Sharp directing, nifty camera work & close ups brought the viewers into the game and showed the intensity on the faces of the college players.

 

The interplay between the New Zealand voice of CricHQ’s Jamie Paul Lloyd & American College Cricket’s Lloyd Jodah provided a knowledgeable backdrop for the excitement as Coca Cola and TV Asia brought the 7th match of the college cricket season into living rooms.

 

BU’s Hayat Khan won the toss, & chose to field. For Rutgers Nisarg Choksi & Haider Ali opened the batting and put up another fifty partnership, which they’ve been doing since Nationals in March. They made 63 in 5.4 overs before Choksi was bowled by Hayat Khan for 9. Those numbers tell the tale of how Haider Ali tore into the bowling, smashing 6’s way out of the field. His cover drives for 6’s traveled about 90 meters, and were truly remarkable ! Ali’s 50 came in 21 balls !

 

A century partnership (102) followed with A Trapasia (25) as Haider dominated the bowling with shots all around the wicket, finding the gaps, and launching the ball over the boundary. Haider’s 100 came off 39 balls, with 11 sixes & 9 fours ! When he was out, he had made 119 in 47 balls out of his team’s 165 for 3 !

 

For cricket in America & Canada, 22 year old Rutgers student Haider Ali had set a record, he had scored a century on his debut on TV ! and he made the first century ever scored on TV in the US and Canada ! Frieda Pinto would have loved it, had she been there to see it.

 

Nevertheless one of the best shots of the match was Divyesh Gandhi’s cut off the back foot for 6 – it bulleted like a rocket way outside the boundary ! Rutgers made 210 for 6 in 20 overs and left Boston U a tough task.

 

Tejas Ajawane and Hayat Khan got BU off to a good start at 22 off 2.5 overs before Udit Patel struck, getting Khan, then taking 2 more quick wickets and Boston was 33 for 3 ! Shilpin Makwana, who captained BU in the first American College Cricket National Championship in 2009, joined Ajawane, and the 2 put on 59 runs before Makwana went caught off Gandhi, for 31 in 31 balls.

 

Ajawane continued the fight before getting out at 135 for 6, for 66 made off 44 balls with 4 fours & 4 sixes !

Boston University showed their grit by getting to 152 for 7 off 20, but Rutgers had amassed too large a total, and earned the victory to go through to the American College Cricket North East Finals once more to play for the Deryck Jodah Trophy ! 

 

Every Saturday at 7pm on TV Asia, watch American College Cricket matches sponsored by Coca Cola,in USA & Canada . TV Asia is available on all major cable systems in the US & Canada, & Dish Network.

 

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