All Round Port Trust Sail Past State Bank here in the TNCA 4th Division -VS Kannan Shield

Port Trust Sports Council faced off State Bank here at the Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering for their 2nd game in the TNCA 4th Division. Port Trust, coming into the game with lot of confidence from the victory in their previous outing, looked to continue with the same momentum, while State Bank aimed to bounce back after their recent defeat last week.

The start of play was delayed due to dampness on the pitch, and the contest was reduced to 45 overs per side. When play finally began around 10 am, Port Trust won the toss and opted to bowl first, looking to exploit favorable bowling conditions.

Initially, both the openers played cautiously. Left armer-Thilak made the first breakthrough with a snappy short ball that resulted in a catch at point, setting the tone for the innings. Koonal, a fellow left-arm spinner, struck next, floating the ball up in the air complimented by a sharp stumping behind the stumps from Thirupathy Raju.

In Picture: - Koonal troubled the batters taking 3 quick wickets in succession 

With the ball moving and the fielders supporting, Port Trust kept up the intensity. Three extra-ordinary catches by Thilak changed the  of the game giving Port Trust a great early-lead into the game. His one handed catch at gully caught off Thivakar's bowling was particularly unbelievable.Koonal and Thivakar worked together to create pressure,with State Bank stumbling to 50 for 4. Rushil Kumar who had until then played solidly, too fell as  3 wickets riled up within mere 3 overs, leaving SBI reeling at 59 for 7.

In Picture: - Thivakar scalped 3 crucial wickets with TJ Srinivasaraj, Honorable Treasurer TNCA

When all things were going good for Port Trust, two sitters were dropepd by Thilak within ,which dittered chances of reducing SBI to a much lower total. Taking course of the dropped catches a vital fightback was put out from Karthikeswaran and Sunilkumar, who put together a determined 50-run partnership.Kathikeswaran, in particular played some wonderful shots, while being extremely unlucky due to a wonderful catch by Salman  in the cow corner region.They steadied the innings and pushed the total up to 123 before the last wicket fell, with nearly five overs left unbowled. 

Chasing 124, Port Trust adopted a cautious approach. Initially an over was bowled before lunch which cumulated to being a maiden. Openers Salman Khan S and Karthick Kumar negotiated the early overs, with Salman falling for 13 after providing a steady start. Left armer Jaivanth bowled a impressive spell, returning figures of 3 wickets for 21 runs in 5 overs.

The "commander"of the chase was Karthick Kumar, who anchored the innings with a composed  48 not out from 96 balls. He absorbed pressure, rotated the strike, and most importantly stayed in the middle. Next came Surender, who contributed a valuable 22, and their 38-run stand in the middle overs was crucial to sail them to the win. Port Trust completed the chase six wickets down, guided home by Karthick Kumar’s understated yet vital knock.

In Picture: - Karthick Kumar steered Port Trust with a calculated 48 remaining Not Out

 Port Trust now stands stronger with 2 wins of 2 matches while State Bank will look to regroup for the next challenge. While Port Trust has won all of its games, it stands third  in the points table, due to a much inferior quotient compared to other teams with the same points. This writer believes that if Port Trust had bundled State Bank within 75-80, it would have given them a much superior quotient enabling them in the later stages. It is also worthy to note that wickets do play a role during calculation of quotient. (Usually when calculating Net Run Rate,only Runs and overs are considered//run rate= Runs  scored/overs face-runs conceded/overs bowled).