Pankaj Advani came up with a brilliant performance, carrying along a below-par Yasin Merchant, as the duo made short work of the UAE's Mohammed Joker and Mohammed Shehab, winning 636-381, to enter the final of the Rs 6.25 lakh Reid and Taylor Bombay Gymkhana InstaSnooker 2005 at the Bombay Gymkhana premises, in Mumbai on Friday.
For the title and winner's purse of Rs 2.16 lakh, the Indian pair will take on the Chinese duo of Jin Long and Tian Pengfei, who were clinical in their decimation of Thailand's Kobkit Palajit and Nitiwat Kanjanasri, winning 741-324.
Advani and Merchant began tentatively against the UAE duo, the last team to make the semi-final grade late on Thursday night.
With Merchant, the former Asian champion, playing much below his potential, and Advani not having found his rhythm in the matches leading to the semi-finals, their prospects did not look too bright when trailing 191-241 after four frames.
However, Advani's timely return to form, which saw him rifle in a break of 68 in the fifth frame to put the team ahead, followed by another of 86 in the sixth, which saw them stretch the lead to 400-272, turned the match on its ahead.
Buoyed by Advani's showing, Merchant too came into his element, his break of 48 in the beginning of the ninth frame proving the last nail in the coffin.
For the Chinese pair, it was Tian Pengfei who got into action early, rifling in a break of 101 in the second frame. He followed it up with a 56 in the fifth as the Thai players struggled to find their rhythm.
Having scored heavily in all their league encounters, they were reduced to mere spectators as the Chinese players had prolonged sessions at the table.
Jin Long then had breaks of 71 and 51 in the last two frames to seal a comfortable victory against lackluster opponents.
"Pankaj was on a roll today, so I only played a supporting role," said Yasin after the match, acknowledging his partner's superior play.
On their chances in the final against the in-form Chinese, Advani said, "Both he and Yasin would have to be at their very best. We will have to play well in all departments. We just can't rely on only safety or only aggression."
He agreed that the Chinese were aggressive players and to counter them the Indians would have to strike form right from the outset.
"We just cannot afford to allow them the early lead," added Advani.
Following are the final semi-finals scores: Yasin Merchant/Pankaj Advani (India F) 636 (7, 77, 91, 16, 96, 113, 50, 95, 91) bt Mohd. Joker/Mohd. Shehab (UAE) 381 (83, 56, 28, 74, 14, 63, 23, 23). Jin Long/Tian Pengfei (China) 741 (46, 126, 36, 77, 62, 89, 90, 125, 90) bt Kobkit Palajit/Nitiwat Kanjanasri 324 (64, 7, 30, 38, 68, 51, 28, 11, 27).
