Rohan Gavaskar puts CAB in the drivers seat

Karnataka State Cricket Association XI (KSCA XI) were sent on a 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 the Guru Nanak grounds in Chennai on Tuesday.

Rohan, son of little master Sunny Gavasakar, made 188 off 217 balls with 30 boundaries and three sixes as his team gained a potentially match-winning 107-run first innings lead. When bad light brought play to a premature close, CAB were 339 for 8 off 89 overs.

It was a wretched day for the KSCA XI, as Gavaskar smashed the bowlers to all corners of the park. And to make matters worse, KSCA captain, India's ace leggie Anil Kumble, had to pull out after bowling just five overs because of a recurrence of his shoulder problem. Gavaskar's rollicking 187-run third wicket partnership with Amitav Chakravarthy, 44 off 173 balls, was what set the tenor for the day's play. After early jitters which saw CAB reduced to 11 for 2 in the sixth over itself, Chakravarthy dropped anchor at one end allowing Gavaskar to wade 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 for the fifth wicket with No. 6 Saikat Mukherjee gained CAB the vital 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 place in the semi-finals. Of the KSCA bowlers, former India mediumpacer David Johnson in particular was pathetic. He conceded as many as 76 runs in the eight overs that he bowled today which also included seven no-balls and one wide. His only consolation was the wicket of Gavaskar but by then the damage had already been done. Off-spinner Santosh Vadeyaraj also went for over four and over while former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi returned just 1-53 off his 21 overs.

Fast bowler NC Iyayappa who persevered manly was the saving grace claiming 4-65.

Resuming on 303/4, the New Zealand 'A' side posted a mammoth 474/8 declared in the first innings of their clash against MRF at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The home side, in response made 113/2 off 27 overs before play was called off on the second day.

As on the first day, the New Zealand 'A' batsmen enjoyed the best of a flat wicket on Monday. Hamish Marshall, unbeaten on 84 when the day's play began, notched up an innings highest 120 (16 fours, 2 sixes) before being caught by Sridharan Sriram at covers off the bowling of left arm spinner Babloo Kumar. Marshall's quick knock enabled the New Zealand 'A' team to pile on the runs. Batting around Marshall was well built southpaw Jacob Oram. The pair added 92 runs for the fifth wicket.

After Marshall's departure, Oram continued to notch up the runs, with stumper Chris Nevin playing a good hand. Oram's innings finally came to a close when he was seventh out with the score on 452. Oram's 74 came off almost twice as many balls and included seven boundaries and a six. Nevin's 29 (49 balls, 4 fours) helped New Zealand 'A' reach 474, the score at which they eventually retired.

Steady batting by MRF skipper Sriram (45 not out, 82 balls, 8 fours) and Tanveer Jabbar (51, 77 balls, 9 fours) saw MRF cross the 100 mark. However, still 361 runs behind in the first innings, with just one day left to be played, the MRF team is in a position they would have liked to avoid. In the event that the first innings of both teams is not completed, the match will be decided by spin of the coin. Simply put, MRF need to score 361 runs off the minimum 95 overs to be bowled tomorrow. If they are dismissed for less than 474, New Zealand will advance to the semi-finals. And finally, if MRF bat out the final day and yet fail to take the first innings lead, the fates of both teams will lie in the result of the coin toss.

Indian Railways virtually made sure of a berth in the semifinal of the MRF Buchi Babu Invitation cricket tournament on Tuesday. Replying to National Cricket Academy's first innings total of 158, the railwaymen had piled up 451 for nine off 138.4 overs by stumps on the second day of the three day match at the Southern Railway grounds in Chennai.

Railways, who were 116 for two overnight, sent the NCA lads on a leather hunt. Dheeraj Sharma and Yere Goud added 163 runs for the third wicket off 50 overs before the latter was bowled by off spinner M Dharmichand for 82. The skipper faced 143 balls and hit ten fours and two sixes.

Raja Ali (4) did not last long but Sharma and Prahlad Rawat put together a fifth wicket partnership of 56 runs off 18.2 overs. Sharma was then out for 137. He faced 292 balls and hit 13 fours and five sixes. Rawat and Sudhir Wankhede then prolonged NCA's agony by figuring in a sixth wicket association of 119 runs off 21 overs. Wankhede was then bowled by left arm spinner Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for a bright 63 off only 67 balls. He hit eight fours and a six.

Rawat proceeded confidently to his hundred and at close was batting with 105. He has so far faced 188 balls and hit 14 fours. Dharmichand and Vidyut toiled hard and were rewarded with four wickets each. Vidyut conceded 144 runs off 46.4 overs while Dharmichand gave away 99 runs off 34 overs. Play was stopped due to rain at 4.46 pm.

Jolly Rovers huffed and puffed their way to a slender yet vital 22-run lead on the second day of their MRF Buchi Babu quarter-final against All India Associate Banks at the IIT-Chemplast grounds in Chennai on Tuesday.

With just a day's play remaining, Rovers, who finished the day at 269 for nine, seem destined to make the semi-finals barring a minor miracle.

In the morning, Rovers, resuming at their overnight score of eight for no loss, got off to a good start.

Openers Sujith Somasunder and Vikram Kumar both made steady progress. The two put on 80 before Kumar was dismissed for a patient 28 off 79 balls.

Somasunder though continued his steady accumulation of runs reaching 57 off 134 balls with two fours and two sixes before being dismissed.

Two more quick wickets got the Rovers pulses racing, but No.4 J Hariesh and J Joseph (29) put their team back on course with a calming 80-run partnership.

Hariesh and captain Ajay Kudua then put on 36 runs to bring Rovers within shouting distance of the Banks score of 247. Hariesh, who made 76 off 147 balls with eight fours, was the last man to be dismissed on the day.

For Banks, KST Sai, DS Manohar and JP Yadav claimed two wicket each.