JOIN USPatel, Appanna steal show
In the only match that began at its scheduled starting time, the KSCA President’s XI were locked in an absorbing battle with Gujarat Cricket Association, the honours shared equally between the latter’s left-handed batsman Niraj Patel (95, 148b, 11x4, 1x6) and the former’s left-arm spinner KP Appanna (5/115).
The President’s XI finished the first day of the two-day contest at five without loss, having turned in an honest rather than outright impressive display with the ball to bowl their opponents out for 306. C Raghu’s men will need to score 302 runs on the final day in 96 overs to secure full points. On a slowish track, President’s XI called the shots early on and imposed themselves on the GCA batsmen before Niraj steadied the ship in the company of Sunny Patel.
The 28-year-old Niraj, a former India under-19 player and a part of the Rajasthan Royals set-up, was both industrious and impressive, while the tall, right-handed Sunny was a little more subdued. The duo put on 134 for the fifth wicket to haul their side out of trouble, Niraj perishing shortly before tea to a catch at short-leg just short of a deserved hundred.
Appanna’s comrade-in-arms in the early part of the day was leggie Amit Verma (2/13), while left-arm paceman S Arvind took two wickets with the second new ball late in the evening to set the stage for the batsmen to come to the party.
At the NRA grounds, the principal Karnataka batsmen did not come to the party as the hosts’ number one team, the KSCA XI, was bowled out for just 252 by Kerala Cricket Association. With Kerala maintaining a slow over rate, the Karnataka total was boosted by a massive 40 runs, leaving Kerala needing 293 for victory in a match which began two hours behind schedule and was reduced to 84 overs a side.
Opening batsman KB Pawan top-scored for KSCA with 75 (131b, 11x4, 2x6) and B Akhil made a boundary-filled 45 (41b, 10x4), but the others came a cropper on a surface with a bit of life. Kerala skipper S Sreesanth picked up two for 52.
At the IAF grounds, the KSCA Colts had reached 266 for nine in their allocated 91 overs against Hyderabad Cricket Association in another match that began late due to Friday’s late-night showers.
DH News Service
Brief scores: At Chinnaswamy stadium: Gujarat Cricket Association: 306 all out in 92.5 overs (Avi Baroi 31, Niraj Patel 95, Sunny Patel 82; S Arvind 2-46, KP Appanna 5-115, Amit Verma 2-13) vs KSCA President’s XI: 5/0 in 4 overs.
At NRA grounds: KSCA XI: 292 all out in 59.4 overs (incl 40 runs penalty for slow over rate) (KB Pawan 75, B Akhil 45, Udit B Patel 31; Manu Krishnan 2-45, Prashanth Parameshwaran 2-44, S Sreesanth 2-52) vs Kerala Cricket Association. Match started at 11.00 am, reduced to 84 overs a side.
At IAF grounds: KSCA Colts: 266/9 in 91 overs (Mayank Agarwal 56, Kunal Kapoor 40, Pawan Desphande 34, Abrar Kazi 28; Ashwin Yadav 3-46, Pragyan Ojha 3-71) vs Hyderabad Cricket Association. Match started at 10.00 am, reduced to 91 overs a side.
At RWF grounds: Railway Sports Promotion Board: 165/5 in 67 overs (Harshard Rawale 36, Bhavik Thakker 54, Mahesh Rawat 39 n.o.; Bibhudutta Panda 3-30) vs Orissa Cricket Association. Match started at 11.30 am, reduced to 80 overs a side.