da betsul： The pre-quarterfinals of the annual Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament kicked off in Chennai on August 16th with matches at four of the city’s grounds
da dobrowin： Staff Reporter21-Aug-2002The pre-quarterfinals of the annual Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament kicked off in Chennai on August 16th with matches at four of the city’s grounds. At the SRMC Medical College Ground, the Tamil Nadu Districts XI won the toss and racked up 302 in their first innings of 90 overs. Opener V Gautham made 65 at the top of the order, while T Dushyanth in the tail scored 63.In reply, the Hyderabad Cricket Association was bowled out for just 131, giving their rivals a clear edge as they strode out for the second innings of 45 overs. Making 155 for eight in that essay set the HCA XI a victory target of 327 – clearly difficult to achieve in 45 overs. The chasers reached 187 for six, well short of the target and giving the TN Districts XI a victory by 139 runs.In the second pre-quarterfinal, the MAC TNCA XI won their fixture at the Guru Nanak College Grounds against All India Associate Bank XI handily by nine wickets. Winning the toss, the AIAB XI opted to bat first, but they could not make full use of the first-strike advantage, making only 199 in 60.5 overs. In reply, Sridharan Sharath – skipper of the MAC TNCA XI – scored a scintillating 101 off 149 balls, ripping the AIAB XI attack to shreds en route to helping his side to 342.The AIAB XI made 223 for two in 45 overs in their second innings, spurred largely by Thilak Naidu’s unbeaten 86 off 105 balls. But despite their better showing in the second innings, the MAC TNCA XI reached their meagre target easily for the loss of just one wicket and in 15.3 overs.At the AC Tech College Ground, The TNCA President’s XI won their fixture against the Andhra Cricket Association XI by 138 runs. Their win was founded largely on a first-essay score of 282, with Aditya Srikkanth making 71 and J Hariesh scoring 87. The ACA XI responded strongly, however, with 275; M Faiq hit 70, while Y Venugopal Rao and RVC Prasad also hit fifties.The President’s XI then hit up 229 in their second essay, setting their opponents a stiff but achievable target. But the ACA XI crumbled in the face of some sharp bowling, skittled out for only 98 in 28.5 overs.The Karnataka State Cricket Association XI won their match against the Indian Oil Corporation at the Southern Railway Ground by four wickets. IOC won the toss and elected to bat, putting up a significant 258 in their first innings. HA Kinikar and MR Beerala put on 79 runs for the first wicket, with Beerala going on to make a top-scoring 65. KSCA went seven runs better, with KS Ponnappa’s 94 being the high point of his side’s 265. Rajesh Pawar for IOC took six wickets for 109 runs.IOC fared poorly in the second essay, able to notch up only 163 for nine in 45 overs. That set the KSCA XI a target of 156, which they reached in 41.5 overs with six wickets to spare
