Another solid batting performance from Agni Chopra, who cracked his second century (112 runs) of the match powered Chandrakant Pandit XI to an outright 5-wicket victory against Dilip Vengsarkar XI on the third day of their 3-day second round league match of the 24th Shalini Bhalekar Trophy (boys’ under-23) Selection Trials cricket tournament 2019, organized by Mangesh Bhalekar in association with the Dadar Parsi Zoroastrian Sports Club and played at the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana II ground, Kandivali, on Thursday. The tournament is being conducted under the auspices of the Mumbai Cricket Association.
Vengsarkar XI who had taken an 18 run first innings lead made bold decision to declare the second innings closed at 283 for 8 wickets in 59.3 overs. They set Pandit XI a target of scoring 301 runs for a win. Pandit XI accepted the challenge and Chopra who had scored 107 runs in the first essay led the charge with a breezy knock and with Srujan Athawale scoring a quick 95 they cruised to victory with plenty to spare. Pandit XI scored 303 for 5 wickets in 38.5 overs and picked up 5 points for the win, while Vengsarkar XI are yet to open their account.
In the second match, between Lalchand Rajput XI and Jahangir Pithawala XI, finished in a draw. Rajput XI amassed a massive 605 for 4 wickets declared in the first innings. Pithawala who were dismissed for 261 in the first innings and forced to follow-on survived by making 213 for 8 wickets in the second innings when play was called off at the end of the third day and the match drawn. Rajput XI earned 3 points for gaining a first innings lead.
Brief scores:
Lalchand Rajput XI – 1st innings: 605 for 4 wickets declared, in 142.5 overs (Harshit Janwadkar 69, Bhupen Lalwani 72, Adeeb Usmani 112, Siddharth Akre 90, Onkar Jadhav 101 not out, Pranav Kela 119 not out) Vs Vs Jahangir Pithawala XI – 1st innings: (overnight 103 for 5 wickets, in 28 overs) 261 all out, in 61.3 overs (Karan Shah 34, Ritesh Patil 41, Shubham Pandey 34; Tanush Kotian 4 for 52) & 2nd innings: 213 for 8 wickets, in 38 overs (Minad Manjrekar 94*; Arjun Tendulkar 4 for 33). Played at Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana I ground, Kandivali. Results: Match drawn. Rajput XI 3 points (on basis of first innings lead); Pithawala XI 0 points.
Dilip Vengsarkar XI – 1st innings: 308 all out, in 55.2 overs & 2nd innings: (overnight 93 for 2 wickets, in 25 overs) 283 for 8 wickets declared, in 59.3 overs (Dhanday Rudra 51, Sarfaraz Khan 109, Umesh Raut 35) lost to Chandrakant Pandit XI – 1st innings: 290 all out, 73 overs & 2nd innings: 303 for 5 wickets, in 38.5 overs (Srujan Athawale 95, Agni Chopra 115, Sairaj Patil 38; Monu Chauhan 3 for 45) by 5 wickets. Played at Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana II ground, Kandivali. Pandit XI 5 points, Vengsarkar XI 0 points.