BSNL to face Air India Red in Corporate Trophy opener

 
Four matches are scheduled for the opening day of the tournament for the Sahara Corporate Trophy in Mohali (Group A), Visakhapatnam (Group B), Dharamsala (Group C) and Bangalore (Group D).

BSNL will lock horns with Air India Red at the Chinnaswamy stadium in one of four matches scheduled for the opening day.

Three teams make up each group and the winners of each pool would enter the semifinals, to be held on September 5 and 6 at Bangalore and Mohali respectively.

Nimbus Communications is the media partner for the event and three preliminary matches, the two semifinals and the final would be shown live on Neo Sport, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said on Saturday.

The winners of the September 8 final at Bangalore are to receive Rs one crore as prize money while the runners-up would get Rs 50 lakh.

The man of the series would pocket Rs two lakh and the man of the match Rs 50,000, the release added.

Groupings: Group A: ITC, Air India Blue, Indian Revenue. Group B: BPCL, MRF, ONGC. Group C: All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board, Tata SC, Indian Oil. Group D: BSNL, Air India Red, India Cements.

The schedule:

Sept 1: ITC vs Air India Blue (Mohali), BPCL v MRF (Vizag), Tata SC vs All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board (Dharamsala), BSNL vs Air India Red (Bangalore).

Sept 2: ITC vs Indian Revenue (Mohali); MRF vs ONGC (Vizag); AIPSSPB vs Indian Oil (Dharamsala), BSNL vs India Cements (Bangalore).

Sept 3: Indian Revenue vs Air India Blue (Mohali); BPCL vs ONGC (Vizag); Tata SC vs Indian Oil (Dharamsala); India Cements vs Air India Red (Bangalore).

Sept 5: I semifinal (B1 vs D1, Bangalore). Sept 6: II semifinal (A1 vs C1, Mohali). Sept 8: Final (Bangalore).