Corporate Trophy: CAG stun India Cements to set up final vs Chemplast

Defending champions Chemplast will meet Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the final of the BCCI Corporate Trophy after the two teams ousted BPCL and India Cements in the semi-finals respectively today. Chemplast rallied splendidly from a difficult position while chasing BPCL’s score of 258 to register a thrilling two- wicket victory with four balls to spare in one of the semi- finals of the 50-over event at Ahmedabad’s Motera Ground. In the other semi-final at the MCA’s BKC Ground, unheralded CAG shocked last year’s runners-up India Cements by five wickets after bundling out their rivals for a meagre 153 and then overhauling the target with almost 18 overs to spare. The final will be played on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_1400993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The final will be played on Saturday. Reuters[/caption] In the Chemplast-BPCL match, the holders were struggling at 86 for 4 and then 156 for 6 before a crucial 86 -run partnership between C Hemant Kumar (60 not out in 51 balls with six fours) and V Ashwin (44 in 43 balls with 3 sixes and one four) bailed them out. N Einstein’s steady 74 in 89 balls with a six and seven fours helped Chemplast weather the early storm but at his dismissal in the 35th over, the defending champions looked in trouble before Hemant Kumar and Ashwin rallied them. BPCL kept themselves in the hunt by sending back Ashwin and Sandip Sharma in the 48th over before R Suthesh carted left-arm Saurabh Netravalkar for two consecutive sixes off the first two balls in the last over to end the match. Earlier, BPCL made the challenging total by riding on Manish Pandey’s 52 of 43 balls with 3 sixes and 45 fours, Vinit Indulkar’s composed 42, Surya Kumar Yadav’s 38 in 35 balls and Abhishek Nayar’s unbeaten 57. In the other game, CAG rode on a splendid bowling performance from UP medium pacer Imtiyaz Khan (4 for 35) and MP left-arm spin bowler Rameez Khan (3 for 12) to bundle out their more fancied rivals India Cements, studded with several Tamil Nadu Ranji players, for a paltry 153 in 40.1 overs. Seasoned batsman Subramaniam Badrinath (51 in 81 balls with 6 fours) was the lone player to shine as India Cements, who put in to bat, collapsed from 3 for 121 to 153 all out in 15 overs. Badri was out when he was trapped in front by Imtiyaz who also dismissed K B Arun Karthik, R Prasanna and Baba Aparajith. Chasing the modest score, CAG lost opener Jalaj Saxena cheaply before the other opener Ankit Lamba (59 in 91 balls with six fours) and Bhavesh Shetty (39) put on 60 runs for the second wicket to put their side on the path to victory. Ankur Julka made 28 and helped add 57 runs for the third wicket with Rajasthan batsman Lamba to virtually seal the match. Brief scores: - BPCL 258 in 49.3 overs (M Pandey 52, V Indulkar 42, S Yadav 38, A Nayar 57 not out; R Suthesh 2 for 46, P Parmeshwaran 2 for 62, P Chawla 2 for 64) lost to Chemplast 264 for 8 in 49.2 overs (N Einstein 74, C Hemant Kumar 60 not out, V Ashwin 44; S Netravalkar 2 for 48) by 2 wickets. - India Cements 153 all out in 40.1 overs (S Badrinath 51; Rameez Khan 3 for 12, Imtiyaz Ahmad 4 for 35) lost to CAG 154 for 5 in 32.1 overs (A S Lamba 59, Bhavesh Shetty 39; B Aparajith 2 for 18) by 5 wickets. PTI