SBH in all-India tournament final

State Bank of Hyderabad came up with a resilient display to move into the final of the All India Public Sector Trophy cricket tournament being played in Mumbai.

In the semifinals played on Monday at the RCF ground, the city side defended a modest 144 to beat State Bank of Travancore by 19 runs. Batting first, SBH got off to a flier — 38 in 3.4 overs — when opener T. Suman (16) fell. Soon, they slipped to 49 for 3 before B. Sumanth (18) and Anoop Pai (32) put on 39 runs for the fourth wicket. Anoop added another 25 for the fifth wicket with Ahmed Quadri (21) to push the side out of embarrassment.

SBT began their reply well and looked comfortably placed at 98 for 3 in the 12th over. That’s when the procession to the pavilion started, courtesy mediumpacer Alfred Absolem’s 4 for 22 and off-spinner Ahmed Quadri’s 3 for 11.

Quadri was adjudged Man of the Match.

In Tuesday’s final, SBH will take on Air India, a team they had beaten to win the All India Corporate Trophy three years ago. The match will be telecast live on Doordarshan from 1.30 pm. Brief scores: State Bank of Hyderabad 144 for 9 in 20 overs (Anoop Pai 32, Ahmed Quadri 21, Danny Derek Prince 20, K.J. Rakesh 4/29, C.P. Shahid 1/23, V.A. Jagadeesh 1/22) bt State Bank of Travancore 125 in 18.3 overs (Raiphi Vincent Gomes 50, V. A. Jagadeesh 29, Alfred Absolem 4/22, Ahmed Quadri 3/11, M. Ravikiran 1/27, Akash Bhandari 1/29).