Hosts Bishop Cottons Boys’ School and Presidency School, RT Nagar, made it to the finals of both the under-14 and under-17 categories of the Cottonian Shield cricket tournament at the Cottons ground here on Monday.
In the under-17 semifinals, Presidency defeated Frank Anthony Public School by 85 runs while Cottons scored a seven-wicket win over St Joseph’s Boys’ School to set up the title clash.
Set to score a challenging 166 from 30 overs, FAPS were bundled out for a paltry 85 in 25 overs as Mohit and Ganesh picked up three wickets apiece. For Presidency, Aman Raj top-scored with an unbeaten 67 while Arun contributed 53.
In the other match, Cottons had little difficulty in overhauling SJBS’ modest total. After restricting the Josephites to 134, Cottons, riding on Dabeet’s unbeaten 44, reached 137 for three in 21.3 overs. Earlier, Akheel (3/27), Samarth (2/29) and Ashwin (2/27) were amongst the wickets for Cottons.
In the under-14 section, Cottons barely managed to put it across FAPS while Presidency suffered a few jittery moments before prevailing over Josephites.
After managing an unimpressive 128 for nine from 30 overs, Cottons did well to pack off FAPS for 124 in 29.2 overs for a narrow four-run victory.
Presidency, chasing 162 for a win, huffed and puffed to 162 for nine in 29.1 overs.
Brief scores (Semifinals):
Under-17: Presidency School: 165/6 in 27 overs (Aman Raj 67 n.o., Arun 53; Rahul 3-22) bt FAPS: 85 all out in 25 overs (Mohit 3-22, Ganesh 3-10).
St Joseph’s: 134 all out in 27.1 overs (Alan 30, Prashanth 25; Akheel 3-27, Samarth 2-29, Ashwin 2-27) lt to Bishop Cottons Boys’ School: 137/3 in 21.3 overs (Dabeet 44 n.o., Dabrit 27).
Under-14: Bishop Cotton Boys’ School: 128/9 in 30 overs (Sanchit 34; Abhishek 3-19, Karthik 2-18) bt FAPS: 124 all out in 29.2 overs (Tilak 40).
St Joseph’s Boys’ School: 161 all out in 30 overs (Abhinav 37, Chirag 31; Sanjith 4-24) lt to Presidency School: 162/9 in 29.1 overs (Vignesh 40, Sanjith 27; Abhilash 3-26).