da fazobetai： There was the desperate feeling in the pit of the stomach when NewZealand ‘A’ were shot out for a paltry 129 in the first innings oftheir semi-final clash against Indian Railways in the MRF Buchi BabuTournament
Staff Reporter26-Aug-2001There was the desperate feeling in the pit of the stomach when NewZealand ‘A’ were shot out for a paltry 129 in the first innings oftheir semi-final clash against Indian Railways in the MRF Buchi BabuTournament. Playing some top flight cricket that included aggressivebatting sustained over a period of time and quick bowling that put thebatsmen on the back foot, New Zealand ‘A’ enjoyed the sweet taste ofsuccess when they, to use a cliché, derailed Indian Railways, beatingthem by 23 runs. The Kiwi’s now face the Cricket Association of BengalXI in the final of the MRF Buchi Babu Tournament.The wicket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is one that cricket expertsover the years have found to read. Typically it is a track that has abit in it for the fast bowlers early on, but slows down quickly andtakes turn fairly early. New Zealand ‘A’ showed today that the role awicket plays can be overcome with positive cricket. Lou Vincentcreamed the Railways bowling to all parts in his run a ball 102, andgave his bowlers something to play with. One must remember thatVincent made a century in the last match he played too. Playing thespinners and pacemen with ease, Vincent spread the field in a hurry.Beginning the day on 216/6, with an overall lead of just 66, NewZealand ‘A’ had but a small chance of forcing a result in the match.Vincent, overnight on 57 struck nine boundaries in his century and inthe company of Kyle Mills (37) took New Zealand ‘A’ to 318/8 declaredoff just 62 overs. This left Indian Railways with a target of 169.For New Zealand ‘A’ to win, they needed at least one stunningperformance. In the event there were two! If Vincent’s ton won praise,then Shane Bond’s sensational bowling analysis of 14.3-2-45-7 deservesa lot more. Bowling in temperatures over thirty five degreescentigrade, Bond produced a spell of genuinely hostile bowling. Morethan anything, it was the sheer pace of Bond that knocked the wind outof Indian Railways. Constantly pitching the ball just short of alength and outside the off, the Canterbury mediumpacer scythed throughthe Railways batting line-up.After removing the Railway openers with just 9 on the board, Bondcooled off for a while, as the Railways middle order batsmen offeredsome resistance. When Brooke Walker ran out Murli Kartik (30) with thescore on 49, the beginning of the end was signaled. Soon after, Bondran thorough the innings, picking the last five wickets to fall.Bond’s 7/45 skittled Railways out for 145, handing the visiting sidevictory by 23 runs.* Cricket Association of Bengal brushes aside Jolly RoversCricket Association of Bengal beat Jolly Rovers Cricket Clubcomprehensively by 125 runs to enter the final of the MRF Buchi BabuInvitational Tournament. In the match played at IIT Chemplast Groundsin Chennai, on Sunday, Jolly Rovers were bundled out for just 96 runschasing a target of 222.Resuming on their overnight score of seven for the loss of twowickets, CAB XI found themselves in deep trouble after losing fivemore wickets in the morning to be reduced to 28/7 off 23.4 overs. Thewickets included that of Rohan Gavaskar (0), Souvik Mukherjee (1), APChakraborty (10), Laxmi Ratan Shukla (1) and Saikat Mukherjee (8).Sanjib Sanyal and Utpal Chaterjee added 87 runs for the eighth wicketto rescue the faltering CAB XI innings. Sanyal was run out aftermaking 44 runs with the help of three fours. Utpal Chaterjee went tocomplete his half-century (50, 102 balls, 4 fours) and was the ninthbatsman to be dismissed. CAB XI second innings did not last long asthey were bowled out for 133 off 63 overs. Divakar Vasu was easily thebest bowler, finishing with the figures of 22-8-42-2.Chasing the target of 222, Jolly Rovers batsmen threw their bat ateverything. Only opening batsman Sujit somasunder (26) and GaneshKumar 29 made any valuable contribution with the bat. Jinju Joesph andG Babu made 14 runs apiece. All the other batsmen failed to make todouble figures. Three run outs in the middle order did not help theJolly Rovers cause as they were bowled out for 96 off just 23.1 overs.Shib Sankar Paul (2/22) and Saurasish Lahiri (2/23) were the pick ofthe bowlers. CAB XI will meet New Zealand ‘A’ in the final.