RI overcome complacency to win A Division cricket title

Confidence soon turned into complacency however, as RI, batting second, fell just short

SINGAPORE – A brilliant all-round performance by Raffles Institution (RI) saw them claim the A Division West Zone title in style on Wednesday (March 1).

The institution's varsity cricketers beat Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (ACS I) by seven wickets in the final at the National Stadium.

This marks RI's first A Division cricket title since 2018, and comes after they lost out on the trophy to the same opponents by a single run in last year's final.

"It was a really close game last year, and we were really heartbroken to lose," said RI captain Chihnan Vijay.

"That’s what we learnt from that game, and we won today because of that loss. It was a really needed loss."

The two schools' last encounter was closely fought, with both teams displaying great skill and sportsmanship throughout the match.

Ultimately, it was a last-ball run out that sealed the game in ACS (I’s) favor last year, after they had set a 124-run target for RI to chase.

But this time around, there was no last-minute drama as RI cruised to victory after setting a 126-run target for ACS (I) to chase.

There was immediately a sense of deja vu when ACS (I), just like in their last meeting, won the coin toss, elected to bat first and racked up 125 runs.

Shree Bhala Raj, who had slammed a half-century in last year's final, top-scored again with 34 runs off 24 balls.

It gave RI an even bigger mountain to climb when the teams changed hands between innings. What followed was a stellar batting performance from the Rafflesians, in particular, Nikhil Ravichandra.

In extraordinary circumstances, Nikhil found himself out on the pitch for the entirety of the inning, having not been caught out. In that spell, he greatly contributed to his team’s score, slamming the ball out of bounds without bounce five times, a hit typically known as a six.

Of course, that usually denotes that the ball travels over the boundary, but in this instance, the ball ricocheted off the metal part of the outfield stands and went out of bounds.

According to the scorers, this has never happened before in an A Division West Zone final.

RI went on to overcome ACS (I)’s 125 runs in emphatic fashion, scoring 126 runs for the loss of one wicket in 11.3 overs.

“I think for every batter, hitting a six feels magnificent,” said Nikhil.

“But you have to tell yourself to not get carried away. In the game against ACS (which they lost by one run), we lost right at the end. So I just made sure that this time I had to be there to finish it.”

The 17-year-old admitted that he got tired during the second inning, but “all the adrenaline” kept him going. He added: “We’ve really had such a shortage of trophies in the past. I hope my team has influenced the younger generation to carry on a tradition of success.”

ACS (I) captain Ananya Bhatnagar said that despite losing the game, he was proud of the way his team had battled throughout the tournament.

“We didn’t panic today, nor did we choke. If you go to all 11 people who played, we all consider each other brothers. Everybody was calm and composed until the very last ball. That’s the way it should be,” said Bhatnagar, 18.

“We’re very happy with the way we played. We played to the best of our abilities and we're not going to complain about the result.”