Bengaluru Buddies and Chennai Strikers won their respective ties in contrasting styles in the Indian Cue Masters league in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to inch closer to the semifinals.
The Buddies, led by an animated Darren Morgan, had to beat not only the Gujarat Kings 3-2 but also their vociferous supporters; Pankaj Advani's Strikers, on the other hand, were on a roll whitewashing the Hyderabad Hustlers almost with ease.
Sixteen-time world champion Advani and in-form Vidya Pillai led the charge for Chennai, featuring in two victories each. Pankaj and Advani teamed up to first beat lucky Vatnani (Telangana) and Amee Kamani (MP) in the Mixed Doubles Snooker clash.
Pankaj then tamed Amir Sarkosh (Iran) in the Icon match even as Vidya joined hands with Pandu Rangaiah to feast on Anuj Uppal and Amee Kamani in the Mixed Doubles Pool encounter.
The Strikers had notched up the first point in the 9-Pool singles, when Dharminder lilly got the better of Amir Sarkosh 2-1. They rounded up their perfect show in the singles snooker, with Faisal Khan beating Kamal Chawla easily.
Pankaj and Vidya began their march in the Mixed Doubles Snooker, easily taking the first frame of clash. They seemed to be sitting pretty at 21-1 at the halfway stage in the second frame too; but suddenly, they made a series of fouls that saw lucky Vatnani and Amee Kamani jump ahead to 26-21.
With barely a couple of seconds left, however, Pankaj and Vidya scrambled to pick up five points to take the game to the black ball shootout. Both pairs expectedly opted for safe play until Vatnani manufactured a shot to win it.
In the Icon Game again, Pankaj was in supreme touch, moving to a 32-1 lead in the first frame to win 35-18. He was equally imperious in the second frame, breaking a straight 45 to wrap it up and the match 45-3.
The Bengaluru-based Vidya continued her winning run in the Mixed Doubles pool too, outsmarting Anuj Uppal and Amee Kamani in straight games.
In the second tie of the day, Welsh Wizard Andrew Pagett and Daria Sirotina set the mood for the contest by beating Darren Morgan and Anastasia Nechaeva 2-1 in a thrilling clash. Morgan, however, promptly exacted his revenge beating friend and compatriot Pagett 2-0 in the Icon match.
Bengaluru regained the lead in the in the Pool Singles, with Sundeep Gulati overcoming veteran Alok Kumar. Gujarat restored parity in the mixed doubles nine-ball pool as Alok Kumar and Daria Sirotina came from a 1-0 deficit to win the next two frames against Varun Madan and Anastasia Nechaeva.
In the decider on the green baize, Bengaluru Buddies' laxman Rawat (Delhi) stunned Sourav Kothari (West Bengal) 18-17 to win the tie for his team.