Sajan Bopanna proved that his first-leg triumph was no fluke by outclassing two-time National champion BV Srinivasa Murthy 5-2 in a second leg Super league tie of the 38th Senior State-ranking snooker tournament at the KSBA hall here on Wednesday.
Bopanna, who suffered twin defeats on Tuesday, came up with a fine effort to keep his title hopes alive. It was his second win in four matches.
Though the match was bereft of big breaks, Bopanna made the most of the opportunities that came his way to have Murthy in bother.
Though Murthy pulled one back as he took the second frame of the best-of-nine-frame encounter, he sorely lacked the consistency required to push him over the line.
He did win the sixth frame to raise visions of a comeback, but Bopanna closed out the match in the next with some percentage play.
The promising Ajay Bhushan, who got the better of Murthy on Tuesday, failed to carry that form against MS Arun on Wednesday. Arun carried far too many guns for Bhushan, winning 5-2.
In another encounter, Vinay Katrela dashed Duncan Mackenzie’s hopes with a clinical 5-2 victory.
Results: Sajan Bopanna bt BV Srinivasa Murthy 5-2 (63-27, 46-80, 60-59, 71-49, 54-44, 31-63, 69-35); MS Arun bt Ajay Bhushan 5-2 (57-5, 63-6, 73-46, 25-63, 22-78, 64-44, 74-50); Vinay Katrela bt Duncan Mackenzie 5-2 (74-20, 45-59, 58-28, 58-29, 25-67, 65-46, 46-35).
