Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup 2017: Day 3 round-up

The 3rd round of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup tournament was all about huge scores, as the teams put up big totals on the board. One such innings was powered by a devastating 165-run knock from Naman Ojha who is representing Air India, that took his team home. HCA XI bagged their 2nd consecutive win after posting a huge 354-run total. Friday is a rest day for the tournament while the final two rounds of the league stage will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

Hyderabad Cricket Association President’s XI vs Air India:

Air India’s 285-run chase was all about Naman Ojha as the wicketkeeper-batsman played all the way to take his team home with an unbeaten century. Ojha shared a 70-run stand with Suresh Raina after Sudeep Tyagi struck twice early on. Raina got out for a 33-ball 32 with three fours but Ojha got good support in form of Rajat Bhatia. The senior pair put on a 92-run stand for the 4th wicket in which Ojha’s contribution was 70.

Air India needed 73 off 76 balls with five wickets in hand when Jayant Yadav walked out to bat. He played a sensible innings scoring 15 off 30 balls in the 44-run stand with Ojha. Their side was 256/5 in 45.1 overs when rain interrupted the play. Air India were adjudged as winners by VJD method as the par score at that time of the stoppage was 239.

Earlier, Yathin Reddy and Buddhi Rahul’s partnership gave the HCA President’s XI a good start after they elected to bat first. Captain Suresh Raina proved his worth as a partnership breaker dismissing Rahul for an 81-ball 60. Raina conceded 11 runs in the four overs he bowled. Yathin followed him after scoring 67 off 84 as they were five down for 176.

But fifties from Amol Shinde and Chandan Sahani powered them to finish with 284/7. Shinde scored 58 off 42 balls including four sixes in a row off Lalit Yadav which yielded 30 runs. Jayant picked up two wickets conceding 27 runs in his seven overs.

Brief Scores:

Hyderabad Cricket Association President’s XI: 284/7 in 50 overs (Yathin Reddy 67 (84), Buddhi Rahul 81 (84); Jayant Yadav 2/27)

Air India: 256/5 in 45.1 overs (Naman Ojha 165* (149); Sudeep Tyagi 2/45)

Air India won by 17 runs (VJD method).

Hyderabad Cricket Association XI vs Comptroller and Auditor General Sports:

The HCA XI were powered by yet another big stand from their openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy after electing to bat. The pair shared a 148-run stand for the opening wicket in 27 overs before Akshath departed scoring 80 off 88 balls. Tanmay carried on his innings with Kolla Sumanth with the both putting on 128 off 16 overs.

Tanmay got out after scoring 131 off 125 balls which included five sixes and four fours while Sumanth was run out for a 59-ball 73 with six fours and three sixes. Ashish Reddy provided them with the much-needed fireworks towards the end to push the total past 350 with an unbeaten 25-ball 58.

He hit seven sixes during his innings out of which three were off consecutive balls in the penultimate over bowled by Shaurya Sanadia. Captain Ambati Rayudu got out on the last ball of the innings scoring two runs. The CAG Sports team failed to get along in the chase as none of their batsmen carried their starts forward.

Brief Scores:

Hyderabad Cricket Association XI: 354/4 in 50 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 131 (127), P Akshath Reddy 80 (86), K Sumanth 73 (59), A Ashish Reddy 58* (25); Punit Yadav 1/11)

Comptroller and Auditor General Sports: 191/10 in 40.4 overs (Punit Yadav 40 (46); Syed Mehdi Hasan 3/26)

HCA XI won by 163 runs.

Andhra Colts vs Vidarbha Cricket Association:

SK Kamruddin put Andhra Colts on the top in defence of their 207 by dismissing three of the Vidarbha’s top 4 batsmen for ducks in his first two overs. Vidarbha struggled to open their account as the first run of their innings came after 5.2 overs for the loss of three wickets. The 48-run stand between captain Jitesh Sharma and Urvesh Patel for the 4th wicket didn’t make any difference as Kamruddin’s 2nd spell where he picked three wickets bundled out Vidarbha for just 125.

Brief Scores:

Andhra Colts: 207/10 in 48.2 overs (Maheep Kumar K 54 (70); Jasveer Kumar Saini 3/27)

Vidarbha Cricket Association: 125/10 in 37 overs (Jitesh Sharma 26 (59); SK Kamruddin 6/29)

Andhra Colts won by 82 runs.

Kerala Cricket Association vs Combined Districts:

95 off 122 balls from Salman Nazir and a 99-ball 81 from Albin Alias helped Kerala register a 181-run win over the Combined Districts. The pair put on 152 for the 3rd wicket helping their side to finish at 278/8 in the 50 overs. The Combined Districts were bowled out for just 97 runs in the reply.

Brief Scores:

Kerala Cricket Association: 278/8 in 50 overs (Salman Nazir 95 (122), Albin Alias 81 (99); M Pradeep 4/41)

Combined Districts: 97/10 in 36 overs (Mohd Khayyum 20 (52); Akshay KC 3/20)

Kerala C.A won by 181 runs.