KSCA President’s XI grabbed a potentially vital 67-run first-innings lead on the penultimate day of its Safi Darashah Trophy semifinal clash with Haryana CA.

R. Samarth then belted his second hundred of the match at the Alur (3) ground here on Tuesday to give President’s XI the upper hand in the contest.

Haryana carried on from its strong beginning (242 for two overnight) but ultimately fell short of the home side’s massive 581. President’s XI then motored to 301 for four in 50 overs of its second innings, Samarth unbeaten on 129 and Kunal Kapoor making 75, with 10 overs left of the quota.

Haryana needs to chase victory in a maximum of 60 overs on the final day, in order to progress to the final.

In the other semifinal at the Alur (2) ground, KSCA Secretary’s XI embarked on a steep pursuit against KSCA XI in riveting fashion.

Set 567 for victory in a maximum of 123 overs — a result essential to advance after conceding the first-innings lead — Secretary’s XI reached 230 without loss in 45 overs at stumps, powered by openers Mayank Agarwal (118 n.o.) and Karun Nair (97 n.o.).

Earlier, a hundred from Ganesh Satish led KSCA XI to a score of 430 in the second dig.

The scores:

KSCA President’s XI 581 for three in 120 overs and 301 for four in 50 overs (R. Samarth 129 n.o., Kunal Kapoor 75, Sunil Rahul 44) vs Haryana CA 514 in 119.2 overs (Nitin Saini 118, Abhimanyu Khod 92, Sunny Singh 58, Rahul Tewatia 54, Kuldeep Hooda 45 n.o., S.K. Moinuddin four for 180, Ronit More three for 123).

KSCA XI 341 in 86.2 overs and 430 for five in 93 overs (Ganesh Satish 103, Amit Verma 92, Manish Pandey 55, C.M. Gautam 34) vs KSCA Secretary’s XI 205 in 56.4 overs and 230 for no loss in 45 overs (Mayank Agarwal 118 n.o., Karun Nair 97 n.o.).