<p>Fresh from his 10th successive title triumph in the KSBA State-ranking billiards tournament, the affable cueist initially struggled to find his rhythm against a stubborn Rajeev Duseja late on Wednesday before finding his touch in an impressive victory over Francis Joe at the ECA club on Thursday.<br /><br />Playing with a handicap of -900, Bhaskar opened his Group D account with a nervy 151-146 win over Duseja and then confirmed his last-four ticket with an authoritative 150-35 defeat of Joe.<br /><br />Oozing class, Bhaskar posted the tournament’s highest break of 215 in his impressive show against Joe. He also posted breaks of 117, 93 and 88.<br /><br />Dhruv Sitwala and Devendra Joshi, other strong contenders for the title, got off the blocks in blazing fashion on Wednesday evening. Sitwala rode on two century breaks to roll over L Nagaraj 151-95,while Joshi blanked Jasim Tavin 150-14.<br /><br />Junior State-ranking champion Mundir Sherazi, who suffered a stunning loss to ML Laxman, bounced back in splendid style, defeating Nagaraj 151-82.<br /><br />Results: On Thursday: Group A: IH Manudev (-500): 150 (120) bt Wilson Fernandes (-250): 131.<br />Group B: Mundir Sherazi (-500): 151 (84, 62) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 82.<br />Group C: Rajeev Duseja (-250): 150 bt R Umadevi Nagaraj (-275): 85; B Bhaskar (-900): 150 (215, 117, 93, 88, 61) bt Francis Joe (-200): 35.<br />Group D: Jasim Tavin (-225): 150 bt Sasha Sambi (-300): 55.<br />On Wednesday: Group B: Dhruv Sitwala (-900): 151 (122, 121, 96, 73, 72, 68, 66) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 95.<br />Group C: B Bhaskar (-900): 151 (84, 80, 135) bt Rajeev Duseja (-250): 146. Group D: Devendra Joshi (-900): 150 (228, 133, 116, 104, 82, 67) bt Jasim Tavin (-225): 14.</p>
<p>Fresh from his 10th successive title triumph in the KSBA State-ranking billiards tournament, the affable cueist initially struggled to find his rhythm against a stubborn Rajeev Duseja late on Wednesday before finding his touch in an impressive victory over Francis Joe at the ECA club on Thursday.<br /><br />Playing with a handicap of -900, Bhaskar opened his Group D account with a nervy 151-146 win over Duseja and then confirmed his last-four ticket with an authoritative 150-35 defeat of Joe.<br /><br />Oozing class, Bhaskar posted the tournament’s highest break of 215 in his impressive show against Joe. He also posted breaks of 117, 93 and 88.<br /><br />Dhruv Sitwala and Devendra Joshi, other strong contenders for the title, got off the blocks in blazing fashion on Wednesday evening. Sitwala rode on two century breaks to roll over L Nagaraj 151-95,while Joshi blanked Jasim Tavin 150-14.<br /><br />Junior State-ranking champion Mundir Sherazi, who suffered a stunning loss to ML Laxman, bounced back in splendid style, defeating Nagaraj 151-82.<br /><br />Results: On Thursday: Group A: IH Manudev (-500): 150 (120) bt Wilson Fernandes (-250): 131.<br />Group B: Mundir Sherazi (-500): 151 (84, 62) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 82.<br />Group C: Rajeev Duseja (-250): 150 bt R Umadevi Nagaraj (-275): 85; B Bhaskar (-900): 150 (215, 117, 93, 88, 61) bt Francis Joe (-200): 35.<br />Group D: Jasim Tavin (-225): 150 bt Sasha Sambi (-300): 55.<br />On Wednesday: Group B: Dhruv Sitwala (-900): 151 (122, 121, 96, 73, 72, 68, 66) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 95.<br />Group C: B Bhaskar (-900): 151 (84, 80, 135) bt Rajeev Duseja (-250): 146. Group D: Devendra Joshi (-900): 150 (228, 133, 116, 104, 82, 67) bt Jasim Tavin (-225): 14.</p>
