MUSSOORIE, Oct 5: Waving his cue like a scimitar, Yasin Merchant kept the pressure on Alok Kumar all the time to win the S Chand Jaypee All-India Invitational Tournament at Residency Manor today.

Merchant won 90-1, 63-68, 105-1, 83-4, 64-45, 17-58, 88-6, 79-0, 4-92 and 80-0.

Merchant romped home in the first frame by executing a run of 72. He almost won the next when it was a black ball game. Kumar sunk the black amid pin-drop silence.

Kumar was now in a tight situation and his opponent came up with runs of 43 and 62. The next frame was a replica of the previous one and Merchant raced to lead by four frames to one. Kumar checked a rampaging Merchant by winning the next to make it 2-4.

After the interval, Alok clutching his 10-month-old son, said, ``I am not sighting the ball well and my cueing has also gone haywire. However, I will try to make amends.''

It was the other way round when, after resumption, the former Asian champion cut loose and made a resounding break of 80 to get an unassailable lead.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.