The third round of matches in the TNCA senior division league was generally bereft of drama and excitement. All six matches were drawn and events moved along predictable lines. But there were a few fine individual performances.

IOB had the better of a drawn game against SPIC at SPIC-YMCA ground but were forced to share four points equally. Put in to bat, IOB thanks to some strong middle order batting were able to score 327 for eight declared off 89.5 overs. After two wickets had gone down for 58 runs, opener Vikram Mani (49) and SV Saravanan (72) added 71 runs for the third wicket off 24 overs. Then after six wickets had fallen for 217 runs, KN Ananthapadmanabhan (50) and Rajesh Kannan (70) stretched the score by 93 runs in a seventh wicket association that lasted 15.3 overs. SPIC lost four wickets for 87 runs but opener MP Sorab held firm. With skipper B Ramprakash (38) he added 52 runs for the fifth wicket off 13.5 overs. Sorab was seventh out at 189 in the 67th over for 73. He batted patiently for nearly 4-3/4 hours, faced 173 balls and hit five fours. R Arvind (46 not out) and P Muthupandian (10) then shared an unbroken eighth wicket partnership of 43 runs off 18 overs to make sure that SPIC, who closed at 232 for seven off 85 overs, shared points.

A strokefilled unbeaten century by Jatin Paranjpe helped holders Jolly Rovers take first innings points against Alwarpet CC at the IIT- Chemplast ground. Batting first, Alwarpet scored at a good rate but lost wickets at regular intervals and were restricted to 256 off 79 overs. Aditya Srikkanth, the 16-year-old son of the former Indian captain, was the top scorer with 55. That the highest partnership was 52 runs for the second wicket between opener Lakshmi Kumar (43) and J Harish (33) best illustrates the regular fall of wickets. Ramkumar was the most successful bowler with five for 75. The in-form Jolly Rovers opening batsman Sujith Somasundar gave the innings a fine start by hitting 52 off 84 balls with seven fours while Dinesh Mongia got 42 in the middle order. After Jolly Rovers had lost their fourth wicket at 160, Paranjpe and NA Kudva made sure that their team would comfortably take the lead with a fifth wicket stand of 121 runs off 32.5 overs. Paranjpe dominated the stand while Kudva, content to play second fiddle, was out for 48 off 101 balls with three hits to the ropes. When the match was called off after the sixth mandatory over, Paranjpe was unbeaten with 110 for which he batted 205 minutes. He faced 169 balls and hit ten fours and a six. The holders ended up with 302 for five off 91 overs.

Globe Trotters comfortably took first innings points against Southern Railway at the latter's ground. Opting to bat first, Globe Trotters scored at about four runs an over to total 313 for seven declared off 77.4 overs. After the early loss of the in-form Aashish Kapoor (4), the two left handers WV Raman and Hemang Badani gave the innings the proper impetus by adding 108 runs for the second wicket off 19.4 overs. Raman was then out for 52 made off 81 balls with seven fours. But then Badani and State batsman Tanveer Jabbar maintained the tempo by adding 92 runs for the fourth wicket off 23.5 overs. Badani was then out for 107 for which he batted 3-1/2 hours, faced 137 balls and hit ten fours and two sixes. There was still no respite for the tired bowlers as Jabbar and YV Rao (49 not out) added 89 runs for the fifth wicket off 21 overs. Jabbar was finally out for 88, for which he played 142 balls and hit ten fours and a six. Southern Railway never really had a chance of getting anywhere the Globe Trotters total even though a second wicket partnership of 87 runs off 26.2 overs between top scorer P Satish (58) and CPS Siva (36) saw them 101 for one at one stage. But with Tanseer Jabbar, younger brother of Tanveer, in splendid form with the ball, Southern Railway were dismissed for 223. Tanseer finished with six wickets for 69.

India Pistons middle order batsman R Satish hit a splendid 112 as his team took first innings points against Indian Bank at the CPT-India Pistons ground. Opting to bat first, India Pistons lost both their openers with only 14 runs. A third wicket partnership of 60 runs off 21.3 overs between Satyajit Medappa (29) and Hemanth Kumar (57) put the innings back on track. The recovery process was given greater impetus with Hemanth Kumar and Satish adding 110 runs for the fourth wicket off 24.2 overs. Satish who was eighth out at 238, batted about 2-1/2 hours, faced 140 balls and hit 14 fours and a six. India Pistons were all out for 273. Indian Bank, with spinners Balaji Rao and Sunil Subramaniam weaving patterns around their batsmen, were never really in the hunt to overhaul the India Pistons total and were all out for 180. The only defiance was provided by RG Shyaam Sundaar who scored 60 off 132 balls with five hits to the ropes.

Kohinoor CC had much the better of their match against Mambalam Mosquitos at the MAC stadium but had to remain content with first innings points. Despite two half centuries by opener S Arvind (52) and veteran PC Prakash (53 not out) Mambalam Mosquitos could get only 226 runs from 89 overs. Kohinoor faced few problems in getting past this total. Opener Ravinder John (89) and NM Khan (57) added 140 runs for the third wicket off 37.2 overs. State opening bowler S Mahesh, known for his big hitting, slammed 61 off 64 balls with six fours and two sixes as Kohinoor declared at 329 for eight after 71 overs. Skipper Venkatesh was the only bowler to command some respect and he finished with five wickets for 127 runs. In the remaining time, Mambalam Mosquitos faced some moments of discomfort and at stumps were a none too confident 51 for five off 20 overs. The Orissa off spinner Sanjay Satpathy had the unusual figures of 3-3-0-2.

State batsman S Sharath was in fine form as he helped Vijay CC to first innings points against UFCC (T) at the Guru Nanak college grounds. Opting to bat first, Vijay CC declared at 284 for eight wickets off 86 overs. Sharath's batting was the main highlight as the experienced left hander hit 137 from 210 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. That the next highest score was VB Chandrasekhar's 24 best illustrates Sharath's dominance. He and Karthik Murali (22) added 67 runs for the seventh wicket off 17.2 overs in the best partnership of the innings. UFCC (T) started off with openers JJ Honeymen (37) and skipper MA Satheesh (42) putting on 74 runs off 17.2 overs. But then they lost ten wickets for the addition of only 95 runs. The bowling honours were shared by Karthik (3), Shrinivas (4) and Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan (3). Following on, UFCC (T) were 33 for two in eight overs when stumps were finally drawn.

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