Sadiq stars in City win

The youngster, who authored a well-constructed 113 on Wednesday to put his team in command, came up with a blistering cameo (42 n.o., 40b, 8x4) to guide his team home.
Combined, overnight 38/3 in their second essay, rode on Nitin Bille’s half-century (69) and Udit Patel’s unbeaten 42 to muster 213 all out in 55.5 overs, setting a modest target of 129 to achieve for City XI with more than four sessions of play left in the game.

In their bid to finish off things in a jiffy, City lost their wickets in a heap. Left-arm seamer S Arvind (2/55) and left-arm spinner C Raghavendra claimed two each to set a minor alarm ringing in City XI’s camp. Sadiq, however, remained unperturbed batting in care-free fashion to steer Combined to 129/6 in 47.2 overs.  

On another rain-curtailed day at the NRA ground, President’s XI, who saw Bangalore Zone dominate the proceedings for the first two days, turned the tables around to take the day’s honours. Resuming at their bed-time score of 79/3, in reply to Bangalore’s 354 all out, President’s XI finished the day at 247 for five in 84 overs, needing another 107 runs to claim innings honours.

A fourth-wicket partnership worth 129 between Sunil Raju (78) and C Raghu (42) helped President’s gain a foothold in the match while an unfinished 118-run association between Stuart Binny (47) and Devraj Patil (64) has put them in a strong position to overhaul Bangalore’s total.
  
Brief scores: At Chinnaswamy: Combined XI: 241 all out in 58.4 overs and (O/n: 38/3) 213 all out in 55.5 overs (Sudhindra Shinde 36, Nitin Bille 69, Udit Patel 42 n.o.; SL Akshay 4-55, P Magizhendran 2-45, K Gautham 2-63) lt to City XI: 326 all out in 98 overs and 129/6 in 47.2 overs (Sadiq Kirmani 42 n.o.; S Arvind 2-55, C Raghavendra 2-21).
At NRA: Bangalore Zone: 354 all out in 97.1 overs vs President’s XI (O/n: 79/3): 247/5 in 84 overs (Sunil N Raju 78, C Raghu 42, Stuart Binny 47 batting, Devraj Patil 64 batting; Aditya B Sagar 3-38).