Star-studded Bradman World XI failed to clinch a berth into the final of the Unibic 20-20 Bradman Cup tournament in Bangalore on Sunday after their bowlers let the side down.
After the three teams in Group A -- Bradman XI, Karnataka State Cricket Association XI and Chemplast -- won a league match each, the 20-20 rule of 'bowl-out' was applied under which five bowlers from each side were given two deliveries each to be bowled at the unguarded stumps.
KSCA XI bowlers were right on target on eight of the ten occasions, Chemplast tallied five out of ten, while the much fancied Bradman XI bowlers found the stumps only twice.
Earlier today, in their last league engagement, Chemplast beat KSCA XI by five wickets.
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L Balaji and skipper R Ram Kumar picked up two wickets apiece for Chemplast.
Chemplast reached the target with five deliveries to spare, helped by Parthiv Patel (33), who hit five boundaries in his 22-ball knock, S Badrinath (21) and Hemang Badani (16).
The final scheduled for tonight, KSCA XI are taking on Air India, who topped the Group B.
Brief scores:
KSCA XI 112 for 9 in 20 overs (B Akhil 51 not out, Uthappa 19; Ram Kumar 2/13, Balaji 2/19) vs Chemplast 113 for five in 19.1 overs (Patel 33, Badrinath 21, Badani 16; C Raghu 2/14, R Vinay Kumar 1/22, Akhil 1/30).