Reigning champions Bohra Cricket Club made a positive winning start defeating Mumbai Police Gymkhana by a slender one runs in a tense and exciting first round match of the 74th Nawab Salar Jung Invitation T20 Cricket Tournament 2024, organised by the Islam Gymkhana under the auspices of the Mumbai Cricket Association, on Saturday.
Hosts Islam Gymkhana also started on a bright winning note getting the better of Muslim Sports Club by 36 runs in a high-scoring first round match. Batting first Islam Gymkhana amassed a huge total of 229 for 4 in 20 overs. Sairaj Patil 68 runs, Sujit Nayak 52 runs and unbeaten knocks from Iqbal Abdullah 41 runs and Gaurish Jadhav 29 runs propped their innings. In reply, Muslim SC put up a solid chase but fell short and finished on the losing side. Muslim SC batters Inaam Penkar 65 runs, Auwab Kunni 58 runs and Imran Shaikh 36 runs put up a good fight. But Islam Gymkhana bowlers in particular Sagar Jadhav 3 for 41 put the brakes on the rival batsmen and ensured their win.
Meanwhile, Bohra CC sent in to bat, scored 166 for 8 wickets from 20 overs. The leading run-scorers were Varun Lavanda 33 runs, Ravindra Sanye 30 runs and Saksham Jha 21 runs while Mumbai Police left-arm medium pacer Mohd Amir Khan was the most effective bowler picking 4 wickets for 36 runs, which included a hat-trick.
Later, the Mumbai Police lower order batsmen failed to capitalize on the solid start provided by opener Aaryaraj Nikam 40 runs and number three bat Altamas Khan 59 runs, both putting on 90 runs for the second wicket. Rohit Pol added 38 runs to the Police innings. The Bohra CC bowlers stuck to their task and backed with excellent fielding they managed to restrict Mumbai Police to 165 for 8 wickets from their 20 overs. Off-spinner Om Keshkamat 2 for 16 and medium pacer Jahangir Ansari 2 for 38 ensured their win.
In other first round matches, former champions Parsee Gymkhana and Bombay Gymkhana registered contrasting wins in the respective first round encounters.
The formidable Parsee Gymkhana defeated Modern Cricket Club by 73 runs, while Bombay Gymkhana got the better of Apollo Cricket Club by a narrow 9-run margin.
Brief scores: Islam Gymkhana 229 for 4, 20 overs (Sairaj Patil 68, Sujit Nayak 52, Iqbal Abdullah 41*, Gaurish Jadhav 29*; Imran Patel 2/27) beat Muslim Sports Club 183 for 5, 20 overs (Inaam Penkar 65, Auwab Kunni 58, Imran Shaikh 36, Fazil Mukadam 20*; Sagar Jadhav 3/41).
Parsee Gymkhana 179 for 9, 20 overs (Nutan Goel 68, Ishan Mulchandani 42, Kevin D’Almeida 31; Ahmar Karte 3/33, Ravi Vishvakarma 2/20, Saif Shaikh 2/32) beat Modern CC 106 for 9, 20 overs (Dev Patel 3/23, Aman Khan 2/25).
Bombay Gymkhana 151 for 9, 20 overs (Agni Chopra 60, Mayur Barade 25, Pranav Kela 22; Umar Khan 3/16, Yaseen Shaikh 2/28) beat Apollo CC 142 all out, 18.5 overs (Darshan Chavan 40, Umar Khan 25; Yashraj Malap 3/25, Sharik Ansari 2/22, Salman Khan 2/28, Rehan Shaikh 2/33).
Bohra CC 166 for 8, 20 overs (Varun Lavanda 33, Ravindra Sanye 30, Saksham Jha 21; Mohd Amir Khan 4/36) beat Mumbai Police Gymkhana 165 for 8, 20 overs (Altamas Khan 59, Aaryaraj Nikam 40, Rohit Pol 38; Om Keshkamat 2/16, Jahangir Ansari 2/38).
Sponsor XI 149 all out, 19.4 overs (Mubasshir Rehmat 39, Imityaz Shaikh 33, Azhar Mansuri 29*; Vaibhav Mali 3/27, Yaseen Saudagar 3/28, Aatish Gawand 2/33) lost Muslim United SC 150 for 5, 16.6 overs (Ruturaj Sane 45, Moin Khan 33*, Shashikant Kadam 30*, Alsaadh Sheikh 22; Mubasshir Rehmat 2/27).
Young Friends CC 122 for 7, 20 overs (Ninad Kadam 62*, Khursheed Aalam 26; Atif Attarwala 3/23, Rahul Sawant 2/20) lost P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 124 for 5, 18.5 overs (Jash Ganiga 61; Imran Haq 2/32).
Young Mohammedan CC 208 for 7, 20 overs (Ayush Vartak 60, Jay Bista 49, Sumit Dhekle 43, Maxwell Swaminathan 23; Raj Waghela 3/39, Ajay Mishra 2/21, Onkar Jadhav 2/32) beat Marwari CC 124 all out, 18.3 overs (Ajay Mishra 55, Yash Chauhan 35; Maxwell Swaminathan 3/34).