Seven Star pipped Kedar CA by a wafer-thin margin in the final of the SSCA tri-cup under-13 tournament recently. Chasing a target of 160, Kedar needed 11 runs off the last over bowled by Kishore Balaji. The medium-pacer stifled the Kedar batsmen, conceding just four runs. In his previous over, Kishore had struck a crucial blow, sending back the well-set B. Sabari (68).
Asked about his decision to bowl Kishore in the death overs, skipper P.L. Harshavardhan Sai said: “I decided that he was the best bet at that juncture. Moreover, the spinners’ quota was over. Kishore not only took the important wicket of Sabari, but also choked the run-flow.”
Harshavardhan himself was in the thick of things throughout, either making runs or guiding his boys through tough situations. His 98 off 53 balls, which contained 10 fours and eight sixes, in the round-robin game against Kedar was easily one of the highlights of the tournament.
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The other SSCA batsmen who impressed during Seven Star’s trophy triumph were T.A. Sanjay, who made 76 in the summit clash, and A. Badrinath (82 vs Kedar, round-robin league). The tri-cup witnessed competition between three sides — Seven Star CA, Kedar CA and Chennai CA —and the top two made it to the grand finale. It proved a contest befitting the occasion before Seven Star squeezed home in the final over.
The scores (final): Seven Star CA 159 for five in 27 overs (T.A. Sanjay 76, B. Jeswin Bradman 43) bt Kedar
CA 153 for six in 27 overs (B. Sabari 68). Special awards: Player-of- the-series: P.L. Harshavardhan Sai (SSCA); Best batsman: A. Badrinath (SSCA);
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Best bowler: Sathyaseelan (Kedar CA); Promising player: Vignesh (SSCA).