Champions Formidables, along with Team Monica Jajoo, showcased dominant all-round performances to storm into the semi-finals of the team event in the 9th All India Shree Cement Bridge Championship, held at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata on Saturday.
The other two teams completing the final four lineup are Mavericks and Deepdhaar.
In the quarter-finals, Formidables delivered a commanding performance against Bangur Cement, establishing a massive lead of 124–8 International Match Points (IMPs) across the first two rounds of the three-round contest. Overwhelmed by the deficit, Bangur Cement conceded the match.
Similarly, Team Monica Jajoo produced a strong showing to defeat Prime comfortably, winning 111–64 IMPs, maintaining consistent dominance across all three rounds.
Deepdhaar also impressed with a clinical performance against Guns ’n’ Roses, who struggled to find rhythm throughout the match. Deepdhaar secured a decisive 124–49 IMPs victory, leading in all three rounds.
The most closely contested encounter came between Mavericks and Slammers. Mavericks edged out Slammers by a narrow margin of 64–62 IMPs. Despite Slammers winning the second and third rounds (27–13 and 30–23), Mavericks’ strong opening round lead of 28–5 proved decisive.
The semi-final clashes are now set:
Formidables vs Mavericks
Team Monica Jajoo vs Deepdhaar
At the end of the second round in the semi-finals, Formidables maintained a comfortable advantage, leading Mavericks 86–33 IMPs.
In the other semi-final, the contest between Team Monica Jajoo and Deepdhaar remained tightly balanced, with Monica Jajoo’s team holding a slim lead of 52–50 IMPs.
(Reporting by Manik Banerjee)