Dhas and Vashisht hog the limelight

IN ATTACK MODE: Antony Dhas scored a breezy half-century to help Districts XI post a respectable total against Himachal Pradesh.

TNCA Districts XI reached 286 at close on day one of the semifinal clash against Himachal Pradesh in the Kalpathi AGS Buchi Babu all-India tournament on Friday, thanks to two 70-plus partnerships, one for the first and the other for the sixth wicket.

Himachal’s cause was well-served by left-arm spinner Akash Vashisht who held sway in the middle overs to end up with five wickets.

Slow start

Districts XI skipper X. Thalaivan Sargunam had said on the eve of the match that the wicket would assist pace bowlers.

Perhaps, it was his intuition that prompted the openers to get their team off to a slow start — 20 runs came off the first 10 overs with three maidens squeezed in — so much so that the other batsmen who followed, with the exception of Antony Dhas, found it difficult to maximise the run flow.

Credit should go to Vashisht, who bowled in tandem with fellow left-arm spinner Rahul Singh and off-spinner Ankush Bedi, for orchestrating District XI’s batting collapse.

Sargunam was the first to go, his attempted cut going to the lone slip in place off the very first ball that Ankush delivered. It brought to an end his 73-run opening wicket partnership with N.S. Chaturved.

Soon after, Chaturved too left because of a terrible mix-up. He started off for a run, was sent back and was caught short by a sharp throw from Rahul Singh at point.

As the team slumped to 120 for five thereafter, it was Dhas’ breezy 63 (59b, 8x4, 2x6) and his 77-run sixth-wicket stand with Sakthi that bailed Districts XI out and helped it post a challenging total.

Abhishek Tanwar chipped in with a half-century (50, 65b, 3x4, 2x6). 

Sreekanth bats well

In the other semifinal, Andhra rode on K. Sreekanth’s 73 (139b, 7x4, 3x6) and his 87-run second wicket partnership with Jyothi Sai Krishna to reach 265 for nine after it had elected to bat against Mumbai.

For Mumbai, medium-pacer Badre Alam was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets.

The scores (semifinals):

TNCA Districts XI 286 in 89.2 overs (Thalaivan Sargunam 33, N.S. Chaturved 35, Anand Subramanian 32, W. Antony Dhas 63, Abhishek Tanwar 50, Akash Vashisht five for 79) vs. Himachal Pradesh. Toss: Districts XI.

Andhra 265 for nine in 90 overs (K. Sreekanth 73, N. Jyothi Sai Krishna 33, A.G. Praveen 36, Badre Alam three for 54) vs. Mumbai. Toss: Andhra.