Defending champion Coimbatore begins campaign well

Defending champion Coimbatore bundled out Salem for 158 on the opening day of the two-day TNCA under-19 inter-district (pre-quarterfinals) cricket tournament at PSG Medical College grounds here on Tuesday.

N. Rikesh Kumar Sharma fought a lone battle for the visiting side scoring a half-century. At stumps, Coimbatore was 24 for no loss.

At Nagercoil, Chavron Joseph D’Silva’s incisive spell of six for 52 for Erode did not stop Kanyakumari from dominating the first day’s play at the Govt Polytechnic College grounds here on Tuesday.

In reply to Kanyakumari’s first innings total of 173, Erode was tottering at 113 for eight at stumps.

In another match at DCW grounds (Tuticorin), Madurai was in a strong position after reducing Tuticorin to 24 for three at stumps in reply to its first innings score of 257.

The scores (pre-quarterfinals, first day): At Coimbatore: Salem 158 in 78 overs (N. Rikesh Kumar Sharma 50) vs. Coimbatore 24 for no loss in 16 overs.

At Thanjavur: Dindigul 220 in 78.1 overs (S. Sujay Bethan 76, Vishwanathan 47, M. Vivek 29, Vi. Vasanth four for 49, M.B. Manoj Kumar three for 14) vs. Thanjavur 41 for two in 14 overs (R. Madan Raj 31).

At Tiruvarur: Tirupur 211 in 75.1 overs (G. Saran Prethium 69, K. Chandru 53, Vinu Kumar 42, N. Vignesh three for 34) vs. Tiruvarur 43 for two in 21 overs.

At Tuticorin: Madurai 257 in 79.2 overs (B. Prasanth 81, S. Kishore Kumar 35, M. Karthikeyan 30, M. Maridurai four for 45, Y. Jaba Selvin three for 45) vs Tuticorin 24 for three in 9 overs.

At Nagercoil: Kanyakumari 173 in 57.4 overs (E. Joel Christus 42, V. Dhaneshwaran 31, Chavron Joseph D’Silva six for 52 ) vs Erode 113 for eight in 31 overs (S. Prithivi Raja 57 n.o., V. Dhaneshwaran four for 21).

At Theni: Kancheepuram 235 in 61.1 overs (S. Swaminathan 81, S. Santosh Shiv 52, R. Sai Kishore 48, S. Mani Murugan five for 51, V. Naveen three for 102) vs Theni 44 for four in 26 overs (K.B. Dixit three for 22).