Amidst innumerable interruptions for bad light that took away a major portion of playing time after action began two hours and 40 minutes behind schedule, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association XI pacers had ONGC in all sorts of trouble to take the day’s honours on the opening day of the two-day KSCA all-India invitation tournament tie at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Monday.

Opting to bat first on a lively wicket, ONGC were struggling at 107 for five in 40.3 overs when day’s play was called off for a final time owing to bad light. Skipper Rizwan Shamshad (13) and Ravi Kant, yet to open his account, were at the crease.

While TNCA are through to the quarterfinals of the fortnight-long event courtesy their comprehensive win over Indian Airlines in their opening match, ONGC have, barring the unforseen, ensured their passage to the next stage on better run-rate.

Sehwag fails
ONGC, who were looking for star batsman Virender Sehwag to fire up front to gain the upper hand, received a jolt when the former India opener was out for a second-ball duck, flashing hard at a delivery outside the off-stump. The full-blooded cut off Tamil Kumaran was brillaintly caught at point at S Anirudha.

Opener Sandeep Sharma, in the company of former India international Gagan Khoda, steadied the ship, milking 59 for the second wicket before an attempted upper-cut by Sharma was snapped at gully by Srinivasan off Amarnath. Sharma contributed 32 off 53 balls including three fours and a six.

No sooner did Sharma depart than fell Khoda, caught short of his crease off a direct hit from R Ashwin from covers. With a new set of batsmen -- Radhey Shyam and Mayank Tehlan -- at the crease, the Tamil Nadu pacers, who worked up good speed, pushed them on to the back foot, eliciting catchable edges on more than a couple of occasions.

But the fortuitous ONGC batsmen survived as the TNCA fielders, who otherwise were exceptional in the field throwing themselves around at everything, let the chances go abegging, stumper C Gopinath being the biggest culprit. Radhey, however, couldn’t survive long, falling when his uppish drive off a hard-working Kumaran ballooned to mid-on for Ganapathy to complete an easy catch.

Tehlan (27, 65b, 4x4, 1x6), who pulled Kumaran for a six over mid-wicket, looked compact and seemed set for a big knock until Ganapathy, bowling from the BEML end, squared him up to win a leg-before shout.

A doughty Shamshad and the ever fading light ensured ONGC finished the day without further loss.

At JIRS, KSCA Colts were staring at defeat against Chemplast. After bowling out Colts for a modest 173 in 47.2 overs including a whopping 30 penalty runs, Chemplast were cruising at 139 for three from 44 overs. Yashpal Singh was on 46 while Vasanth Saravanan was giving him the company on 29.

At IAF, where the match began well after tea due to damp conditions, Air India, in a must-win match, were flying high at 158 for the loss of opener Dheeraj Jadhav (38) after 34 overs against Hyderabad Cricket Association XI.
Opener Sudhanth Marathe was batting on 81 with Suresh Raina for company on 31.   

Not a single ball was bowled at the RSI grounds between KSCA XI and IOC as conditions were not conducive for play.

Brief scores: At KSCA: ONGC: 107/5 in 40.3 overs (Sandeep Sharma 32, Gagan Khoda 27, Mayank Tehlan 27; Tamil Kumran 2-26) vs TNCA XI.

At JIRS: KSCA Colts: 173 all out in 47.2 overs (incl 30 penalty runs): (Keshav Chitta 36, SN Ameet 30; A Avinash 3-36, Rajesh Sharma 3-25) vs Chemplast : 139/3 in 44 overs (Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan 30, Yashpal Singh 46 n.o., Vasanth Saravanan S 29 n.o.; G Vinay 2-25).

At IAF: Air India: 158/1 in 34 overs (Dheeraj Jadhav 38, Sushanth Marathe 81 batting, Suresh K Raina 31 batting) vs Hyderabad Cricket Association XI.