.
Nitharsan played the perfect supporting role with a brisk unbeaten 44 off just 33 deliveries, striking five fours and two sixes to accelerate the scoring during the decisive stand.
Earlier in the innings, openers Jayaseelan Jenoshan (20) and Kabilan Amalan (45) had given Central a solid start, putting on 44 runs for the first wicket.
St. John’s had earlier gained the advantage with a first-innings lead, and in their second innings a brilliant century from Uthayanan Abijoyshanth — 121 off 105 balls with 15 fours and four sixes — helped them post a challenging total of 247.
Despite the odds being heavily stacked against them heading into the final day, Central’s determined batting display, led by Thison and Nitharsan, ensured a memorable turnaround and a thrilling victory in the historic Battle of the North.
Brazil are the unlikely candidates to have claimed two cricket records as one of their bowlers took a record nine wickets – including five in a row – in their 189-run T20 Women’s International victory against Lesotho in Botswana.
Having won the toss on Thursday, at the BCA Kalahari Women’s T20 International Tournament, Brazil posted a daunting 202-8 with wicketkeeper Monnike Machado hitting 69 off 41.
The fun, for the Brazilians, was only just beginning, though, as Laura Cardoso claimed a hat-trick with the last three deliveries of her first over – the second of the Lesotho innings – to set in motion the incredible feat that eventually saw the Africans bowled out for 13.
The 21-year-old then continued her wicket-taking achievement with a Women’s T20 International first of five dismissals in a row as she struck with the first two balls of her second over. This was all part of claiming the first nine Lesotho wickets to fall, but being denied the chance to take all 10 after a change of bowling following her third over. Her final wicket was Ret’sepile Limema, who fell to the fifth ball of the fifth over, with Cardoso replaced for the following over at that end. Her nine wickets, nevertheless, is the best return in either men’s or women’s T20 internationals.
The right-arm seamer did, indeed, come close to another hat-trick, when she claimed wickets with the last two balls of her second over, which itself totalled four victims.
Cardoso, who has has taken 55 wickets in 48 T20 matches for Brazil, replaces Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia at the top of the Women’s T20 best bowling rankings, as she finished with figures of 3-2-4-9.
Rohmalia had claimed seven wickets in 2024 in a match against Mongolia in Bali. Only three other women have claimed seven in a T20 international.
The men’s record, and the overall in the format, had been held by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey after he took eight wickets for seven runs against Myanmar last year.
The previous record for the number of wickets in consecutive deliveries was four, and was jointly held with the most prominent occasion in women’s cricket being when Shakera Selman pulled off the feat for the West Indies against Pakistan in 2018. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga are among the most notable bowlers from the men’s game to have claimed four consecutively in the format.
Although a huge winning margin, Brazil’s overall win does not compare with Argentina’s record after they beat Chile by 364 runs in 2023. The Argentinians had struck 427-1 to set up their victory.
Lesotho’s part in the record extends to no further than Cardoso’s haul, with the record-lowest total belonging to Mali, who were bowled out for 6 in 2019 by Rwanda.
Brazil, who lead the six-team tournament with five straight wins, play Mozambique on Friday.
[Aljazeera]
| Date | Match |
|---|---|
| May 3 | 1st ODI |
| May 6 | 2nd ODI |
| May 9 | 3rd ODI |
| May 12 | 1st T20I |
| May 14 | 2nd T20I |
| May 15 | 3rd T20I |
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