Young Shahyan Razmi uncorked another virtuoso performance and once again was the saviour for Cricket Club of India ‘CCI Billiards Boys’.
The talented 18-year-old Shahyan (scratch handicap) pulled off a sensational victory against seasoned billiards player Shekhar Surve (+20 handicap) in a tense third frame which helped CCI Billiards Boys overcome Shivaji Park Gymkhana ‘SPG Gentlemen’ 537-516 margin in an interesting semi-final match of the BSAM organized CCI Kekoo Nicholson Mumbai Billiards League 2024, played at the Cricket Club of India’s Wilson Jones billiards hall, late Friday evening.
Shahyan had also won the third frame in their quarter-final win against Khar Gymkhana on Thursday.
In the other semi-final, Chembur Gymkhana ‘CG Gladiators’ captain Vishal Madan’s clever strategy to sit out proved to be a perfect move. CG Gladiators (+90 handicap) comfortably defeated Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana ‘WCG Wizards’ (+180 handicap) 556-428.
SPG Gentlemen playing with a combined handicap of +120 points increased their advantage when Deependra Pinkyar (+60) defeated CCI’s Kanishk Jhanjharia (+20) 200-142 points to lead by 183 points. CCI’s dependable cueist Hasan Badam (-25) then overcame Sanket Bapat 200-139 to reduce SPG Gentlemen’s advantage by 61 points. Going into the third frame SPG Gentlemen enjoyed a healthy 122 point advantage.
The talented 18-year-old Shahyan (scratch handicap) faced a stiff challenge to score 200 points against seasoned billiards player Shekhar Surve (+20 handicap), who required to score only 78 points to seal the win. However, the left-handed Shahyan showed plenty of maturity and was confident personified and with a smart, tactical approach convincingly won the crucial third frame by a distance.
Shahyan boldly went for his shots and with steady play built small breaks to accumulate the points and coasted to a 200-57 point difference with a degree of comfort. On the other hand Surve seemed to be out of sorts and failed to stitch together a single substantial break, which could have tilted the match in the team’s favour. Shahyan had just one decent effort of 38 initially and that seemed to have set the tone for his win.
Meanwhile, Chembur Gymkhana’s accomplished billiards player Loukic Pathare (-40) played the lead role by beating Wizards Aakash Ramteke (+65) 200-90 in winning the first frame to grab a 20 point advantage. Later, Nikhil Lalwani (+60) extended the advantage when he outplayed Shakir Qureshi (+65) 200-86. In the third frame Sagar Madan (+70) had to score only 66 points while Wizards Karan Makwana (+50) had a stiff task to score 200 points. Madan scored the required points while Makwana scored 72 points.
Results – Semi-finals: Chembur Gymkhana ‘CG Gladiators’ (+90) beat Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana ‘WCG Wizards’ (+180) 556-428 –- (Loukic Pathare (-40) beat Aakash Ramteke (+65) 200-90, Nikhil Lalwani (+60) beat Shakir Qureshi (+65) 200-86, Sagar Madan (+70) beat Karan Makwana (+50) 66-72).
Cricket Club of India ‘CCI Billiards Boys’ (-5) beat Shivaji Park Gymkhana (+120) 537-516 -- (Kanishk Jhanjharia (+20) lost Deependra Pinkyar (+60) 142-200, Hasan Badami (-25) beat Sanket Bapat (+40) 200-139, Shahyan Razmi (SCR) beat Shekhar Surve (+20) 200-57).
