By Prajna Girish (27S06O) and Harish Arun Prasad (27S05B)
All photographs provided by Zhu Taiwu (26S06K)
The Coin Toss
3 games against VJC this year. 2 losses for RI’s Cricket Team. But they earned their redemption just in time.
The air in Ceylon Sports Club was hot and engulfing—not just because temperatures were crossing 34°C, but because tensions were thick enough to slice with a knife.
“Everyone was charged up and ready to make a statement when it mattered the most.”
Swarit Thakur (27S05B)
After a relatively-good NSG run, both the VJC and RI players were warming up—rehearsing batting motions and lobbing balls, while spectators took to the stands for the match that would determine the 2026 champion after multiple face-offs. For the RI team, the stakes were especially high. They had to defend their title from last year, didn’t they?
The coin was tossed, RI was batting first. The first ball landed on the pitch, and the finals had officially begun.
The Fundamentals of Cricket
Let’s take a small break to explain the rules so you’re all caught up.
Cricket is a game of two halves, batting and fielding.
When batting, 2 batters from the starting 11 are positioned near each wicket. Batsmen aim to score runs by hitting the ball within play and running between the wickets as many times as possible. They can also score runs by hitting the ball beyond the boundaries, with or without touching the ground scoring 4 and 6 runs respectively.
When fielding, a team has all 11 starters spread out on the field, looking to prevent the opposing team from gaining runs by returning the balls back to the wicket as fast as possible. Additionally, each of the 11 fielders takes turns playing as a bowler, throwing the ball towards the wicket with the aim to knock them over and to get the batsman out. Batsmen can also be caught out if a fielder catches the ball while it is still in the air, or run out if a fielder throws the ball back to the wicket while the batsmen are still running in between.
The National School Games uses the T20 format, where each team is given 20 overs (6 balls each) to put up as many runs as possible. After one team has batted all 20 overs or all batters have been dismissed, the sides switch. The team now aims to stop their opponents from beating the score accumulated over their previous runs. The team with the higher finishing score is then pronounced the victor.
Breathing in the Tension
The fact of the matter was that the team’s batting was more volatile than their bowling. Less than two overs in and one batter was already out–but the team, notably Ritesh Kesavaraj (26S06S), had also hit two 4s . Runs were racking up, albeit slowly.
“We had to scrape our way to 125 (runs) when we should have had 150, 160 easily.”
Team Captain, Neil Chaturvedi (26S05B), when asked about the team’s batting performance
The fewer number of spectators from RI certainly took a toll on their spirit. Risky moves were played to accelerate the score—with both the Runs and batters out within a range of overs increasing. All of this was to the soundtrack of banging drums and benched players yelling encouragement—because one thing about the Cricket Team?
They stubbornly refused to lose hope. Even when one of their best players and national team member Vedanth Nagpaul (26S06K) was struck out, they held onto the fierce determination and resilience to keep pushing.
The Defence of a Title
As the game reached its second half, the RI team had a clear goal in mind: limit the VJC batsmen to less than 125 runs and emerge NSG champions. While not the simplest of tasks, the team had immense belief in their bowling unit to close the finals out. In just the previous round of the competition, the bowling unit played spectacularly to bowl out the entire ACJC lineup within 18.3 overs, holding them down to just 68 runs. If there was any team that could pull it off, it was the RI cricket team.
“We had immense confidence in our bowlers that however many runs we scored, we would defend it regardless.”
Swarit, on the team’s feelings heading into the 2nd half
The game swung towards RI from the jump when Swarit earned an out early on. The team were growing confident of an eventual win, and so were the supporters. Friends of the players were now on their feet, actively cheering despite the sweltering heat.
The team would continue to bowl well but would unfortunately be unable to capitalise on some opportunities to make catches. Those missed chances would go on to punish the team as VJC hit back with a flurry of boundaries, heaping pressure onto the bowling unit.
In spite of this, the team remained resolute in relying on the talent that brought them to the finals.
“We were all just very focused on the process, taking the game ball by ball ensuring that we were staying in the present while not worrying and thinking too much about the possible outcomes, and just trusting our skills to deliver under pressure,” Swarit shared.
And this mentality was eventually rewarded, when they finally managed to record another crucial out to end their rut. This propelled the RI team forward as they ended up scoring a few more outs, closing the gap and putting the entire fate of the finals on the last few balls.
VJC needed 8 runs from the last 6 balls, and RI needed to do all in their power to prevent that from happening.
And up stepped captain Neil Chaturvedi. They say that true leaders lead by example, and Neil did exactly that by helping to close out the game in the last over, only giving away 5 runs. As the last ball was bowled and successfully defended against, RI Cricket had claimed its 2nd NSG ‘A’ Division title in a row.
Final Lap
125-123; RI won by 2 runs.
Pure ecstasy. That was what filled the air as Rafflesian cricketers from all corners of the venue sprinted towards the centre of the field in celebration. Players pumped their fists in the air, and a few dedicated supporters even ran onto the field, hoisting the Rafflesian flag high as they joined their friends.
“Surreal.”
Swarit, describing the 2026 finals
At the closing ceremony, players from both teams lined up to receive their medals while their respective schoolmates cheered. Eventually, the RI Cricket team lifted the trophy in unison as the supporters applauded them for their performance.
Reflecting on the game, Neil attributed their triumph down to their confidence boost from the semi-finals and a change in tactics. In their previous games, VJC had been “unknown entities” able to catch RI by surprise. However, in this game the team was able to draw on their prior experience playing VJC to show up well-prepared. By learning from mistakes of the past, they were able to put up a better display of their skill in the game where it mattered most.
Neil also praised the team’s grit and resilience to come back from what seemed like a losing position. Despite being in an especially tough situation on the day, they fought valiantly—especially the bowling unit—to turn the odds back in their favour. And defeating the team that had gotten the better of them in the earlier stages of the tournament was the perfect way to exemplify the character the players showed throughout the season.
“I don’t think that any other team in the tournament would’ve won from that position.”
Neil, about the strengths the team showed
A Streak Worth the Wait
That doesn’t go to say the RI Cricket’s win was a stroke of luck. No, it was resilience to bounce back even when the odds were stacked against them, discipline in honing their abilities—all while balancing the other commitments of a student—and an undying faith in one another.
“I’m extremely happy and proud of everyone’s efforts. We really appreciate the efforts of everyone who came down to support supporters who came down. It meant a lot to us as a team.” Swarit highlighted post-match.
To quote 1983 world champion winning cricketer Kapil Dev, “Taste victory once, tongue wants more.” The Cricket Team hopes to continue their streak of wins. We wish them our heartiest congratulations and the very best in future matches.
