Akaash, Shabbir make cut for Masters Round

BANGALORE: Akaash Ashok Kumar and Shabbir Dhankot created history on Friday after they made the cut for the Masters round at the 6th Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship in Auckland. Akaash and Shabbir's effort marked the first time two Indian bowlers have made the cut after Shaik Abdul Hameed's effort in 2002.
Akaash led the charge scoring an impressive total of 1,334 pinfalls, even bowling a 700 series in three games in the morning on short oil condition.His efforts of 232, 245, 230 (707) preceded a 667 in three games (191, 211, 225) on long oil condition later. After 24 games, Akaash finished 10th overall with a total pinfall of 4,918 (average 204.91).
Meanwhile, teammate Shabbir Dhankot who was ranked 13th overnight, put on an aggressive display to end the day with total pinfall of 1201 in six games. He made the cut at 12th position with a total pinfall of 4,690 in 24 games. In the women's category, both Prathima Hegde and Aishwarya Rao failed to make the cut, finishing 14th and 15th respectively.
The Masters round will be held over two days where the top 12 men and women will play round-robin matches in their respective categories.
Earlier, Team India recorded its best performance ever in the mixed team of four event, crossing the 200 pinfalls average for the first time. The team comprising of Prathima (average 187.33), Akaash (222.33), Aishwarya Rao (193.83) and Shabbir Dhankot (200.16) averaged 200.91 to finish a commendable sixth. Singapore won the gold medal in the event, followed by Australia and Malaysia.