India’s leading cueist Pankaj Advani teamed up with Laxman Rawat to demolish Pakistan in the final of the Asian Team Snooker championship here on Wednesday.
Advani drew first blood by putting on a sterling performance against Mohammad Bilal.
After the Pakistan player scored the first solitary point and benefited from a foul from Advani, the Indian bounced back to piece together a brilliant break of 83 to seal the first tie of the best-of-five final.
India’s fate was going to be determined by Advani’s partner Rawat’s form and he did not disappoint.
He rose to the occasion to head towards what was to be his first major international title with a clinical 73 break to win the frame without allowing his opponent, Babar Masih to score a single point.
To complete a whitewash the Indian players needed to maintain their superlative performance in the doubles tie.
However, the Pakistani duo responded well to pressure of being 0-2 down. But it was Rawat who saved the day for India by scoring a 50 break just when they had a deficit of a similar margin.
A critical miss on the pink before starting with the colours, brought Masih back to the table, gifting him a regulation clearance of yellow to black. But he fumbled on the green and gave Advani an unintended snook.
The result: Final:India bt Pakistan 3-0 [Pankaj Advani bt Mohammad Bilal 87(83)-5, Laxman Rawat bt Babar Masih 133(73)-0, Advani- & Rawat bt Bilal & Masih 70-55] .
