By Marcus Uhe
Centuries to both Brett Forysth and Dhanusha Gamage saw Dandenong thrash a highly fancied Prahran outfit by nine wickets at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
Coming together at 1/20, upon the dismissal of Andrey Fernando, Forsyth and Gamage added 237 for the second wicket in 77 overs to grind their way to a maiden win under new coach Tom Donnell.
Forsyth finished unbeaten on 113 off 257 deliveries, his second unbeaten hundred of the season following 135 against Casey South Melbourne in round one, while Gamage, earmarked for a big year by Donnell in the preseason, made it a first XI debut to remember with 124, featuring two sixes and 11 fours.
Forsyth’s 50 came in the 38th over with a textbook drive through the covers off finger spinner James Boyce.
The Panthers’ run rate hovered at a steady two per over for three quarters of the innings before lifting to 2.5 as the target became within reach.
Once Gamage reached his half-century in the 56th, he begun to free arms with a flurry of boundaries.
The 59th over begun with a powerful pull-shot off Alex Turner for six towards Pultney Street before bisecting two fielders on the off side with a sumptuous cover drive for four on the next delivery.
Off the final ball, he aimed to repeat the dose of the first, but didn’t quite clear the boundary rope, awarded four rather than six.
A sweep down to his teammates watching in the pavilion saw Forsyth reach the milestone with 47 runs still required.
Gamage nearly chopped-on for 96, much to the disbelief of a pair of close fielders in his eyeline, and had to mentally withstand a drinks break on 98 before his big moment came in the 80th over with a swivelled pull shot down to the square-leg boundary.
After falling just shy of the Swans in round one, there’s plenty to be optimistic about at Pantherland already in the 2023 season.
At Greenvale, Casey South Melbourne made light work of the Kangaroos’ 105, eclipsing the target three wickets down.
Newcomer Yash Pednekar hit five sixes and three fours to top score with 60 off 65 balls and steer the chase from the top of the order.
The Swans declared at 7/163 after 32 overs to try their hand at an outright win, but the hosts offered far more resistance in their second effort with the bat, reaching 6/218 after 69 overs.
Veteran seamer Jackson Fry and captain Luke Shelton each took two wickets in the Kangaroos’ second innings.
The Swans head to Camberwell next week to take on the Magpies while Dandenong head to Parkdale to face Kingston Hawthorn in two-day fixtures.
