Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College made a mammoth 307 runs in 50 overs to crush the other finalists Pachaiyappa’s College by a huge margin to win the IIT Sanmar Inter Collegiate Cricket Tournament at the IIT Chemplast cricket ground on February 20, 2000.
The Vivekananda lads indulged in some big hitting with Rajat Bhatia (130 in 131 balls, 11 fours and 2 sixes) and Venugopala Rao (152 in 147 balls,16 fours and 1 six) putting on over 200 in a rollicking opening partnership. Venugopala Rao who also had a good match with the ball was a member of the India Under-19 team which won the World Cup in Sri Lanka. Rajat Bhatia, a trainee at the MRF Pace Foundation, recently made an exciting debut for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy rescuing a tottering side with a brilliant 72 batting at no.10.
Pachaiyappa’s were bowled out in just 32 overs scoring only 128 runs with Venugopala Rao taking five wickets for 29 runs.
Syed Kirmani giving away the trophy to the winners.
The runners up, Pachaiyappa·s College, seen receiving the cup from Syed Kirmani.
Scores:
Vivekananda College 307/6 in 50 overs (Rajat Bhatia 130, Venugopala Rao 152)
Pachaiyappa’s College 128 all out in 32 overs (S Aravind 36, J Arul 38, Venugopala Rao 5 for 29).
Man of the Final : Venugopala Rao
Man of the Tournament : Rajat Bhatia
Best Bowler : C Harish
Best Batsman : Venugopala Rao
Best Fielder : C Hemant Kumar
All the awards were won by students of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College. Former India wicket keeper Syed Kirmani, who gave away the prizes, was an enthusiastic and keenly observant spectator at the final. He had several words of advice for the youngsters, mostly of the commonsense variety.
Kirmani was known for his no-nonsense approach to his cricket and his ability to rise to the occasion both behind and in front of the stumps. “An outstanding ground and pavilion”, was his comment on the IIT Chemplast cricket ground. N Kumar and Vijay Sankar were also present at the prize distribution ceremony.
The winning team with the trophy
Syed Kirmani in conversation with N Kumar, Vice Chairman, Sanmar group.