Mumbai, Mar 29:
World champion Pankaj Advani produced another master-class performance as he cruised past compatriot Devendra Joshi 1063-224 to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the All India CCI Billiards Classic here on Thursday.
Advani, who is the defending champion, hit peak form to construct a magnificent 529-point break, the highest in the tournament, to outwit Joshi in the second round Group-A league match.
Advani, India’s most decorated cueist with 27 World titles, again showed tremendous concentration levels and struck the balls with a high-degree of precision.
With clever and a calculated approach he managed to stay at the table for long periods to build those humongous breaks.
Advani could have extended the break had he not missed a regulation red pot in the centre pocket. His other notable runs were 156, 69, 91 and 72, while Joshi managed a solitary break of 56.
David Causier of England was also in prime form and constructed a sizable run of 301 and followed it with a mammoth effort of 465 to stroll past India’s Vishal Madan 1183-301 in a one-sided Group-C match on a side table.
Earlier, National champion Dhruv Sitwala defeated Kamal Chawla 667-250 in a second round Group E league match to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
On an adjacent table, Mumbai challenger Rohan Jambusaria scored a stunning 520-403 win over former world champion Sourav Kothari of Kolkata in a Group F game.
Raayan Razmi also registered his second win as he got the better of Rovin D’Souza by a comfortable 820-234 victory in a Group A contest.
On another table, Gujarat’s Dhvaj Haria compiled breaks of 189,103,176, 71 and 90 enroute a fluent 894-276 win against Raajeev Sharma in a Group G match.
Last year’s runner-up Rob Hall of England played steadily and easily defeated CCI cueist Nishant Dossa 644-293 in a Group B match. The Englishman did not bring out his best but still managed to roll in breaks of 77, 82, 57, 57, 89 and 95.
The left-handed India number one Sitwala, who was not at his best, enjoyed a marginal lead initially. But he suddenly produced a solid 220 break at the halfway stage which helped him take a sizable lead.
Thereafter, he continued to maintain the momentum and with breaks of 83, 83, 56 and 82 went on to close out the contest for his second successive win.
In a battle between former world champions, Rupesh Shah overcame Ashok Shanidlya by a 473-362 margin in a low-scoring Group B match.
