Thrashed, Hyderabad begin reply

Hyderabad: Hyderabad ‘A’ began their reply to Himachal Pradesh’s massive 685 for 7 (declared) on a cautious note, reaching 23 for no loss by stumps on the second day of their Cooch Behar Trophy knockout match, played at the Gymkhana Grounds on Saturday.

Himachal, electing to bat first, put up a mammoth total on the board, courtesy three huge centuries by Nikhil Gangta, Ankit Kalsi and Ankit Kaushik.

Nikhil led the scoring with a magnificent double ton. He scored 207 off 258 deliveries, with 21 fours and three sixes. His effort was matched by Kalsi, whose unbeaten 201 consumed just 291 deliveries and contained 18 fours and three sixes.

Kaushik stroked a fine 137 to complement the two double centurions. Meanwhile in the HCA Kishan Prasad one-day knock-out match, M.A. Shahdaab bagged 5 for 36 to bowl Hyderabad Patriots to a 14-run victory over Hyderabad Wanderers. The Patriots, taking first strike, had made 221 for 9 and limited the Wanderers to 207 for 7.

Six overage paddlers banned

DC Correspondent

New Delhi: The problem of overage players in national meets once again came to the fore on Saturday with six paddlers being disqualified from the ONGC cadet and sub-junior national table tennis championships, which is currently in progress at Ajmer.

Of the six, two belonged to West Bengal (Avijit Basu and Koushani Nath) and one each from North Bengal (Ritika Kundu), Assam (Shankar Gautam Barua), Himachal (Aryan) and Karnataka Rohan Jamadagni).

West Bengal stand to lose a lot since Koushani Nath, seeded seventh in sub-junior singles, played a crucial role in winning the sub-junior girls’ team crown.

The team may also have to forfeit the title, but it has been left to the TTFI’s executive board, which is meeting in Patna on January 12, to arrive at a decision. If the executive board decides to withdraw the title from West Bengal, then Tamil Nadu, who finished runners-up, will be elevated to the top.

In the first lot of medical tests conducted on the second day of the championships, three players and the Mizoram team were scrapped. Meanwhile, B. Vishnu (Andhra Pradesh), Payas Jain (Delhi) and Alberto, Jeho (both PSPB A) moved into the cadet boys pre-quarterfinals.