Elphinstone CC, Hindu Gym to fight for BSAM billiards crown


 

Elphinstone Cricket Club team ECC ‘Elfies Stars’ and P.J. Hindu Gymkhana’s PJHG ‘Probables’ in convincing fashion won their respective semi-final matches to set up a clash in the final of the CCI Kekoo Nicholson BSAM Billiards League 2019, organized by the Billiards & Snooker Association of Maharashtra and played at the CCI’s Sir Wilson Jones billiards room.

Elphinstone CC’s Anurag Bagri

Elphinstone CC’s Anurag Bagri

 

In penultimate round of matches, ECC ‘Elfies Stars’ (combined team handicap +35) smoothly chugged past Central Railway outfit CRMI ‘Blue Star’ (handicap +140) winning by a 539-406 points margin. On the side table, PJHG Probables team (handicap -95), produced some strong calculated performance to bring to a grinding halt the fine 8-match winning streak of Shivaji Park Gymkhana’s SPG ‘Gentlemen’ (handicap +155) by storming to an authoritative 505-449 win.

 

Both, Elphinstone CC and Hindu Gymkhana who are the former champions are determined to put a strong challenge in the summit to clash and try to regain the coveted crown.

P.J. Hindu Gymkhana’s Siddharth Parikh

P.J. Hindu Gymkhana’s Siddharth Parikh

 

Anurag Bagri (+10) provided ECC with the best possible start defeating Central Railway’s Umesh Barve (+70) by 200-84 in the first frame. His win by a 116 points difference erased CRMI’s 105 advantage at the start and helped ECC earn an 11 points advantage, which set the tone for their victory. Later, young talent Rayaan Razmi (scratch) showed great character as he raced to a 200-115 win against the seasoned Sunil Ghadge (+55) in the second frame. Rayaan win by a difference of 85 points increased ECC’s advantage to 96 points. That set Sunil Jain (+25) a target of 104 points to win the third frame as 200 points for his opponent Nikhil Ghadge (+15). Nikhil tried his best, but could not stop Jain from scoring a 104-67 win and taking ECC to the final.

 

In the other semi-final, Hindu Gymkhana captain Siddharth Parikh, Hitesh Kotwani and Rovin D’Souza, all made good contributions towards their success. Shivaji Park Gymkhana enjoyed a 250 points advantage at the start, but they were unable to capitalize on the situation and instead were beaten by the solid performance from their highly experienced opponents.

 

Kotwani (-40), who had made a 158 break in the earlier round, could not produce the same magic, but he still managed to overcome Deependra Pinkyar (+60) by a close 200-196 points margin.

 

However, India number five Parikh (-70), a former World Championship bronze medal winner, showed his class as he compiled a substantial run of 68 points and a couple of useful breaks to knock the fight out of Shivaji Park’s Naman Agrawal (+45) winning by a whopping 200-22 points in the second frame. Parikh’s massive win by 178 points plus Kotwani’s win by a slender four points reduced Shivaji Park Gymkhana’s advantage to 68 points. SPG’s skipper Sanket Bapat (+50) was left to score 132 points to win the third frame against Rovin D’Souza (+15), who had to race to  200 points.

 

But, D’Souza was cool and steady and played some brilliant shots as he grabbed every opportunity to make decent breaks to gather his points before charging towards the finish line to complete a satisfying 200-67 points win and secure Hindu Gymkhana’s passage to the final.

 

Results – Semi-finals: PJHG ‘Probables’ (-95) beat SPG ‘Gentlemen’ (+155) 505-449 (Hitesh Kotwani (-40) beat Deependra Pinkyar (+60) 200-196; Siddharth Parikh (-70) beat Naman Agrawal (+45) 200(68)-22; Rovin D’Souza (+15) beat Sanket Bapat (+50) 200-76.

 

ECC ‘Elfies Stars’ (+35) beat CRMI ‘Blue Star’ (+140) 539-406 (Anurag Bagri (+10) beat Umesh Barve (+70) 200-84; Rayaan Razmi (Scr) beat Sunil Ghadge (+55) 200-115; Sunil Jain (+25) beat Nikhil Ghadge (+15) 104-67).