The Hindu : Jolly Rovers enters final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 26, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Jolly Rovers enters final

CHENNAI MAY 25. Jolly Rovers defeated Indian Overseas Bank by five wickets, 50 minutes before tea, on the final day of the two-day MAC-TNCA first division championship semifinals at the Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

But the victory was by no means easy, with the bank side's all-spin attack, headed by left-arm Sreekumar Nair (three for 77 off 30 overs) and off-spinner M. Shanmugam (one for 66 off 29 overs), making every moment count on the spin-friendly pitch.

It was always going to be difficult for IOB to restrict Jolly Rovers to under 195 _ another 35-40 runs could perhaps have made it an edge-of-the-seat contest, considering that the ball was turning and jumping.

Rovers, resuming at 22 without loss, used up 72 of the allotted 90 overs to achieve the target, while it was the Sujith Somasundar's (69, 186b, 6x4, 1x5) 99-run second-wicket stand (in 35 overs) with S. Badrinath (57, 124b, 2x4) after he and Vikram Kumar had provided the side with a 42-run start, which made it possible.

Nair struck two quick blows (claiming Hemang Badani and J. Hariesh) after Shanmugam dismissed Badrinath post lunch, which reduced Rovers from 176 for two to 181 for five, but the batting side by then was home and dry.

Rovers meets Vijay CC in the final on May 28 and 29.

The scores:

IOB 195 lost to Jolly Rovers 196 for five in 72 overs (S. Sujith 69, S. Badrinath 57, Sreekumar Nair three for 77).

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