Medium pacer Nilesh Kharmale’s splendid spell of 7 wickets for 9 runs helped BEST Arts & Sports Club snatch a narrow 18-run win against a determined Times of India in a first round Group-A Plate Division match of the 11th Insurance Shield T20 Inter-Office Cricket Tournament, organised by Oriental Insurance Company under the aegis of MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association), and played at the National CC ground, Cross Maidan on Wednesday.
Deciding to field first, Times of India did well to restrict BEST to a low total of 108 for 9 wickets from their 20 overs. BEST’s middle-order bat D.S. Garge was the only batsman to make 26 runs. Times of India bowlers Satyajit Banerjee 2 for 18 and Pankaj Sawant 2 for 30 were responsible for keeping the BEST batters in check.
In response, Times of India batsmen were rocked by Kharmale’s impressive bowling as he consistently picked wickets. Kharmale also dismissed the opposition top two run-scorers Hrishikesh Padwal 31 runs and Sendil Kumar 25 runs and secured BEST’s victory.
In a tense Group-C match, Larsen & Toubro SC narrowly defeated Abhyudaya Bank SC by a mere 7 runs, while Aruprit Tigers registered a comprehensive 169-run win against General Insurance Company in a Group-B encounter.
Brief scores – Plate Division: BEST Arts & Sports Club 108 for 9 wickets, 20 overs (D.S. Garge 26; Satyajit Banerjee 2 for 18, Pankaj Sawant 2 for 30) beat Times of India 90 all out, 14.5 overs (Hrishikesh Padwal 31, Sendil Kumar 25; Nilesh Kharmale 7 for 9, Kiran Khanvilkar 2 for 19). Result: BEST A&SC won by 18 runs.
Mumbai Ports Authority 138 for 5 wickets, 20 overs (Deepak Brahambhatt 38*, Premnath Chavan 35; Gosu K. Rao 2 for 28) lost to Bhavishya Nidhi CC 141 for 3 wickets, 16.5 overs (Amit Tawde 79*, Nipun Bhansali 24*; Kiran Pednekar 2 for 26). Result: Bhavishya Nidhi CC won by 7 wickets.
Larsen & Toubro SC 157 for 8 wickets, 20 overs (Akash Palande 54, Jatin Sethi 25*; Sanju Raut 2 for 20) beat Abhyudaya Bank SC 150 for 7 wickets, 20 overs (Mangesh Shinde 87, Satish Rane 32; Kiran Kamble 3 for 18, Jatin Sethi 3 for 29). Result: Larsen & Toubro won by 7 runs.
Aruprit Tigers 241 for 6 wickets, 20 overs (Ajaey Singham 92, Aniket Parihar 81; Ashish Pathi 4 for 60) beat GIC SC 72 all out, 13.5 overs (Aumit N. 33; Tejas Bandal 4 for 8, Nirankar Sharma 4 for 10). Result: Aruprit Tigers won by 169 runs.
Mazagon Docks SC 116 for 9 wickets, 20 overs (Santosh Pawaskar 21; Digambar Tamore 2 for 14, Sagar Kawankar 2 for 26) lost to BARC SC 117 for 4 wickets, 15.2 overs (Kalpesh Keni 35, Sri Harsha S. 29; Santosh Pawaskar 2 for 29, Mehul Parmar 2 for 29). Result: BARC won by 6 wickets.
Patni CC 94 all out, 20 overs (Ketan Dangar 31; Shubham Taldevkar 3 for 11, Akshay Suryavanshi 3 for 20) lost to RBI 97 for no loss, 15.3 overs (Piyush Karkhur 54*, Amit Yadav 38*). Result: RBI won by 10 wickets.