Local League: Himmat Singh, Antony Dhas impress on day one

Due to morning rain and drizzle, the start of all the matches was delayed. Pistons won the toss and chose to bat but could manage only 163 as medium pacer W Antony Dhas claimed his first five-wicket haul of the season (5/48) and was well-supported by the in-form offspinner Shoaib Mohammed Khan (3/49). Ganapathi Chandrasekar was the highest scorer for Pistons with 37. Nelson batsmen undid all the good work as they lost early wickets to be tottering at 20 for five. 

Off-spinner M Prabhu scalped three of the five wickets to fall. Elsewhere, Young Stars reached 171 for eight against Grand Slam. Off-spinner B Arun (4/68) and NS Harish (4/27) were the pick of the bowlers sharing all the eight wickets to have fallen. Wicket-keeper R Rohit was batting on 31. 

Meanwhile, last season’s runners up, Vijay CC, put up a strong batting show reaching 232 for four in 57 overs against Globe Trotters. Himmat Singh 125 batting (141b, 11x4, 6x6) scored his first hundred in the TNCA League and along with G Rahul Singh 58 (98b, 6x4, 1x6) added 158 runs in 29.4 overs for the fourth wicket.

Brief scores: Elite: Vijay 232/4 in 57 overs (J Kousik 25, Himmat Singh 125*, G Rahul Singh 58, Chetan Sakariya 2/66) vs Globe Trotters. Young Stars 171/8 in 54.5 overs (U Vishal 28, J Gowjith Subash 31, S Swaminathan 27, R Rohit 31*, B Arun 4/68, NS Harish 4/27) vs Grand Slam. India Pistons 163 in 54.4 overs (S Chandrasekar 26, Ganapathi Chandrasekar 37, W Antony Dhas 5/48, Shoaib Md. Khan 3/49) vs Nelson 20/5 in 10 overs (Rajwinder Singh 2/8, M Prabhu 3/8). Plate: Jolly Rovers 207/9 in 60 overs (V Ganga Sridhar Raju 45, M Kaushik Gandhi 49, B Anirudh Sitaram 25, J Syed Mohammed 28*, Varun Sood 4/42, R Sanjay Yadav 3/71) vs TI Cycles.