An unheralded Chandan Madan stole the thunder from his more famous team mates as he hit a match-winning century to put Air India Blue into the final of the BCCI Corporate Tournament. Blue will face Red in the title clash in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Put in to bat, Tata Sports Club rode on half-centuries by Ishank Jaggi, Nishit Shetty and Ajit Agarkar to score 267. However, the total wasn't going to be enough against a formidable Blue batting line-up.
The floodlights at the PCA Stadium went off for about 25 minutes due to technical problem and the target was revised to 246 in 45 overs. Madan, the Punjab wicket-keeper batsman, scored 114 off 129 balls while Manvinder Bisla and Mohammad Kaif played their part as Blue won with five wickets and 10 balls to spare.
For those who had come to see the big names in action, there wasn’t much left for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to do as he walked in after Kaif's dismissal. Yet the Indian captain must have been disappointing at throwing away his wicket with, getting caught at mid-off while trying to clear the long-off boundary. Blue needed just five runs when he departed after making 16.
It was Madan, however, who made a big impact on Sunday. Opening the innings with Bisla, he was quick off the blocks and played the Tata pace and spin attack with authority. The duo put on 71 runs for the first wicket, before Ramesh Powar removed Bisla for 29. However, the dismissal brought little relief to the Tata team as Kaif and Madan hit the bowlers to all corners of the ground.
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