* Kumble, Joshi help KSCA XI take firm grip

Anil Kumble and Sunil Joshi shared seven wickets as KSCA XI took a firm grip on their Coromandel Cement Cup quarterfinal against Oil & Natural Gas Corporation at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar Sports Complex in Bangalore on Monday.

Replying to KSCA's first innings total of 225, ONGC were all out for 136. In their second innings, KSCA were 33 for one at stumps.

Resuming at 187 for seven, KSCA thanks to David Johnson's bright 52 did well to get to their final total. The former India paceman faced just 39 balls and hit five fours and four sixes before he was ninth out.

ONGC found Kumble and Joshi hard to handle and lost wickets at regular intervals. Former India opener Gagan Khoda top scored with 35 but the rest of the batting caved in and ONGC were shot out in 42.1 overs. While Kumble took four for 32 off 12 overs, Joshi had three for 47 off 14 overs. Vadeyaraj with two for nine off 4.1 overs hastened the end of the innings.

In the KSCA second innings, Mithun Beerala was bowled by P Jain off the first ball of the innings but Barrington Rowland (19) and Deepak Chougule (13) steadied the innings.

* HCA XI take healthy lead against India Pistons

Having let the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) XI side to score 303 in their 90 overs, the India Pistons team slumped to 214 all out in 72.5 overs to concede a lead of 89 runs in their Coromandel Cement Cup quarter-final clash at the Gangotri Glades ground in Mysore on Monday. In their second essay, HCA XI notched up 30/3 in 8.5 overs and the match remained interestingly poised at the end of the second day.

Earlier, Narendra Pal Singh and Mohammed Ghouse scalped three wickets each and knocked the stuffing out of the India Pistons team. Reducing the side to 79/5 the HCA XI bowlers put an end to any hopes of an India Pistons comeback. Skipper Vikram Rathour (43) departed at that point and that made things difficult for the Chennai side. Ashique Ali (47) and Dhandapani (45) put on some late in the order resistance but it was to no avail and in the 73rd over India Pistons were bowled out.

In their second innings, HCA XI lost three wickets but added 30 runs to the already sizable lead in 8.5 overs. Anirudh Singh (1 not out) and Arjun Yadav (0 not out) had just come together at the crease as the day's play ended.

* Kanitkar's unbeaten ton puts Roofit XI in command

Roofit XI, Mumbai took a stranglehold on their Coromandel Cement Cup quarterfinal against KSCA Colts at the RSI ground in Bangalore on Monday. At stumps on the second day, Roofit XI had scored 307 for three off 77 overs in reply to KSCA Colts' first innings total of 206.

The architect of Roofit's strong reply was former Test cricketer Hrishikesh Kanitkar. The left hander was batting with 128 at stumps. He has so far faced 164 balls, with 13 boundary hits. Roofit made a bad start losing Satyajit Parab (9) and skipper Jatin Paranjpe (21) with only 41 runs on the board. The other opener A Merchant (61) and Kanitkar initiated a recovery process by adding 81 runs for the third wicket off 20.3 overs. Merchant played 111 balls and hit nine fours. Kanitkar and Kiran Powar (83 not out) then carried on the good work and by close, had figured in an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 185 runs off 41.3 overs. Powar has so far played 137 balls and hit five fours and two sixes.

Earlier, KSCA Colts, 200 for eight overnight could add only six runs to the score before they were all out.

* Chemplast-BPL Sports Club share honours at end of Day 2

Beginning the second day of their Coromandel Cement Cup quarter-final against Chemplast at the Central College ground on 176/5, BPL Sports Club made it to 278 all out in 89.5 overs. Yerre Goud, resuming on 61, was dismissed after he added only five runs to his score. None of the remaining batsmen made a useful contribution. Twenty-one-year old left arm spinner R Ramkumar was the wrecker-in-chief, scalping 7/98 from his 37.5 overs.

In response, Chemplast reached 163/3 in 49 overs when the day's play ended. After losing skipper Diwakar Vasu (0) very early, Chemplast staged a recovery. Jacob Martin was the architect of the comeback and remained unbeaten on 61. For company, the Baroda middle order batsman had Ajay Kudua, who struck 58 in 72 balls with eight fours in his customary breezy fashion. The pair have added 87 for the fourth wicket thus far. With the match poised as it is, the first innings lead is all important.

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