Defending champs Otters ‘Rockets’ and strong challengers Radio ‘Tigers’ convincingly won their semi-final encounters to set up a clash for the top honours in the Otters Club BSAM Mumbai Z3-Snooker League 2018, at Otters Club Billiards Room.
Abhimanyu Gandhi
Abhimanyu Gandhi’s return to winning form and Rishabh’s Thakkar’s impressive steady play helped Otters Club win the first two frames which laid the foundation for their success. Later, skipper Zenul Arsiwala continued with his consistent impressive performances and along with Nabil Lakdawala, they managed to pocket the third frame to complete a steamroll past Andheri Recreation Club team ARC ‘Cheetahs’ by a 3-0 margin in a semi-final match.
Rishabh Thakkar
In the other semi-final, Vimal Mariwal continued with his inspiring and exciting potting abilities and he once again dished out match-winning efforts in both his frames, which was instrumental in Radio Club’s Tigers coasting to a 3-1 win against Khar Gymkhana’s young team KG ‘C’ on the side table.
Otters Club’s key player Gandhi, who had earlier lost both his frames in the team’s 3-2 win against BG ‘Phantoms’ in the quarter-finals, regained his form. Gandhi, playing with a low handicap of +10 against Akshay Vasani +55 handicap, came up with a fighting performance and after conceding some negative points initially trailed by over 60 points. But, with his fine potting skills he constructed a run of 41 points to cut down Vasani’s lead and thereafter he took control before potting the brown and the pink to score a 80-68 win in the opening, 15-red singles frame.
Later, Thakkar (+20) with some clever tactical play knocked the fight out of the Andheri Club’s captain Karan Anand (+20) and romped to a facile 89-34 win in the 15-red singles, second frame.
The home side seemed to be in a hurry as they combined well to also win the 9-red doubles, third frame. Arsiwala and Lakdawala (+21) capitalized on the missed opportunities of their opponents Om Sawant and Tarun Kalra (+29) to snatch a 66-47 win and wrap up the match in their favour and earn another shot at the title.
Results – quarter-finals: Otters ‘Rockets’ beat ARC ‘Cheetahs’ 3-0 (Abhimanyu Gandhi (+10) beat Akshay Vasani (+55) 80-68, Rishabh Thakkar (+20) beat Karan Anand (+20) 89-34, Zenul Arsiwala/Nabil Lakdawala (+21) beat Om Sawant/Tarun Kalra (+29) 66-47).