Three batsmen, P. Shijith Chandran (Alwarpet), K. Bharath Shankar of Jolly Rovers and Vijay’s R. Prasanna, put their teams in a position of strength on the second day of the TNCA first division first round cricket matches here on Saturday.
Shijith’s unbeaten 185 (329b, 22x4, 2x6) was instrumental in Alwarpet making 361 against Grand Slam. At stumps, Grand Slam was 47 for one.
Shijith continued his good form from last season, scoring his third successive century; he had scored two centuries in the last two matches of the previous season. Grand Slam off-spinner S. Suresh Kumar added one more wicket to complete a five-for.
Opener K. Bharath Shankar’s 105 (178b, 16x4) enabled defending champion Jolly Rovers score 180 for six at close in reply to Aruna’s 229. Skipper R. Prasanna led from the front with an unbeaten century (113b, 11x4, 3x6) as Vijay declared at 387 for five.
At draw of stumps, Southern Railway Institute was tottering at 136 for eight. Prasanna and Vijay Shankar (79 n.o., 109b, 9x4, 1x6) put on 137 runs for the sixth wicket in 20.3 overs.
The scores:
First round, day two: ‘A’ zone: Aruna 229 in 127 overs (M.R. Prahaladh 50 n.o., D.T. Chandrasekar four for 53, M. Prabhu four for 45) vs Jolly Rovers 180 for six in 53 overs (K. Bharath Shankar 105, Ali Murtuza four for 59).
IOB 292 in 96.5 overs (Monish Satish seven for 112) vs Globe Trotters 197 for five in 64 overs (S. Anirudha 68, U. Sushil 44 batting).
UFCC (T. Nagar) 137 & 22 for no loss in 12 overs vs. Young Stars 306 for nine decl. in 89 overs (K. Srikar Barat 57, Ganesh Satish 58, Wilkins Victor 90).
‘B’: Alwarpet 361 in 137 overs (P. Shijith Chandran 185 n.o., S. Suresh Kumar five for 107) vs Grand Slam 47 for one in 15.3 overs.
AG’s Office 216 vs. India Pistons 218 for five in 93 overs (Faizal 42, R. Vishnu 44, R. Srinivasan 44).
Vijay 387 for five decl. in 111 overs (R. Prasanna 100 n.o., Vijay Shankar 79 n.o.) vs S. Rly Inst. 136 for eight in 62 overs.
