The chasing pack has thinned out and the closest challengers to Jasjeet are H S Kang and Karan Taunk. It was a very special birthday for 20-year-old Karan, who shot the best round of the day with a score of one under 70. He is the only player to have managed to break par on this course so far. He could not suppress his grin at the end of the day and would be looking to push the leader all the way till the end. Kang returned a card of three over 74 to total five over 147 after two rounds.

Abhishek Jha had a far better outing in the second round and made his way up to the fourth spot on the leader-board, one behind the duo of Kang and Taunk with a total of six over 148.

Local lad Moin Malak and S.K. Lakra were tied for fifth with a total of seven over 149. Moin, who won the LG Eastern India Amateur Championship, was going well and made the turn at two under but a back strain and a challenging back-nine saw his round fade away as he finished with a total of two over 73.

Jasjeet started the day with a one-stroke cushion but saw it slip away with a double bogey-bogey start to his round. A good par-save on the third was just the impetus that his round needed and by the time he made the turn, he managed to stop the bleeding. "Once I found the centre fairway on the 4th, I found the rhythm once again" he said. Emphasising on the importance of percentage play on this course, he added, "This is not the kind of place where you can go for fancy shots. You need to play conservative golf; taking on the pin is suicidal while playing on a course like this."

The cut fell at eighteen over and was indicative of the conditions at the Poona Club Golf Course, which demands consistency from the players and they need to think their way around the course to be able to shoot a low score.