THE presence of the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner during the inauguration ceremony at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on October 19 said it all.
It was a significant occasion - the Gopalan Trophy was returning to Tamil Nadu after 18 years.
Indeed, Mr. R. Jayasinghe summed up the importance of the Gopalan Trophy when he observed, "the competition strengthened the bond between the people of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. We support its continuation."
M. J. Gopalan, the grand old man after whom the contest is named, also graced the function. The 94-year-old former double international (cricket & hockey), had inspiring words too for the cricketers of Tamil Nadu and the Colombo District Association (CDCA).
The annual match between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, that began in 1953, was discontinued in 1982-83, following Lanka achieving Test status.
And it was only in the late 90s, that the CDCA approached the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) for the revival of the contest, and the proposal was cleared.
There was an essential difference. Tamil Nadu was now taking on the CDCA XI, comprising young, promising cricketers from the Lankan capital not the full Lankan team.
When Tamil Nadu toured Lanka last year, rain played spoilsport, with very little play being actually possible. This time around, mercifully, the weather gods were kinder.
The four-day match fizzled out as a contest though with the CDCA side, succumbing to the pressure after Tamil Nadu, served well by the left-handed opener Sridharan Sriram's 100 (196b, 5x4), made 397 in the first innings.
Indeed, Man of the Match Sriram applied himself to the task after skipper Robin opted to bat. The southpaw is an efficient run-gatherer, working the ball around, and keeping the scoreboard moving with one's and two's.
Apart from the odd ball keeping low, it was a reasonable pitch to bat on and Tamil Nadu was well served by senior batsman Sridharan Sharath's 88 (177b, 7x4) too.
The left-hander unleashed a few telling cuts and pulls during his crucial knock, after Tamil Nadu had lost some ground with indisciplined batting late on day one. The Lankan pacemen Dinusha Fernando and Akalanka Ganegama disappointed, while off-spinner Thilan Samaraweera and leggie Upul Chandana, who bowled with more purpose on day two, scaled eight batsmen between them.
Soon after the conclusion of the Tamil Nadu innings, arrived the turning point of the match, with young paceman L. Balaji, fresh from a stint at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), rocking the CDCA batting.
The lanky paceman, pitching the ball up, making it swing, and seldom straying in either length or direction, made the early inroads, finishing the day with stunning figures of 9-5-9-3.
Left-arm spinner R. Ramkumar also played his part on day two and three, picking up the key wickets of Michael Vandort (21), Dilshan Tillekeratne (30) and skipper Thilan Samaraweera (31).
The tall lad can get the ball to bounce sharply on occasions, and whenever he operated to a middle-and-off line, posed the batsmen quite a few problems.
Well, Balaji and Ramkumar finished with four wickets each, off-spinner Aashish Kapoor bowled better than what his figures indicated, and CDCA, clearly unable to build partnerships, was dismissed for 198, conceding a massive lead of 199 in the process.
Tamil Nadu chose not to enforce the follow on, preferring batting practice in the bargain. Sriram prospered once again making 81 this time (158b, 8x4), while elegant left-hander Hemant Kumar followed his first innings 59, with a pleasing 49.
And when the home side set the CDCA a target of 378 in 80 overs, the touring side was content to play out time, and it was helped by some pretty ordinary catching from Tamil Nadu.
In fact, much of the cricket on the final day was not worth remembering as the match concluded in a predictable draw, even if opener Ian Daniels (77, 223b, 9x4) and middle-order batsman Dilshan Tillekeratne (56, 83b, 11x4) made useful runs. Tamil Nadu clinched the trophy on first innings lead.
Mr. A. C. Muthiah, President, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, and M. J. Gopalan presided over the prize distribution function.
