Bolstered by a brilliant ton by Wasim Jaffer (108 runs off 120 balls), Indian Oil defeated defending champions MRF Chennai by 46 runs to enter the final of J P Atray Memorial Cricket Tournament being held at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium on Monday. MRF Chennai won the toss and invited Indian Oil to bat first. After losing two quick wickets, Test player Wasim Jaffer came to bat and enthralled the audience with some scintillating strokes. His century included eight fours and one towering six. Ravikant Shukla (68 off 96 balls) gave able support to Jaffer and the duo took Indian Oil to safety. Jaffer was dropped on 64 when Mahesh dropped him at mid-wicket off the bowling of Venu Gopal. With some contributions from the lower order, Indian Oil made 279 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 50 overs. Rahul Shukla grabbed three wickets while N Mohammad claimed two wickets. Chasing the target, MRF started on a bad note as they lost three quick wickets for just 28 runs. Skipper Venugopal Rao tried to increase the run-rate and hit a flurry of strokes in his innings of 88 runs off 72 balls that included eight boundaries and five towering sixes. MRF fell short by 46 runs. Gaurav Jathan (3 for 51) and R Raje (2 for 29) were the main wicket taker for Indian Oil.
