Vijay beats Grand Slam, to meet Jolly Rovers in VAP Trophy final
Bhargav Merai (102 off 130 balls) struck a century but his effort wasn’t enough as Grand Slam CC went down to Vijay CC by seven wickets in a VA Parthasarathy Trophy semi-final contest at the Murugappa Ground here on Tuesday.
Defending champion Vijay set up a summit clash with Jolly Rovers CC, which defeated Nelson SC by a mammoth 176 runs in the other last-four fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here. The final will be hosted at Chepauk on Thursday.
In the first semi-final, Grand Slam posted 232 for eight, courtesy of Bhargav’s ton that included seven fours. Chasing 233 for a spot in the title decider, Vijay eased to its target with 23 balls to spare. S Lokeshwar (60 off 77 balls) laid the foundation alongside Ganga Sridhar Raju (58 off 90 balls) by stitching a 131-run first-wicket stand.
Daryl S Ferrario (47 not out) and KB Arun Karthick (39 not out) remained unbeaten as Vijay got past the line without fuss. At the MAC Stadium, tournament top-scorer B Sai Sudharsan (98 off 67 balls), Baba Aparajith (82 off 82 balls) and Baba Indrajith (50 off 44 balls) scored half-centuries to help Rovers put 328 for seven on the board.
Opening batsman Sai Sudharsan smashed 13 fours and two sixes during his stay at the crease. Facing an uphill task in the run-chase, Nelson could manage only 152 all-out.
Brief scores: Grand Slam CC 232/8 in 50 overs (R Kavin 57, Bhargav Merai 102, Aswin Crist 3/50) lost to Vijay CC 233/3 in 46.1 overs (Ganga Sridhar Raju 58, S Lokeshwar 60, Daryl S Ferrario 47*, KB Arun Karthick 39*)
Jolly Rovers CC 328/7 in 50 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 98, Kaushik Gandhi 48, Baba Aparajith 82, Baba Indrajith 50, M Poiyamozhi 3/54) bt Nelson SC 152 in 34.4 overs (R Karthikeyan 50, P Saravana Kumar 3/32, NS Harish 3/31)