Nitin Banka wins tight decider to snatch win for MHCL ‘Madcaps’

Nitin Banka managed to win a nerve-wracking deciding fifth frame (15-red singles) against Ronak Dedhia to help MHCL ‘Madcaps’ snatch a tight 3-2 win against NSCI ‘Riders’ in a pre-quarter-final match of the Z3 Zodiac Clothing & Otters Club sponsored Otters-BSAM Mumbai Snooker League 2018 at Otters Club, Billiards Room.

In another last 16 round encounter played on an adjacent table, Khar Gymkhana’s team KG ‘A’ comprising of heavyweights, including skipper Yasin Merchant, Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Faisal Khan and talented youngsters Sparsh Pherwani and Nikhil Saigal proved too strong for North Indian Association’s NIA ‘Cut Miss Hook’ and quickly breezed to a 3-0 win.

Meanwhile, in a match of fluctuating fortunes, NSCI after losing the opening 15-red doubles frame bounced back to pocket the next two (15-red singles) frame and take a 2-1 lead. But, the experienced Rajeev Sharma with some steady play ensured that the Malabar Hill Club (MHCL) team stay in the fight when he won the fourth frame against NSCI’s captain Karan Chug, to whom he had earlier lost the second frame, and take the match to the wire.