Rovers crash out after defeat to Pistons

L. Suryapprakash (100 n.o., Grand Slam)

Holder Jolly Rovers was knocked out of the VAP Trophy one-day tournament here on Tuesday.

In the quarterfinals matches on Thursday, India Pistons will meet UFCC (T. Nagar), Grand Slam will take on Nelson, Globe Trotters will duel it out with IOB and Vijay will clash with Alwarpet.

In a Group ‘A’ contest, Rovers lost to India Pistons by four wickets. This was Rovers’ second defeat after going down to Nelson in the earlier clash.

Anand Subramanian (73 retd. hurt, 69b, 3x4, 4x6) and S. Suresh Kumar (72, 128b, 7x4) put on 112 in 21.5 overs for the fourth wicket to swing the match Pistons’ way. J. Syed Mohammed had top-scored with 63 not out (74b, 2x4, 4x6) for Rovers. Off-spinner M. Prabhu scalped three.

Suryapprakash hits century

Opener L. Suryapprakash (100 not out, 126b, 6x4) starred in Grand Slam’s six-wicket win over UFCC (T. Nagar) in a Group ‘B’ duel.

Vijay dismissed IOB for 132 — B. Aparajith claimed three wickets with his off-spin — and then reached the target for the loss of five wickets. Skipper R. Prasanna was the highest scorer with 47 in this Group ‘D’ clash.

In a high-scoring Group `C’ encounter, B. Rahul (71, 63b, 8x4, 2x6) and Ankeet Bawane (73 not out, 73b, 4x4, 1x6) donned pivotal roles in Alwarpet chasing down AG’s Office’s 279 for eight. P. Francis Rockins made 86 (113b, 9x4, 2x6) for AG’s Office.

The scores (Round three): At CPT-IP: Group ‘A’: Jolly Rovers 221 for nine in 50 overs (M. Kaushik Gandhi 54, S Karthik 43, J. Syed Mohammed 63 not out, M. Prabhu three for 37) lost to India Pistons 223 for six in 49.3 overs (Anand Subramanian 73 retd hurt, S. Suresh Kumar 72).

Points:Pistons 4 (8), Rovers 0 (0).

At MAC: Group B: UFCC (T. Nagar) 226 in 49.2 overs (R. Ananth 65, K. Varunkumar 57, Aditya Barooah 31) lost to Grand Slam 227 for four in 45.1 overs (L. Suryapprakash 100 not out, Sreekumar Nair 46, J. Kousik 43, V. Yo Mahesh 31).

Grand Slam 4 (8), UFCC 0 .

At IIT-Chemplast: Group ‘C’: AG’s Office 279 for eight in 50 overs (P. Francis Rokins 86, M. Vijay Bharath Ram 59, Y. Sunny Kumar Singh 41, R. Lakshmi Narayanan 40 not out, R. Vishaal three for 41) lost to Alwarpet 280 for five in 48.5 overs (B. Rahul 71, Akash Sumra 49, R. Kavin 32 not out, Ankeet Bawane 73 not out, Ashwin Venkataraman 34, Vignesh Kannan three for 46)

Alwarpet 4 (4), AG’s 0 ( 0) .

At IC-Guru Nanak: Group D: IOB 132 in 39.1 overs (Abhishek Hegde 34, B. Aparajith three for 18) lost to Vijay 136 for five in 33.2 overs (R. Prasanna 47, B. Indrajith 43, J. Joel Joseph three for 36).

Vijay 4 (6), IOB 0 (4) .