Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 2: The inaugural edition of the Orissa Snooker Premier League (OSPL) got off to a ravishing start as the four franchises fought in out on the opening day of the tournament at the Vintage Club here Wednesday.
While the first match between Baize Rulers and Q-ing Saddles was a one sided affair with the former winning 3-0, the next match between Purple Squirrel and Blue Hawks was a thriller as it went down to the wire. Eventually former state champion Subrat Das defeated current state champion Jeet Kishore Das in the decider to win the match for his team by a 3-2 margin.
Baize Rulers’ Aakash Mohapatra, who was adjudged the ‘most promising player’ of this year’s Pradeep Sen Memorial Snooker Championship, grabbed the eyeballs while defeating another youngster in two frames (60-53, 71-41). He was also given the man of the match award for his stunning show.
Former state Champion Siddharth Sen then got the better of veteran cueist Ahsan ul Haque, winning the first two frames of the match 63-49, 65-36.
In the third tie, Nishant Biswal squared off Rakesh Roshan Pradhan, who is the joint costliest player of the tourney 2-1, in spite of conceding the first frame. He made a comeback to win the encounter 54-66, 71-08, 80-32.
In the second clash of the day, Jeet did justice to his reputation and easily got the better of Subhranshu Bhusan Kar in two frames (61-38, 65-15) and gave a 1-0 lead to Blue Hawks.
However Purple Squirrel’s Subrat, who has now become a known face in the snooker circuit of the state, brought the fixture on level terms by securing consecutive breaks of 52 and 60 against Anuj Panda. Eventually he won in two frames (70-04, 74-12).
After that the pendulum swung one way and the other as Sureet Singh gave a 2-1 to Squirrels defeating experienced Amiya Ranjan Nayak in a hard fought tie. He won the first and third frame to the seal the match 51-34, 46-57, 66-42.
Jiten Sarangi then took the encounter to the decider after beating SP Pattanaik 2-0 (66-36, 65-28) in the fourth rubber of the tie.
Finally it came down to the two heavyweights – Subrat and Jeet and the former stamped his authority scampering to victory in two frames and in the process earned a break of 60 in one frame.
Jeet failed to provide competition to Subrat as the latter won 68-06, 63-25. He was deservingly adjudged the man of the match.
Results
Match 1:
BAIZE RULERS bt. Q-ING SADDLES 3-0
Aakash Mohapatra bt. Chirag Arora 2-0(60-53, 71-41)
Siddharth Sen bt. Ahsan Ul Haque 2-0(63-49, 65-36)
Nishant Biswal bt. Rakesh Roshan Pradhan 2-1(54-66, 71-08, 80-32)
Match 2:
PURPLE SQUIRREL bt. BLUE HAWKS 3-2
Jeet K.Das bt. Subhranshu Bhusan Kar 2-0(61-38, 65-15)
Subrat Das bt. Anuj Panda 2-0(70-04, 74-12)
Sureet Singh bt. Amiya R.Nayak 2-1(51-34, 46-57, 66-42)
Jiten Sarangi bt. S.P.Pattanaik 2-0(66-36, 65-28)
Decider Match: Subrat Das bt. Jeet K. Das 2-0(68-06, 63-25)-break of 60 by Subrat in the first frame