Richmond Hill Cricket Club sporting their new uniform.
By Royo P. Sankar
Ryan Girdhary’s brilliant century was not enough, as Richmond Hill CC held their nerve and pulled off a thrilling eight-run victory over Galaxy.
Ryan Girdhary struck his first ton in the Eastern American Cricket Association.
Galaxy chasing 224, at 5.6 runs per over, almost a run-a-ball for victory Ryan batting number three with the fall of Allon Harmacoond (0), he quickly settled in and took control of the game until his dismissal for a magnificent 115 (1×4) (10×6) off 79 deliveries. He was especially severe on Fidel Sooknandan, Deryck McDonald, and skipper Shameer Sadloo – their combined 21 overs cost a total of 152 runs—almost two-thirds of the team’s total score. Girdhary bought up his century in superb style with a glorious off-drive that topped the fence for 6 off Sudesh Dhaniram. The shot had class and elegance written all over it.
Inserted to bat first, Richmond Hill started cautiously on a heavy Baisley Park outfield and with the score on 7 they lost Imram Ali (2), clean bowled by Ryan Girdhary. However, Sudesh Dhaniram joined Debo Sankar and the pair consolidated the innings taking the score to 68 before Debo fell for 28, along with Prashad Mahadeo (15), batting at number four.
Shameer Sadloo came in at number five and was at his usual best thumping his second consecutive half-century 66 (5×6) off 49 balls. The usually watchful and aggressive Sudesh Dhaniram would depart after scoring a classic 62 (4×6) (6×6) off 48 balls, with the score on 112. Deryck McDonald then joined Shameer Sadloo and they took the score 172. McDonald later fell for 24 and Kumar Nandalal without scoring. Royo Sankar, 9 not out, along with Shameer Sadloo took the score to 216 before Sunesh Wazid had him caught on the boundary.
Final total Richmond Hill 224 for 7 off their allotted 40 overs. The Richmond Hill wickets fell at: 1-7 (I. Ali), 2-68 (D. Sankar), 3-112 (S. Dhaniram), 4-124 (P. Mahadeo), 5-172 (D. McDonald), 6-216 (K. Nandalal) and 7-221(S. Sadloo).
Galaxy pursuing 225 for victory quickly lost their first wicket with the score on 3, but Yudesh Bissnauth found a useful partner in Ryan Girdhary and they took the score to 47 before Yudesh fell for 22. Vickram Petam (21) and Rafeek Nazir (12) stuck around as Ryan dominated the innings thumping anything full, short and up over the fence easily.
Galaxy was always with the scoring rate and only needed to stay with Ryan at the wicket towards victory. However, everything would change with the dismissal of Ryan Girdhary with the score on 173 as Sunesh Wazid (1), Claude Thomas (0), and Nazir Abdullah (1), fell cheaply.
Shameer Sadloo hit his second half century of the season that of 66 from 49 balls.
The scoreboard read 200 for 8, with Galaxy needing a further 24 with 4 overs remaining and two wickets in hand, however, the match was suddenly headed for a thrilling finish. Dhaniram Seepersaud was entrusted with the ball and with 12 runs needed off the final two overs; everyone was tense as the game could have gone either way. Galaxy only managed four runs with Seepersaud clean bowling the final two batsmen Krishna Harrichan (13), and Cheteswar Chandra (0), giving Richmond Hill a thrilling victory by 8 runs. Dhaniram Seepersaud was quickly seen as the hero of the match.
The Galaxy wickets fell at: 1-39 (A. Harmacoond), 2-42 (Y. Bissnauth), 3-111(V. Petam) 4-169 (R. Nazir),5-173 (R. Girdhary) ,6-180 (S. Wazid), 7-180 (C. Thomas), 8-200 (K. Harrichan),9-205 (N. Abdullah) and 10-214 (C. Chandra).
Final scores: Richmond Hill 224 for 7, Sudesh Dhaniram 62, and Shameer Sadloo 66.
Bowling for Galaxy: Sunesh Wazid was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 46. Yodesh Bissnauth had 2 for 46, while Ryan Girdhary and Rafeek Nazir had one wicket each.
Galaxy 216 all out in 39.1 overs, Ryan Girdhary 115. Bowling for Richmond Hill: Sudesh Dhaniram, Kumar Nandalal and Dhaniram Seepersaud had two wickets each, while Deryck McDonald and Fidel Sooknandan scalped one each.