K.H. Gopinath’s unbeaten 101 (173b, 9x4) put Jolly Rovers on course for the lead against Globe Trotters on the second day of the TNCA Elite Group first division match here on Sunday.
Pursuing 319, Rovers was 229 for two at stumps; Gopinath and M. Vijay (54, 124b, 3x4, 2x6) put on 125 for the first wicket in 36.3 overs. Gopinath, who notched up his third century of the season, has 596 runs in this edition.
Earlier, Rovers’ left-arm spinner D.T. Chandrasekar’s five for 108 (he has 44 wickets this season) triggered a dramatic collapse as Trotters slumped from its overnight 261 for three to 318 all out.
In a low-scoring duel at the Kalpathi-SSN ground, Young Stars, pursuing 158 for an outright victory, was 58 for one at stumps. Earlier, off-spinner A.C. Prathiban claimed six for 82 as Grand Slam was dismissed for 205 in its second innings. He crossed the 200-wicket-mark in his fifth year in the first division.
M. Shahrukh Khan top-scored with 66 (67b, 5x4, 2x6) for Slam.
B. Aparajith followed his four-wicket haul, bowling off-spin, with an innings of 107 (241b, 9x4, 3x6) as Vijay gained the lead over Alwarpet. Aparajith, who has 544 runs in seven matches this season, added 140 for the second wicket in 49 overs with M. Kaushik Gandhi (65, 146b, 7x4). Left-arm spinner Prashanth K. Varma scalped five for Alwarpet. Kaushik has scored 568 runs this season.
Remarkable spell by ShanmughamIn the Plate League, P. Francis Rokins scored 111 (160b, 9x4, 3x6) for AG’s Office against Aruna, India Pistons leg-spinner M. Ashwin claimed five for 34 against Southern Railway Institute, and IOB off-spinner M. Shanmugham returned remarkable figures of four for 56 from 51.2 overs (22 maidens) against UFCC (T. Nagar).
During the day, India Pistons’ under-19 batsman G.V. Vignesh crossed the 500-run mark in his 10th match this season.
The scores (round five, day two):
Elite Group: At IIT-Chemplast: Globe Trotters 318 in 110.4 overs (X. Thalaivan Sargunam 82, K. Shri Vasudeva Das 110, D.T. Chandrasekar five for 108) vs Jolly Rovers 229 for two in 60 overs (M. Vijay 54, K.H. Gopinath 101 batting).
At IC-Guru Nanak: Alwarpet 168 in 82.3 overs (B. Rahul 60, L. Vignesh five for 38, B. Aparajith four for 30) vs Vijay 250 for eight in 94.1 overs (B. Aparajith 107, M. Kaushik Gandhi 65, Prashanth K. Varma five for 83).
At Kalpathi-SSN: Grand Slam 93 & 205 in 68.4 overs (M. Shahrukh Khan 66, M.K. Sivakumar 46 n.o., A.C. Prathiban six for 82) vs Young Stars 141 in 53.3 overs (K. Srikar Bharat 60, R. Aushik Srinivas five for 51) & 58 for one in 20 overs.
Plate Group: At Murugappa: AG’s Office 379 for nine decl. in 127.3 overs (S. Aswin Kumar 151, P. Francis Rokins 111, M. Siddharth four for 151) vs Aruna 119 for one in 50 overs (S. Siddharth 59 batting, Akshay V. Srinivasan 44 batting).
At CPT-IP: Southern Railway Institute 168 & 133 for nine in 54 overs (M. Ashwin five for 34) vs India Pistons 333 for five decl. in 69 overs (G.V. Vignesh 50, R. Karthik Aditya 87, R. Srinivasan 77, Ganapathy Chandrasekhar 40, R. Vishnu 53 n.o.).
At SPIC-YMCA: UFCC (T. Nagar) 220 in 136.2 overs (V. Arun Kumar 51, M. Shanmugham four for 56) vs IOB 86 for no loss in 27 overs (Vishnu Vinod 66 batting).
