Maruthi Ragav’s 83 (66b, 6x4, 2x6) and Kaushik Gandhi’s 69 (105b, 5x4) along with three-wicket hauls from M. Raja and Ashik Srinivas helped India Cements, Chennai, defeat Thiruvananthapuram’s AG’s by 53 runs and win the 64th Pooja all-India cricket title at the Tripunithura Palace Oval on Sunday.
Put in to bat, India Cements was struggling at 45 for three after the ninth over but a 141-run fourth-wicket stand between Kaushik and Maruthi helped the side post a strong total.
Vysakh Chandran, who took the first two wickets, finished with a haul of four.
Good start but...In reply, AG’s had a decent start, progressing to 62 for two by the 16th over but three quick wickets fell after that, with Ashik Srinivas taking two of them. The Thiruvananthapuram side never recovered from that setback.
The scores (final): India Cements, Chennai 232 in 45 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 69, Maruthi Ragav 83, Vysakh Chandran four for 35) bt AG’s, Thiruvananthapuram 179 in 44 overs (A.V. Anjith 33, M. Raja three for 40, Ashik Srinivas three for 22).
