After the success of the NSW Community Cricket Cup in recent years, the state’s biggest community cricket competition is back for Season 3 this November, and the first round has delivered a major upset.
Pennant Hills pull off miracle heist in Community Cup
In the match of the Round – Pennant Hills District Cricket Club produced a scarcely believable one-wicket victory over back-to-back champions Wollongong DCC, chasing down 154 with just two balls remaining in a heart-in-mouth finish at North Dalton Park.
Wollongong, led by new skipper Lachlan Maddinson, won the toss and posted a formidable 4/153. An explosive 85-run opening partnership laid the platform, and after reaching a cruising 2/114, Ayden Brown’s brutal 12 off the final over – capped by a towering straight six – left the champions confident of another knockout scalp.
Pennant Hills’ reply started brightly, racing to 34 before losing their first wicket. Opener Rohith Pulla (43) and Ayush Arora (39) looked set for a match-defining partnership, but Arora fell with the score on 121 sparking a dramatic collapse. From a promising position, the pendulum swung firmly back toward the home side and the Wollongong crowd was roaring.
Needing 18 off the last three overs with only three wickets in hand, the game was there for the defending champs to take.
Enter Vishnu Chandraganti.
Walking in at No. 9, the all-rounder unleashed a stunning cameo of 24* from just 12 balls – a flurry of clean strikes, clever placement and ice-cold nerves that turned despair into delirium. When the equation came down to 7 off the final over, Chandraganti and his final batting partner held their nerve: dot, single, four and another boundary to finish the job from the penultimate ball.
The score: 9/156. One wicket remaining. Just two balls left in the match. North Dalton Park fell silent – then erupted as the Pennant Hills players charged the field in a jubilant pile-on.
Maddinson was gracious in defeat.
“We had them nine-down and thought it was done. Full credit – they found a way,” he said.
For Pennant Hills, it was pure underdog magic. From 7/124 to giant-killers on enemy soil, Chandraganti’s late blitz will be talked about for years.
The Shires club marches into Round 2 as the team nobody wants to face, while Wollongong’s dynasty takes its earliest-ever bow.
The 2025/26 Community Cup has its first classic – and its first cult hero.
You can view the Community Cricket Cup draw and scorecards here.