<p> <br />The experienced Maharashtra cueist faced some spirited competition from Sharma in the first frame of the 22-ball game, but the Assamese ran out of steam as the match progressed. Merchant won it 83-50.<br /><br />Merchant dominated rest of the encounter as he rounded off the tally by winning two consecutive frames 71-12 and 72-6 respectively. Meanwhile, PSPB’s Dhruv Sitwala defeated Nicholas of Goa 71-11, 62-22, 67-18 in straight frames.<br /><br />In another encounter, Tamil Nadu champion S A Saleem chalked up a break of 105 - the first century of the main round in the tournament, to beat Hemant Kumar 76-21, 8-63, 26-66, 105-4, 76-04 in a long-drawn battle.</p>
<p> <br />The experienced Maharashtra cueist faced some spirited competition from Sharma in the first frame of the 22-ball game, but the Assamese ran out of steam as the match progressed. Merchant won it 83-50.<br /><br />Merchant dominated rest of the encounter as he rounded off the tally by winning two consecutive frames 71-12 and 72-6 respectively. Meanwhile, PSPB’s Dhruv Sitwala defeated Nicholas of Goa 71-11, 62-22, 67-18 in straight frames.<br /><br />In another encounter, Tamil Nadu champion S A Saleem chalked up a break of 105 - the first century of the main round in the tournament, to beat Hemant Kumar 76-21, 8-63, 26-66, 105-4, 76-04 in a long-drawn battle.</p>