Karnataka State Cricket Association XI (KSCA XI) were sent ona leather hunt by a rampant Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) captain Rohan Gavaskar on the second day of the threeday MRF Buchi Babu quarter-final between the two teams at theGuru
Staff Reporter21-Aug-2001Karnataka State Cricket Association XI (KSCA XI) were sent ona leather hunt by a rampant Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) captain Rohan Gavaskar on the second day of the threeday MRF Buchi Babu quarter-final between the two teams at theGuru Nanak grounds in Chennai on Tuesday.Rohan, son of little master Sunny Gavasakar, made 188 off 217balls with 30 boundaries and three sixes as his team gained apotentially match-winning 107-run first innings lead. When badlight brought play to a premature close, CAB were 339 for 8off 89 overs.It was a wretched day for the KSCA XI, as Gavaskar smashed thebowlers to all corners of the park. And to make matters worse,KSCA captain, India’s ace leggie Anil Kumble, had to pull outafter bowling just five overs because of a recurrence of hisshoulder problem. Gavaskar’s rollicking 187-run third wicketpartnership with Amitav Chakravarthy, 44 off 173 balls, waswhat set the tenor for the day’s play. After early jitterswhich saw CAB reduced to 11 for 2 in the sixth over itself,Chakravarthy dropped anchor at one end allowing Gavaskar towade into the KSCA bowling at the other end.Even after the dismissal of Chakravarthy in the 54th over,Gavaskar continued in his merry ways. A 51-run partnership forthe fifth wicket with No. 6 Saikat Mukherjee gained CAB thevital first-innings lead.By the time he was out, with the score reading 306 for 7,Gavaskar had ensured that his team had all but sealed a placein the semi-finals. Of the KSCA bowlers, former India mediumpacer David Johnson in particular was pathetic. He conceded asmany as 76 runs in the eight overs that he bowled today whichalso included seven no-balls and one wide. His onlyconsolation was the wicket of Gavaskar but by then the damagehad already been done. Off-spinner Santosh Vadeyaraj also wentfor over four and over while former India left-arm spinnerSunil Joshi returned just 1-53 off his 21 overs.Fast bowler NC Iyayappa who persevered manly was the savinggrace claiming 4-65.* New Zealand ‘A’ notch up huge totalResuming on 303/4, the New Zealand ‘A’ side posted a mammoth474/8 declared in the first innings of their clash against MRFat the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The home side, inresponse made 113/2 off 27 overs before play was called off onthe second day.As on the first day, the New Zealand ‘A’ batsmen enjoyed thebest of a flat wicket on Monday. Hamish Marshall, unbeaten on84 when the day’s play began, notched up an innings highest120 (16 fours, 2 sixes) before being caught by SridharanSriram at covers off the bowling of left arm spinner BablooKumar. Marshall’s quick knock enabled the New Zealand ‘A’team to pile on the runs. Batting around Marshall was wellbuilt southpaw Jacob Oram. The pair added 92 runs for thefifth wicket.After Marshall’s departure, Oram continued to notch up theruns, with stumper Chris Nevin playing a good hand. Oram’sinnings finally came to a close when he was seventh out withthe score on 452. Oram’s 74 came off almost twice as manyballs and included seven boundaries and a six. Nevin’s 29 (49balls, 4 fours) helped New Zealand ‘A’ reach 474, the score atwhich they eventually retired.Steady batting by MRF skipper Sriram (45 not out, 82 balls, 8fours) and Tanveer Jabbar (51, 77 balls, 9 fours) saw MRFcross the 100 mark. However, still 361 runs behind in thefirst innings, with just one day left to be played, the MRFteam is in a position they would have liked to avoid. In theevent that the first innings of both teams is not completed,the match will be decided by spin of the coin. Simply put, MRFneed to score 361 runs off the minimum 95 overs to be bowledtomorrow. If they are dismissed for less than 474, New Zealandwill advance to the semi-finals. And finally, if MRF bat outthe final day and yet fail to take the first innings lead, thefates of both teams will lie in the result of the coin toss.* Indian Railways assured of semifinal berthIndian Railways virtually made sure of a berth in thesemifinal of the MRF Buchi Babu Invitation cricket tournamenton Tuesday. Replying to National Cricket Academy’s firstinnings total of 158, the railwaymen had piled up 451 for nineoff 138.4 overs by stumps on the second day of the three daymatch at the Southern Railway grounds in Chennai.Railways, who were 116 for two overnight, sent the NCA lads ona leather hunt. Dheeraj Sharma and Yere Goud added 163 runsfor the third wicket off 50 overs before the latter was bowledby off spinner M Dharmichand for 82. The skipper faced 143balls and hit ten fours and two sixes.Raja Ali (4) did not last long but Sharma and Prahlad Rawatput together a fifth wicket partnership of 56 runs off 18.2overs. Sharma was then out for 137. He faced 292 balls and hit13 fours and five sixes. Rawat and Sudhir Wankhede thenprolonged NCA’s agony by figuring in a sixth wicketassociation of 119 runs off 21 overs. Wankhede was then bowledby left arm spinner Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for a bright 63off only 67 balls. He hit eight fours and a six.Rawat proceeded confidently to his hundred and at close wasbatting with 105. He has so far faced 188 balls and hit 14fours. Dharmichand and Vidyut toiled hard and were rewardedwith four wickets each. Vidyut conceded 144 runs off 46.4overs while Dharmichand gave away 99 runs off 34 overs. Playwas stopped due to rain at 4.46 pm.* Jolly Rovers gain all-important first innings leadJolly Rovers huffed and puffed their way to a slender yetvital 22-run lead on the second day of their MRF Buchi Babuquarter-final against All India Associate Banks at the IIT-Chemplast grounds inChennai on Tuesday.With just a day’s play remaining, Rovers, who finished the dayat 269 for nine, seem destined to make the semi-finals barringa minor miracle.In the morning, Rovers, resuming at their overnight score ofeight for no loss, got off to a good start.Openers Sujith Somasunder and Vikram Kumar both made steadyprogress. The two put on 80 before Kumar was dismissed for apatient 28 off 79 balls.Somasunder though continued his steady accumulation of runsreaching 57 off 134 balls with two fours and two sixes beforebeing dismissed.Two more quick wickets got the Rovers pulses racing, but No.4J Hariesh and J Joseph (29) put their team back on course witha calming 80-run partnership.Hariesh and captain Ajay Kudua then put on 36 runs to bringRovers within shouting distance of the Banks score of 247.Hariesh, who made 76 off 147 balls with eight fours, was thelast man to be dismissed on the day.For Banks, KST Sai, DS Manohar and JP Yadav claimed two wicket each.