Suppiah claims a hattrick in Saudara Cup (3 Sep 1999)

2 September 1999

Suppiah claims a hattrick in Saudara Cup

A hat-trick by Malaysian off-spinner Arul Suppiah gave his team a 149 run win over Singapore in the annual Saudara Cup match in Kuala Lumpur on the weekend.

Believed to be the first in Cup history and part of an innings haul of 6-48, the hat-trick snuffed Singaporean attempts to hold out for a draw in the three-day match.

Malaysia 269-9 (75 overs) (Sharani Ahmed 84, V.Ramadass 98; Sunder Mani 3-78) Singapore 131 (Sandeep Seth 33, Arul Suppiah 4-50) Malaysia 142-7 (dec) (Rohan Selvaratnam 33n.o.; M.Lyles 3-56) Singapore 131 (Sandeep Seth 59, Zubin Schroff 34; Arul Suppiah 6-48) Malaysia won by 149 runs

Meanwhile, on the Malaysian domestic front, Selangor has taken out the League and Cup double following its win over Malaysian Malays in the Carlsberg Cup final.

Selangor batted first and made 303, to which Malays replied with 289, due chiefly to Sri Lankan professional, Sanath Jeyawardane (164).

It was Jeyawardane's second century in the Malaysian season after earlier hitting 119 against Kuala Lumpur.

The win to Selangor was no surprise, with the team featuring six national players, including skipper Suresh Navaratnam. His bowling was a major component, with four six-wicket hauls during the season.

Selangor had qualified for the final by sweeping aside Perak, while the Malays eliminated Negri Sembilan.

Selangor had earlier successfully defended their league title by winning outright its final game in the league against Penang. It pipped Negri Sembilan by 0.31 points to snare the title.

It was a remarkable turn-around for Negri Sembilan, which only just managed to avoid relegation to Division Two for the 1999 season. Never before in the past three decades had they come within the two two positions in the league.

In the Carlsberg National League Division Two, TNB beat Manza in the two-game finals series to snare the title. In the semi-finals, TNB defeated Armed Forces, while Manza beat Selangor. Division Two was marred by by the withdrawal of Terengannu, which left one group with only three teams.

Carlsberg National League Division One Table. Played Won Lost Draw Points Batting Bowling Total Points Points Points Selangor 6 3 0 3 36 10.55 18 64.55 Negri Sembilan 6 3 1 2 34 11.84 18.2 64.04 Malaysian Malays 6 2 0 4 28 16.22 17.2 61.42 Perak 6 1 2 3 16 15.88 16 47.88 FT 6 0 1 5 10 12.39 12.8 35.19 Johore 6 0 1 5 10 11.44 13.2 34.64 Penang 6 0 4 2 4 8.8 11.4 24.20