After an eight-month break, the TNCA first division league will resume with the Elite championship semifinals starting on Tuesday. Defending champion Jolly Rovers will face Alwarpet CC while Vijay CC will meet Young Stars CC as the teams battle it out over the next three days for a spot in the summit clash.
In the league stages of the Elite group, Vijay CC topped the standings with 26 points, including one outright win and three drawn matches in which it managed to get the first innings lead. Alwarpet CC finished second with 20 points while defending champion Jolly Rovers and Young Stars CC were third and fourth with 19 points.
For Vijay CC, K.B. Arun Karthick has been the leading run-getter with 792 runs, including two hundreds and a highest score of 255. Tamil Nadu Ranji off-spinner Malolan Rangarajan has been the leading wicket-taker with 36 scalps.
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For Jolly Rovers, K.H. Gopinath has been the leading run-scorer with 708 (three hundreds and a top score of 213). Left-arm spinner and the league’s leading wicket-taker, D.T. Chandrasekar, with 44 wickets, will lead the attack to help his side defend its title.
Young Stars CC finished third in ‘A’ group in the preliminary stages below Jolly Rovers and Globe Trotters, but managed to grab the fourth place in the Elite league ahead of Trotters by three points.
Ahead of the Bangladesh tour, India internationals R. Ashwin (Vijay CC) and M. Vijay (Jolly Rovers) are unlikely to feature for their clubs.
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