Nelson bag 1st innings honours; Gandhi hits double ton

CHENNAI: In a keenly-fought encounter, Nelson got the bragging rights over the formidable Vijay CC, thanks to a first innings lead in their Elite TNCA first division clash on Saturday.
The match earlier saw off-spinner Shoaib Md Khan bag figures of 9 for 124 to help Nelson dismiss Vijay CC for 456. In reply, Nelson, which started the day at 193 for 2, declared their innings on 457 for 8.Nelson received handy contributions from S Karthik (87), R Srinivasan (91) and Anand Subramanian (92). For Vijay CC, left-arm spinner Ajith Ram led the show with 4 for 147.
In another drawn Elite encounter, Nidhish S Rajagopal was the top-scorer with 193 (24x4, 2x6) for India Pistons as they declared their innings on 451 for 9 in response to Young Stars' total of 249.
Nidhish's 285-ball essay was the highlight of Pistons innings. He got good support from Ganapathi Chandrasekar (42), Maan K Bafna (57 n.o.) and R Karthikeyan (54).
In a Plate League match, Jolly Rovers' skipper M Kaushik Gandhi hit an unbeaten 202 as his side drew with AG's Office. Gandhi was instrumental in his side finishing with 423 for 3 in reply to their opponents' total of 527-5 declared.
Gandhi received good company from opener Ganga Sridhar Raju who hit a 198-ball 103. The duo were involved in a 186-run second wicket stand in 57.4 overs.
Gandhi then went on to accrue 141 runs for the fourth wicket partnership along with M Shahrukh Khan (62 n.o.). Gandhi thus became the fourth batsman from Rovers side to score a double hundred this season.
Brief scores: Elite: Vijay CC 456. Nelson 457-8 decl in 139 overs (S Karthik 87, R Srinivasan 91, Anand Subramanian 92, KH Gopinath 47; Aparajith 2-82, Ajith Ram 4-147). Match drawn; Young Stars 249. India Pistons 451-9 decl in 130 overs (Nidhish S Rajagopal 193, Maan K Bafna 57 n.o.). Match drawn.
Plate: AG's Office 527-5 decl. Jolly Rovers 423-3 in 124 overs (Ganga Sridhar Raju 103, Kaushik Gandhi 202 n.o.). Match drawn