Blasters take on a very different Mohun Bagan
Innings victory for AG’s Office
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AG’s Office crushed IOB by an innings and 314 runs in the TDCA Adivision here on Tuesday.
Batting first, AG’s Office rode on centuries from Vishnu N. Baby (158) and M.S. Akhil (101) to pile up 455 for five in 70 overs. Mediumpacer T.V. Krishnakumar (five for 0) ripped through IOB to bundle it out for 46. Following on, IOB was dismissed for 95 in the second innings.
The scores: AG’s Office 455/5 in 70 overs (Vishnu N. Babu 158, M.S. Akhil 101, Saly V. Samson 59, R. Renjith 58 n.o.) bt IOB 46 in 16.2 overs (T.V. Krishnakumar 5/0) & 95 (Manu Krishnan 4/12, M.S. Akhil 3/37).
Fivewicket win for Classic
Classic CC defeated SBIB by five wickets in the TDCA Bdivision league on Tuesday.
The scores: SBIB 130 in 28.1 overs (P.C. Ajay 31, R. Vinod 4/34, Eby Daniels Benny 3/25, S.S. Surjith 3/47) lost to Classic 133/5 in 25.3 overs (Eby Daniels Benny 34, Sherwin Khan 30).
TCDS doubles tournament
The TCDS men’s doubles open tennis tournament will be held at the TTC from March 16 to 20. The tournament is being organised by Thiruvananthapuram Cooperative Tennis Development Society (TCTDS) to celebrate the Silver Jubilee year of its formation. For more details, contact K. Jayakumar (9947832713).
Basketball training
THIRUVALLA: A basketball training programme for physical education teachers, coaches and former players will be conducted at the YMCA on March 23. The training programme is being organised by Pathanamthitta District Basketball Association along with YMCA.
For details, call Raju Abraham (99615 67767) or George Zachariah (96772 09891).
Akshay, Vijay hog the limelight
KOCHI: Akshay Sajith’s halfcentury and Vijay Anand’s five wickets helped Kozhikode’s Falcons CC defeat host ECC by four wickets in the 42nd K.A. Damodara Menon memorial elite cricket tournament at Angamaly on Tuesday. The scores:
Baijus CA, Koratty 120 in 27 overs (M.M. Sindo 46, Unnikrishnan 4/41) lost to Century, Ekm 124/3 in 20.1 overs (Salmon Sebastian 57 n.o., Liston Augustine 34 n.o., Akshay Rajendran 3/35). ECC, Ekm 156/9 in 18 overs (Althaf 43, Aakash Able Iype 39, Agasthya Rama Chaturvedi 33, Vijay Anand 5/36) lost to Falcons, Koz 162/6 in 26.4 overs (Akshay
Hawks down Soaring Sixes
Malappuram’s Hawks defeated Ernakulam’s Soaring Sixes by six wickets in the Rajagiri Cricket League, a tournament for the speciallyabled conducted by the Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies., at Kakkanad.
The scores: Travancore Raiders 57/7 in 10 overs lost to Kasargod Revengers 58/4 in 9.3 overs (Ajmal 3/10); Soaring Sixes, Ekm 89/6 in 10 overs (H. Yadhukrishnan 37) lost to Hawks, Malappuram 93/4 in 8.5 overs (Muhammad Shafi 37, P.P. Riyas 3/10); Raiders Travancore 61/2 in 8 overs (Shan Babu 37) lost to Falcon, Alappuzha 63/0 in 3.4 overs (Abdul Samad 34 n.o.). Mavericks, Kottayam 64/5 in 9 overs lost to Hawks, Malappuram 92/2 in 9 overs (S. Raees 41, Muhammad Shafi 46). Falcons, Alappuzha 66/6 in 9 overs (Midhun Rajendran 35) lost to Kasargod Revengers 67/4 in 7.1 overs.
Things can change very fast in the ISL. Late last year, Kerala Blasters pulled off a stunning 10 win over Mohun Bagan Super Giant in Kolkata and days later, the latter sacked its coach Juan Ferrando and brought back Antonio Habas, the league’s most successful coach.
KBFC takes on Bagan at the Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday and the Kolkata giant is a different beast now. The side has 36 points in its kitty and has won four of its last five games while the Blasters, who have won just one from its last five, are on the fifth rung with 29 points.
“It will not be an easy game because Bagan is one of the best teams in the league. It’s true we won against them but it was a different energy back then in Kolkata.
“Now, it’s different because they changed the energy with new coaching staff and a different approach,” said Ivan Vukomanovic, Blasters head coach, on Tuesday.
“At the top level, when you play big games, it’s about one moment, one small detail, one small mistake that can solve the game. I think the boys should enjoy the fight tomorrow, show their best face and try to get a positive result.”