Thirteen wickets fell on the opening day of the TNCA first division league final between Jolly Rovers and Vijay CC at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, here on Friday. Electing to bat, Vijay was bowled out for 147. Jolly Rovers, in reply, was on 33 for three at stumps.
Rovers sprung a surprise by including Murali Vijay after skipper C. Hemant Kumar had said on Thursday that the former was unavailable due to a wrist injury.
Team in-charge Ajay Kudua said the decision to play Vijay was made only on Friday morning. “He received the clearance from the Tamil Nadu side’s medical team last evening.”
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Earlier, on a wicket that facilitated lively bounce, seamer R. Jesuraj (three for 29) and off-spinner M. Prabhu (three for 57) were the batsmen’s chief nemeses.
Opener R. Rohith was the first to depart when he nicked Jesuraj behind in the fifth over.
Soon after, Abhinav Mukund and V. Yomahesh, promoted up the order, left the scene. B. Aparajith (36) played a resolute hand but wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
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L. Vignesh (22) and Rahil S. Shah added 29 runs for the last wicket to provide a modicum of respectability to the total.
Rovers endured a torrid start as well, losing in-form opener K. Bharath Shankar in the first over. Einstein Napoleon was then run-out thanks to an alert Abhinav at second slip. Einstein, struck on the pads, ventured out of his crease after being distracted by loud appeals from Vijay’s fielders. Abhinav wasted little time in hitting the stumps.
Meanwhile, K.H. Gopinath (22 batting) played some sweetly-timed shots; after driving Vignesh through the covers, he unveiled a smooth straight-drive against L. Balaji. Even as he brimmed with positivity, Ashwin Venkataraman edged Balaji to third slip. Prabhu, then, hung on to avert any further damage.
The score: Vijay CC 147 in 75.5 overs vs. Jolly Rovers 33 for three in 10 overs.