Wins for Air India, Chemplast and State Bank of Patiala

A dominant India Cements crushed State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) by 125 runs in a Group A match in Visakhapatnam.

A double-century opening stand at more than a run-a-ball between Tamil Nadu batsmen Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund put India Cements on their way to 324 for 6 in 50 overs. Arun made 112 off 108 deliveries while Mukund got 86 off 99. After their departure, Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid ensured India Cements went past 300. Dinesh made 42 off 34 while Dravid remained unbeaten on 32 off 23.

SBH started poorly as Tamil Nadu bowlers Lakshmipathy Balaji and Yo Mahesh struck to leave them struggling at 29 for 2. Wickets fell regularly thereafter and SBH were reduced to 123 for 6 at one stage. Srihari Rao's rearguard effort of 40 off 53 deliveries took his team close to 200 but India Cements' victory was never in doubt.

Ajinkya Rahane's century helped Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) easily overhaul Tata Sports Club's (TSC) 280 for 3 in a Group B game in Chennai.

Rahane added 94 runs for the first wicket with his Mumbai and IOC captain Wasim Jaffer in 13 overs. Jaffer made 48 off 37 deliveries. Rahane then shared a 128-run stand with Uttar Pradesh batsman Ravikant Shukla who made 84 off 91. This stand effectively sealed the chase for IOC. Rahane was eventually dismissed for 105 off 117 with nine fours. Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 32 off 29 as IOC cantered to victory in 48.2 overs with only four wickets down.

TSC, after opting to bat, lost both openers with 42 runs on the board. Punjab's Mandeep Singh and Jharkhand's Ishank Jaggi then combined in a 187-run partnership for the third wicket. Singh made 91 off 100 deliveries and Jaggi was unbeaten on 110 off 130. Nishit Shetty's late strikes took TSC to 280 but the target hardly troubled IOC's batsmen.

Arindam Das's century was in vain as Air India beat Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited by 29 runs in a high-scoring Group C game of the BCCI Corporate Trophy in Hyderabad.

Chasing Air India's 314 for 5, BSNL were off to a strong start with Bengal batsman Das and Monish Mishra, who plays for Deccan Chargers in the IPL, adding 131 runs in 21 overs. Air India struck, removing Mishra after he had made 60 off 66 deliveries. BSNL lost wickets regularly thereafter with the next highest partnership being only 38 runs, between Das and Brijesh Tomar. Das was dismissed after making 103 off 113 deliveries. BSNL eventually finished with 285 for 9 in 50 overs. Haryana offbreak bowler Ajit Chandila was the most successful for Air India, taking 4 for 36 in ten overs.

Three Air India batsmen earlier scored half-centuries, helping their team post 314. Captain Mohammad Kaif top-scored with 75 off 92 deliveries. Former India batsman Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Rajasthan Royals' Naman Ojha also got fifties. Ojha's late charge ensured Air India went past 300, as he struck four sixes in his unbeaten 58 off only 26 deliveries.

In another Group C match played at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad, a disciplined bowling effort helped Chemplast defeat State Bank of Mysore (SBM) by 67 runs.

Set a target of 187 in a match shortened to 25 overs, SBM were never in the chase after being reduced to 25 for 5. Tamil Nadu duo Ganapathi Vignesh and Rajagopal Sathish rocked the SBM top order as the first five batsmen failed to cross double figures. SBM ultimately managed 119 for 7, Talpa Sai top-scoring with 33.

The Chemplast innings was steadied by Hemanth Kumar after they had lost their openers for 38 runs. Kumar made 53 off 47 deliveries but was dismissed with the score on 102. Captain Sathish then smashed 40 off only 17, hitting five sixes. By the time he got out, Chemplast had added 65 runs in 34 balls, which enabled them to finish with a formidable score.

State Bank of Patiala (SBP) defeated Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) by 13 runs in a close Group D encounter in Bangalore.

Captain Pankaj Dharmani top-scored for SBP with 46 off 78 deliveries and was the last man to be dismissed as they were bowled out for 187 in 48.1 overs. No other SBP batsman went past 22 on a pitch where scoring proved difficult. Jharkhand offbreak bowler Sunny Gupta took 3 for 45 in ten overs.

MRF began their chase poorly, collapsing to 44 for 4 at one stage. Tamil Nadu's Sridharan Sriram and Umashankar Sushil combined in a 63-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At that juncture, MRF needed 81 runs with more than 23 overs remaining. However, Sushil fell, and Sriram later followed with the score on 125 after having made 46 off 67. A last-wicket stand of 23 raised MRF's hopes but last man Prasanth Chandran was dismissed with 14 runs still required.

Income Tax hammered Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) by 171 runs in a Group D match in Bangalore.

Defending a target of 293, Baroda's Ajitesh Argal and Gujarat's Rohit Dahiya ran through the ONGC batting, dismissing them for 121 in 30.4 overs. Argal took 4 for 38 and Dahiya picked up 3 for 16 as six ONGC batsmen made single-digit scores. ONGC were reduced to 61 for 7 at one stage but Sarandeep Singh and Vikramjeet Malik took them past 100.

Maharashtra's Ameya Shrikhande and Hiken Shah - who started with Mumbai before moving onto Jammu and Kashmir - earlier shared a 106-run opening stand for Income Tax. Shrikhande top-scored with 58 off 79 deliveries while Shah made 47 off 63. Dahiya's unbeaten 56 off 28, which included six fours and three sixes, enabled Income Tax to post a challenging total.