JOIN US Despite a valiant batting effort, KSCA XI bowed out in the semifinal of the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappiah memorial tournament at the Alur (1) ground here on Saturday.
Since KSCA hadn’t completed their first innings -- reaching 310/ 1 in reply to Andhra’s 591/6 declared -- rules stipulated that the victor be decided by the toss of a coin and Andhra skipper KS Bharat called it right to seal his side’s berth in the final.
The summit clash, to be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium from August 15, will see Andhra take on Gujarat Cricket Association. The other semifinal between Gujarat and Cricket Association of Bengal was called off on day four due to a wet outfield at the Alur 2 ground. The spin of coin rule was applied to this game as well and Gujarat skipper Manprit Juneja won the toss to deny Bengal an entry into the title round.
Resuming from 73 for no loss, KSCA openers Abhishek Reddy and Mayank Agarwal added 186 before Mayank fell after scoring 100 off 188 balls. Reddy then went on to get his ton and eventually finished with an unbeaten 155 off 269 balls, courtesy of 16 hits to the fence.
Brief scores: At Alur (1): Andhra Cricket Association: 591/6 decl in 191.3 overs bt KSCA XI: 310/1 in 94 overs (Abhishek Reddy 155 n.o. (269 balls 16 X 4), Mayank Agarwal 100 (188 balls, 12 X 6), Mir Kaunain Abbas 50 n.o.). Result decided by virtue of spin of coin.
At Alur (2): Gujarat Cricket Association: 389 all out in 127.1 overs bt Cricket Association of Bengal: 71/2 in 28.1 overs). Result decided by virtue of spin of coin. Play was suspended on day four due to wet outfield.