Dossa, Shah score contrasting wins to advance to third round

Home contenders, Nishant Dossa and Sidraj Shah, both of Cricket Club of India, scored contrasting victories to advance to the third round of the Rs 12.25 lakh prize-money CCI All India Open Snooker Championship 2018, and played at the CCI’s Wilson Jones Billiards Room, on Tuesday.

In a keenly contested second round match, Dossa was engaged in an absorbing tussle with Cherag Ramakrishnan of Colaba before scraping to a 3-2 victory in five close frames. In a match of fluctuating fortunes, Ramakrishna started positively by pocketing the opening frame before a resilient Dossa replied back by narrowly winning the next two to take a slender 21 lead. The fourth frame witnessed another tight contest which Ramakrishnan managed to win by a slender margin to level scores and take the match to the fifth frame.

In the decider, Dossa showed better control and was more steady with his shots and went on to win the frame to come out trumps by a 41-55, 52-45, 58-40, 52-57 and 57-37 verdict.

In contrast, Shah quickly found his rhythm and potted confidently to breeze past B. Keshwa of Goregaon Club in three straight frames in a one-sided first round match. Keshwa struggled from the start and Shah seized the situation as he pounced on every opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking before completing a fluent 54-17, 60-9, 53-46 victory.