RI cruise past SJII into A Division cricket final
It may have been a semi-final contest, but there was a gulf in class between the two teams as defending champions Raffles Institution cruised into the final of the National Schools Boys' A Division Cricket Championships after beating a hapless St Joseph's Institution International School (SJII) yesterday at the Singapore Indian Association.
SJII elected to bat first but were restricted to a paltry 24 all out in 15 overs by the defending champions.
RI completed the routine win when opening batsmen Tom Joju, 18, and Laavanya Kejriwal, 17, chalked up 25 runs in 3 overs.
Speaking to The New Paper after their win, RI captain Muhammad Ameen Bhadelia, 18, said: "Today's game went excellent, everything was according to plan, there were no blunders or mix-ups.
"Everyone did his best and this is really the best performance in our season so far.
"Looking forward, I believe the only way is up from here."
Next Tuesday's final will see RI face arch rivals Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
ACS (I) were as dominant as RI, swatting aside Victoria Junior College easily in the other semi-final yesterday at the Ceylon Sports Club.
Batting first, they finished 102 for 9 in 20 overs and VJC could only respond with a meagre 34 for 10 in 16 overs.
ACS (I) had defeated RI by 32 runs in a preliminary-round contest, but the stakes will obviously be much higher next week.
"It'll definitely be an exciting game where two big rivals face off," said 32-year-old Iftekhar Haider, the RI coach.
"ACS (I) and RI have pretty much been rivals over the last few years and we've met them many times in the finals, where we see both teams playing their hearts out.
"I hope to see a really good game of cricket on Tuesday."
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