City gears up for big-time cricket

The city is all geared up to host big time cricket from Monday. Four stadiums, including the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (RGICS), will come alive with top grade activity as several contemporary Test stars will be seen in action.

This will also mark the commencement of the full-fledged domestic season and comes just ahead of the Champions League T20, the qualifiers of which will be hosted at RGICS next fortnight. In a way, the Moin-ud-Dowlah will be an occasion for the fringe players to make a comeback into the big league.

Two city-based outfits, Hyderabad and HCA Presidents’ XI, will vie for honours along with six other teams in the All India Coromandel King Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup cricket tournament-2013. Other teams in contention will be Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, DDCA and Services.

The tournament concludes on September 12. Matches will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (RGICS), NFC Grounds, AOC Centre and ECIL ground. The winner will take the glittering trophy and Rs One lakh in prize money while the runner-up will take home Rs 50, 000. All the matches will be played on a three-day knockout format consisting of two innings per side. The first innings would be restricted to a maximum of 90 overs while the second innings will of 40 overs per side. The semifinals will be held from September 6 to 8 while the final begins at RGICS on September 10.