Bradman XI, ONGC make a winning start

Bangalore, Aug 11 (UNI) Defending Champions Air India suffered a setback when ONGC thrashed them by eight wickets in the Twenty20 Cricket Tournament for Bradman Cup that began in M Chinnaswamy stadium here today.

In another match, Bradman XI scored an easy seven wicket win against Indian Airlines.

Air India crash landed to a mere 81 in nine overs in the round robin tie. Chasing a paltry target, ONGC romped home losing just two wickets with 12.1 overs to spare. Gautam Ganbhir (18) and Shyam Pandey (25) gave a decisive start to ONGC's innings adding 64 runs for the opening wicket to put the result beyond doubt. Air India opener Robin Uthappa's innings of 15-ball 29 went in vein.

In another match, Bradman XI, after curtailing Indian Airlines to 114 for six in the stipulated 20 overs, reached the target loosing only three wickets with seven balls to spare. Opener Subhomoy Das (40) and Ambati Rayudu (26 n.o) were the main contributors for the winners. For Indian Airlines Shafiq Khan (43) was the highest scorer.

Brief Scores: Indian Airlines: 114/6 in 20 overs (Shafiq Khan 43, R S Sodhi 29) lost to Bradman XI 115/3 in 18.5 overs (Subhmoy Das 40, Ambati Rayudu 26 n.o.).

Air India: 81/6 in 9 overs (Robin Uthappa 29, Amit Sharma 3/20) lost to ONGC 84/2 in 7.6 overs (Radhey Shyam 25, Gautam Gambhir 28) UNI MSP RS AY VC2045