The scores:Tamil Nadu 397 (S. Sriram 100, C. Hemant Kumar 59, J. R. Madanagopal 43, S. Sharath 88, Robin Singh 28, T.R. Arasu 36, Thilan Samaraweera four for 64, Upul Chandana four for 77) and 178 for four decl. (Sriram 81, Hemant Kumar 49) drew with CDCA XI 198 (Jehan Mubarak 26, Dilshan Tillekeratne 30, Thilan Samaraweera 31, L. Balaji four for 16, R. Ramkumar four for 62) and 206 for four (Ian Daniels 77 not out, Michael Vandort 28, D. Tillekeratne 56). - S. Dinakar
Honours sharedLOOKING back at the loss in the F.C. de Saram Trophy opener against Colombo, Tamil Nadu could well say that a bit of disappointment here and there does one good, for it makes one realise that life is tough and stern.
The host lost the opening contest of the three-match limited-overs series by one wicket after Robin Singh's blitzkrieg (85 not out, 52b, 7x6, 4x4) saw the side, put in, recover to tally a formidable 289 for four in the allotted 50 overs.
But Tamil Nadu came back to square the series 1-1 by clinching the decider with a disciplined performance after the second match was abandoned without a ball being bowled owing to rain.
But the loss in the opener still rankles, for the simple reason that it was a match that was lost from a winning position. Akalanka Ganegama (27, 14b, 1x6, 3x4) and Dinusha Fernando (10, 9b, 1x4) won the match for Colombo with the last-wicket pair needing 36 for victory from 4.1 overs, a phase when the host's fielding lay in tatters and the mediumpacers who bowled the 48th, 49th and 50th overs, T. Kumaran, L. Balaji and S. Mahesh respectively, not taking advantage of the one bouncer per over rule.
One felt that the battle-hardened Robin (he did not bowl in the match) should have come on for the crucial 48th and 50th overs, for his presence with the ball alone would have put the relatively inexperienced Colombo duo under pressure.
In fact, earlier in the day Robin had taken 20 runs in one over off Dinusha and 13 in a single over off Ganegama, both mediumpacers, in the 'death' overs.
Dilshan Tillekeratne was the hero of the chase, holding the Colombo innings together with a fine century. For Tamil Nadu in the morning, opener Rajat Bhatia and J. R. Madanagopal made half centuries.
Sri Lanka's ground fielding stood out in both matches. More so in the final contest when it restricted the host, opting to bat, to 227 in 49.4 overs. Mediumpacer-allrounder, left-handed Gayan Wijekoon, took six wickets, sharing the first four scalps with Dinusha before slicing through the lower middle-order and the tail. Half centuries by the consistent Madanagopal and S. Vasanth Saravanan gave the host's total a modicum of respectability.
It did seem though that Tamil Nadu had taken a page from Colombo's book when it came to fielding and bowling. The new ball pair of L. Balaji and M. R. Shrinivas turned on the heat in their opening spells of seven overs each before left-arm spinner R. Ramkumar came up with three crucial strikes (T. Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera and M. Pushpakumara) which put an end to the issue.
The scores:Oct. 14: Tamil Nadu 289 for four in 50 overs (S. Sriram 33, Rajat Bhatia 76, J. R. Madanagopal 77, Robin Singh 85 not out) lost to Colombo 292 for nine in 49.4 overs (Jehan Mubarak 26, Gayan Wijekoon 36, Dilshan Tillekeratne 123, Akalanka Ganegama 27 not out, T. Kumaran three for 61) at the CPT-IP ground. Man of the match: Dilshan Tillekeratne.
Oct. 15: Match abandoned owing to rain, at the ICL-Guru Nanak College ground.
Oct. 17: Tamil Nadu 227 in 49.4 overs (J. R. Madanagopal 67, S. Vasanth Saravanan 51, S. Sharath 28, Gayan Wijekoon six for 33) bt Colombo 170 in 43.3 overs (Dilshan Tillekeratne 28, Thilan Samaraweera 26, Upul Chandana 37, R. Ramkumar three for 36), at IIT-Chemplast. Man of the match: R. Ramkumar.
- Sanjay Rajan
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