Batsmen take centrestage

CHENNAI, AUG. 21. Batsmen held sway on the second day of the quarterfinal matches in the MRF Buchi-Babu All India invitation cricket tournament held here on Tuesday.

Cricket Association of Bengal's (CAB) Rohan Gavaskar (188, 217b, 30x4, 3x6), Indian Railways' Dheeraj Sharma (137, 192b, 13x4, 5x6) and Prahlad Rawat (105 batting, 188b, 14x4) and New Zealand `A' Hamish Marshall (120, 173b, 16x4, 2x6) took the centrestage today.

Resuming at six for one, CAB made 339 for eight in 89 overs in reply to KSCA XI's 232. For the third wicket, southpaw Rohan and Amitava Chakravarthy 44 (173b, 5x4) added 187 runs in 48.2 overs and it was this partnership that helped CAB consolidate its position. Mediumpacer N.C. Aiyappa picked up four for 65. Play was called off at 4.36 p.m. due to bad light.

Railways on course

Railways is virtually assured of a semifinal berth against the defending champion National Cricket Academy. Having earlier dismissed NCA for 158, Railways was 451 for nine at stumps. Dheeraj and Yere Goud 82 (143b, 10x4, 2x6) put on 163 runs for the third wicket in 54.1 overs. Then Rawat and Sudir Wankhede 63 (67b, 8x4, 1x6) put on 119 for the sixth wicket in 21 overs. For NCA, left-arm spinner Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and off-spinner M. Dharmichand shared eight wickets between them. Play was stopped at 4.46 p.m. due to rain.

In reply to All India Associate Banks' 247, Jolly Rovers CC ended the day at 269 for nine. J. Harish was the top scorer with 76 (147b, 8x4). Opener Sujith Somasundar made 57 (134b, 2x4, 2x6). A crucial 77-run stand for the fifth wicket between Jinju Joseph and Harish helped Jolly Rovers CC, which was 117 for four at that stage, to reach 269. Play ended at 5.05 p.m. due to bad light.

New Zealand `A' declared its first innings at 474 for eight, 58 minutes after lunch. Overnight batsman Hamish Marshall completed his century while Jacob Oram contributed 74 (141b, 7x4, 1x6). MRF, at stumps, was 113 for two from 27 overs. Southpaw S. Sriram remained unbeaten on 45 (82b, 8x4) while Tanveer Jabbar compiled 51 (77b, 9x4). For the second wicket, Sriram and Tanveer were engaged in a 98-run partnership off 21.5 overs. Sixty one minutes of play was lost in the post-tea session due to bad light and drizzle.

The scores:

New Zealand `A' 474 for eight decl. in 153.2 overs (Mathew Bell 111, Lou Vincent 85, Hamish Marshall 120, Jacob Oram 74) v MRF 113 for two in 27 overs (S. Sriram 45 batting, Tanveer Jabbar 51), at MAC `A'.

National Cricket Academy 158 v Indian Railways 451 for nine in 138.2 overs (Dheeraj Sharma 137, Yere Goud 82, Prahlad Rawat 105 batting, Sudir Wankhede 63, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan four for 144, M. Dharmichand four for 99), at S. Railway.

All India Associate Banks 247 v Jolly Rovers CC 269 for nine in 98 overs (Sujith Somasundar 57, Vikram Kumar 28, J. Harish 76, Jinju Joseph 29), at IIT-Chemplast.

KSCA XI 232 v CAB 339 for eight in 89 overs (Amitava Chakravarthy 44, Rohan Gavaskar 188, Sanjib Sanyal 33 batting), at ICL-Guru Nanak.

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