It’s always a handy situation for any team once they score beyond 300+ in a 50-overs contest and Malaysia batters managed to do just that as MCA President’s XI defeated Sri Lanka Army XI by 55 runs at Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur.
Virandeep Singh started the innings on a good note but the highlight of the match came from the 175-runs partnership for the 4th wicket between Ahmad Faiz (74 off 93) and Muhamad Shyahadat Ramli, who scored a brilliant century only to get retired hurt during the final overs for exact 100 runs from 120 deliveries.
There was still no respite for Sri Lanka Army XI bowlers as Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak smashed a quickfire 52 runs with a strike-rate of exactly 200 to take MCA President’s XI total to 318/5 from their quota of 50 overs.
Amazing it was that 8 players in the Sri Lanka Army XI got decent starts but with none going onto converting them into bigger scores badly hampered the chase as there were no 50’s or 100’s to pose a serious threat to the target. The ever increasing asking rate made the batsmen go for shots and got out in the process.
Someone give Virandeep the chance to play in T20 leagues as he richly deserves the opportunity. After providing a quick start with the bat, he returned figures of 3/41 off his 10 overs to showcase his all-round talent.
Mohd Shukri Abdul Rahim helped himself to a 4-for conceding 52 runs in the process. A good win for MCA President’s XI and good exposure for Malaysia players before the all important ICC WCL Division 4 at home in the last week of Apr 2018.
