Andhra Cricket Association skipper Amit Pathak won the toss andelected to bat first against Indian Oil Corporation in their fourthround clash

Anand Vasu07-Sep-2000Andhra Cricket Association skipper Amit Pathak won the toss andelected to bat first against Indian Oil Corporation in their fourthround clash. However, things did not go too well for them as theskipper was trapped in front of the stumps by left arm seamer ZaheerKhan. With just 23 on the board, LN Prasad Reddy and Gnaneshwara Raocame together and steered the hosts towards a good total. Prasad Reddycompiled a steady 59 (114 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) while Gnaneshwara Raopicked the bowlers off for runs.Rao made a 78 ball 60 that included two hits that cleared the ropesbefore being caught behind off Iqbal Siddiqui. The pair had takenAndhra Cricket Association to a position of relative stability, beforethey were separated with 140 on the board.Stumper MSK Prasad, recently discarded by the national selectors,cracked an unbeaten 39. Perhaps he was making a point or two to theselectors. Young all rounder Venugopal Rao missed a half century byjust 3 runs as he became Zaheer Khan’s second victim. The speedstermade it a 3 wicket haul when he got rid of YS Ranganath before hecould open his account.At the end of their allotted 50 overs, the Andhra Cricket Associationside had compiled a more than useful 249. This left Indian OilCorporation chasing 250 at an even 5 runs an over.They were however not up to the task. Despite a 100 plus partnershipfor the second wickets, Indian Oil Corporation could manage only 221.Promising young opener from Karnataka, Mithun Beerala helped himselfto 52 as Abbas Ali hurried to 51.After the fall of the Beerala and Ali, no one stayed at the wicketlong enough to score more than 36. Raj Mohan snared 3/48 and sawIndian Oil Corporation slip to a 28 run loss.