CHENNAI: Outclassing Alok Kumar in straight frames on Saturday, Pankaj set up a title clash with Manan Chandra in the Alliance Group-ASCA All India Invitation Snooker Championship here. Such was Pankaj Advani’s dominance that his opponent Alok Kumar was a mute spectator.

Forthrightly aggressive, Pankaj was in his elements from the outset. His shots were conceived with utmost clarity and unleashed with equal finesse, best asserted by his noticeable breaks (49, 44, 44, 81 and 70). That Alok couldn’t open his account in the final two frames shows the one-sidedness of the contest.

All the same, spare a thought for R Girish. It was a mixed day for the Coimbatore lad. While he stunned Geet Sethi in the quarterfinals, he caved into Manan Chandra in the semifinals. But in Manan he had a quality opponent in the semifinals. But given Girish’s confidence, he could have nursed hopes of another upset. But that was not to be, as Manan, though at times patchy, stamped his authority over the game.

However, Girish started in fine fashion, wrapping the first frame 38-70. He gave Manan a scare in the second, though Manan recovered with a break of 20, before annexing the third frame. But just when Girish’s challenge looked to have fizzled out, he overcame his jitteriness to take the fourth frame. However, Manan was least perturbed and blended aggression with defense. Though he didn’t post huge breaks, his 40s, 30s and even 20s came in handy.

Girish stretched him in the fifth frame, though Manan’s break of 44 saw him through at 67-48. Shifting gears, with newfound vigour, Manan took the last two frames to seal the match. Semifinals: Pankaj Advani bt Alok Kumar 62-30, 85-17, 70-24, 81-0, 70-0, Manan Chandra bt R Girish 38-70, 53-51, 55-35, 46-57, 67-48, 93-44, 52-29.

Quarterfinals:

Manan Chandra bt Devendra Joshi 72-1, 68-24, 52-17, 67-17, Girish bt Geet Sethi 8-87, 80-12, 61-21, 52-66, 70-47, 69-21, Pankaj Advani bt Rishabh Pandya 90-35, 68-1, 61-51, 63-42, Alok Kumar bt Rupesh Shah 80-31, 63-65, 71-62, 58-48, 76-69.