The second round of the Buchi Babu Memorial All India Invitational Cricket Tournament saw a dramatic drawn encounter between TNCA President’s XI and Railways at the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) ground. The match concluded with TNCA President’s XI setting a challenging 332-run target for Railways on the last day of the game.
TNCA President’s XI declared their second innings at 227 for four, with S. Rithik Easwaran remaining unbeaten on 53 runs off 48 balls. Easwaran’s knock was a crucial factor in setting up the thrilling finish, as he displayed remarkable hitting prowess, smashing two consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Raj Choudhary.
The 50-run partnership between Easwaran and K.T. Madhava Prasad (39) was broken when Prasad was bowled by left-arm spinner Ayan Chaudhari. The tail-enders struggled to make a significant contribution, with M. Mohammed being bowled by Raj after facing just six balls.
Railways, in their chase, lost seven wickets while attempting to reach the target. Opener Vivek Singh was retired hurt with a foot injury in the fourth over, while Pratham Singh (11) was bowled by pacer Mohammed.
Left-arm spinner M. Siddharth (two for 23) dismissed Kush Marathe (10) leg before wicket in the next over. Mohammed Saif (25) was caught by Gurjapneet Singh at mid-off off Mohammed Ali’s off-spin.
Gurjapneet, with his left-arm medium-pace, then dismissed Upendra Yadav (42) by trapping him inside-edge onto the stumps. Leg-spinner Jhathavedh Subramanyan picked up two wickets (two for 93), giving Railways hope for a collapse. He had Sahab Yuvraj (47) edge a bouncy delivery to a diving S. Radhakrishnan at slip.
Vivek (10), returning to bat, also edged a wild shot to Radhakrishnan at slip. Siddharth trapped Vishal Harsh (7) in front with his arm-ball. At stumps, Ravi Singh was unbeaten on 65 (90b, 14×4).
TNCA’s 19-year-old Mohamed Ali was adjudged the Player of the Match for his impressive performance.
Brief scores (round two, day four):
Group-B: TNCA President’s XI 459 & 227/4 decl. in 53 overs (S. Radhakrishnan 82, S. Rithik Easwaran 53 n.o.) drew with Railways 355 & 244/7 in 73 overs (Upendra Yadav 42, Sahab Yuvraj 47, Ravi Singh 65 n.o.).
