GUWAHATI, April 18 � A vicious spell by offie Gokul Sharma turned the table on NF Railway Sports Association (NFRSA) in the first semifinal of the Elite Division Nuruddin Ahmed Trophy Senior Inter District Cricket Tournament.
Gokul�s 6 for 88 enabled defending champions Guwahati to spring a surprising 10-run victory against the former champions on the third day of the four-day encounter at the Nehru Stadium here today.
Requiring 245 for victory in the second innings, NFRSA resumed at the over night total of 51 for no loss and were 200 for three after 70.1 overs. But after that wickets started tumbling like nine pins and finally were all out for 234.
Openers Parvez Aziz and Chandan Rawat added 134 runs. After that the railwaymen failed to build worthy partnerships. The third wicket partnership between Tarjinder Singh and Sib Sankar Roy yielded 40 runs and after that the middle order and tail enders returned to the pavilion in quick succession. Last seven batsmen did not even reach double figures.
At lunch, NFRSA were sitting pretty with 158 for one and at that stage it looked they are going to win the match with ease. But the other batsmen failed to handle the pressure built after Pervez�s departure.
Gokul sent down 33 overs out of which eight were maiden. Pacer Sujay Tarafdar was the other leading wicket taker with three victims.
Now Guwahati will play against the winners of Nagaon and Silchar match in the final from April 25. The second semifinal will be held from April 20 to 23.
Brief scores: Guwahati 201 and 126. NFR 83 and 234 (Parvez Aziz 66, Chandan Rawat 65, Tarjinder Singh 34, Sib Sankar Roy 24, Gokul Sharma 6/88, Sujay Tarafdar 3/48, Bhaskarjyoti Barman 1/50).
