Gaurav flies high as Air India win

Andhra Colts dished out an allround performance to defeat Goa and fetch four points in their second round match in the ongoing All India Coromandel Moin-Ud-Dowlah Gold Cup cricket tournament in the city on Wednesday.

Batting first in their Group ‘A’ match, Andhra put up 292 on board for the loss of nine batters in 50 overs. C.R. Gnaneshwar (68), D.B. Ravi Teja (55), K. Maheep Kumar (50) made handy contributions for their side.

In reply, Goa kept losing wickets at regular intervals and messed up the chase as they were bowled out for 174 in 49.2 overs. S.K. Kamruddin fetched three wickets for the Telugu side while Surender Kumar and S.H. Srinivas chipped in with two wickets each.

In a Group ‘B’ match, Air India thrashed Combined Districts after a fine bowling display from the debutant Gaurav Kumar who picked an economical fivefor.

Electing to bat, Districts batsmen couldn’t do much on the pitch as speedster Gaurav sent half the side back to pavilion alongside Jayant Yadav who scalped two wickets to help Air India bowl out opposition for 78. Gaurav’s fine bowling figures read 8-2-6-5.

In the second half, Hiten Dalal (40 not out) and Manvinder Bisla (29 not out) helped their side cross the finish line quite comfortably and fetch four points.

In another match, Jyotsnil Singh smashed an unbeaten 103 while Ninad Rathwa picked 5 for 29 to guide Baroda to a 95-run win over Kerala. Baroda picked four points while the Southern state returned empty handed.