Continental enter final

Surya Prasad scalped 5/40 as Continental beat Falaknuma by seven wickets in the semifinals of the Behram-ud-Dowla cricket tournament

Continental sailed into the final of the Behramud-Dowla two-day cricket tournament, being organised by the Hyderabad Cricket Association, in Hyderabad.

In their semifinal, Continental defeated Falaknuma by six wickets in a low-scoring encounter.

Surya Prasad was the star of the match for Continental after his five-for proved instrumental in their victory.

Taking first strike, Falaknuma were bowled out for only 171 in 46.2 overs.

They started well, but a promising opening partnership was cut short inside the first 10 overs. A brace of quick wickets then left them gasping.

Saaketh Sai Ram held one end up, but he could only watch help- lessly as his partners arrived and departed in quick succession.

Right-arm medium pacer Surya ripped through the rest of the batting order and Falaknuma’s innings ground to a halt in the 47th over.

Surya scalped five wickets and gave away only 40 runs in his 11.2 overs. His spell included one maiden over. He was given good support by Aaron and Shravan, who picked up two wickets each.

For the batting side, Saaketh was the top-scorer, with a fine 64.

Continental’s chase started in a less-than-impressive fashion, as they lost two wickets before the team score even reached double figures.

Chandan Sahani played a patient knock and steadied the ship.

His unbeaten 58, combined with Aaron Paul’s 34 not out, saw Continental safely over the line in 42.3 overs. For the fielding side, Abhishek Ashok was the pick of the bowlers, with 2 for 64. Buchi Babu (1/31) and Rohith Rayudu (1/35) also figured in the wicket-takers’ column.