Ashish propels MRF to victory

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 6. Captains are supposed to lead from the front. But Noel David, skipper of HCA President's XI, seemed different as he shunned the responsibility of batting and then presented a pathetic sight on the field as his team suffered a six-wicket drubbing at the hands of MRF (Chennai) in the Coromandel King Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup cricket tournament at Gymkhana Grounds here today.

President's XI was placed comfortably at 137 for four in the 38th over though southpaw Santosh Yadav was bowled by off- spinner Ashish Kapoor after an unimpressive stay. Then one expected international Noel David to come to the crease, but he didn't. When the team management felt he should bat, Noel felt that the youngsters should have a look-in. This, coming from a player fighting desperately to get back into the Hyderabad squad, was strange.

Ultimately, it was President's XI which missed an experienced batsman who could have made some quick runs in the final overs. The team finished at 224 for five on a pitch where the odd ball reared from a good length spot on the off-stump at the far end.

For President's XI, future prospects T. Suman (41, 59b, 6x4), Aditya Agarwal (46, 53b, 4x4) and Sashank Nag (40 not out, 45b, 4x4) demonstrated their potential. However, they never really went after the bowling and relied more on placements. The President's XI innings lasted the full quota of 50 overs without Noel coming in to bat. It is clear that the fear of failure is haunting him more nowadays. It's up to the selectors to have a serious discussion with him so that his image in local cricket is enhanced, and the team's interest is also protected.

For MRF, off-spinner Ashish Kapoor was the pick as he enjoyed bowling to Santosh Yadav, whose fancy for the sweep shot was beyond comprehension. Santosh simply didn't attempt any other stroke. At the other end, left-arm spinner S. Sriram gave him good support, dismissing Suman and P. Vijay Kumar.

Just when President's XI looked like falling short of the 200- mark, Sashank and Fiaz Ahmed (23 not out, 25b, 1x4) put on 63 for the sixth wicket in 56 balls to help their team set a decent target.

The way the MRF openers Ashish Kapoor (76, 46b, 12x4, 2x 6) and Vikram Rathour (24, 39b, 3x4) began, it looked as if the contest would get over within 20 overs. By the 12th over, MRF had rattled up 93 without loss as Ashish toyed with the bowlers. He clipped the ball through midwicket or drove on the rise on either side of the wicket and showed scant respect to both the pace and spin bowlers. Ashish's knock included two huge sixes off left-arm spinner Ramakrishna and Santosh Yadav.

It was Noel David who removed Ashish with his second as the latter was bowled trying to cut a straighter one. This was the only notable contribution from Noel whose outbursts against the fielders were avoidable.

Sriram (33, 40b, 2x4) and Rajat Bhatia (60 not out, 66b, 2x4, 1x5, 2x6) ensured that Hyderabad had no chance of getting back into the game. President's XI fielding was dismal as there were many occasions when the players didn't even attempt to chase the ball.

Fittingly, Bhatia swung Ramakrishna for two huge sixes - one over long-on and over mid-wicket - to finish the match in just 37 overs.

The scores:

At Gymkhana: HCA President's XI 224 for five in 50 overs (T. Suman 41, Aditya Agarwal 46, Sashank Nag 40 not out, Ashish Kapoor three for 49) lost to MRF (Chennai) 228 for four in 37 overs (Ashish Kapoor 76, S. Sriram 33, Rajat Bhatia 60 not out).

At AOC: Mumbai 285 for seven (Vinayak Mane 41, Jatin Paranjpe 84, Bhavin Thakkar 77, Sairaj Bahutule 37, S. Lahiri three for 51) beat Cricket Association of Bengal 243 for nine (Arindam Das 39, Rohan Gavaskar 55, Safi Ahmed 46, L. Murtuza 39 not out, A. Avishkar Salvi four for 37, Nilesh Kulkarni three for 33).

At LBS: New Zealand 184 for nine in 28 overs (M. Richardson 31, Lou Vincent 83 not out, R. Ramkumar four for 35) beat Chemplast 136 for nine (T. Arasu 34, Mills three for 23).

At ECIL: Sical 190 for nine (Badri Attavar 58, Robin Singh 34, K.S. Shahabuddin 42 not out) beat IOC 165 (Mandar Phadke 51, Amit Dani 32, Shahabuddin three for 13, Paras Mhambrey three for 46, Robin Singh three for 21).

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