Inspired by Jay Bista’s half century knock and Jitendra Paliwal’s disciplined bowling, P.J. Hindu Gymkhana snatched a 10-run victory against MCA Colts in a thrilling first round match of the Bombay Gymkhana Ltd. organized Nirlon-R.F.S. Talyarkhan Memorial Invitation Cricket Tournament 2023-2024, played under floodlights at the Bombay Gymkhana ground on Wednesday night.
Put in to bat first, Hindu Gymkhana produced a late charge to pile up a substantial total of 177 for 9 wickets from their stipulated 20 overs. Opening bat, Bista led from the front blasting a 30-ball 56 runs, which included three shots to the boundary ropes and four well-timed sixes. Eknath Kerekar 32 runs and Gautam Waghela 23 runs steadied the innings before the lower order batters Ajit Yadav and Atif Attarwala with a solid assault towards the end, contributed 19 runs each to swell the innings. The MCA youngsters did well to restrict the opposition batsmen initially with Khizar Dafedar 2 for 23, Karsh Kothari 2 for 38 and Atharva Kardile 2 for 40 picking the wickets.
In reply, MCA Colts, despite suffering an early setback, were positive in their approach and put up a good fight before falling short of the winning target as they were bowled out for 167 runs in 19.4 overs. Middle-order bat Siddharth Akre top-scored with 55 runs (32-balls, 4x4s, 3x6s), while Swais Khan 32 runs and Darshan Mangukiya 22 runs kept their hopes alive. But, Hindu Gymkhana’s Paliwal picked three crucial wickets for 26 runs and received good support from Rahul Sawant 2 for 27, Vinayak Bhoir 2 for 35 and Atif Attarwala 2 for 40 to put the brakes on the rival batting and clinch a good win.
Brief scores: P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 177 for 9, 20 overs (Jay Bista 56 (30-ball, 3x4s, 4x6s), Eknath Kerekar 32, Gautam Waghela 23; Khizar Dafedar 2/23, Karsh Kothari 2/38, Atharva Kardile 2/40) beat MCA Colts 167 all out, 19.4 overs (Siddharth Akre 55 (32-balls, 4x4s, 3x6s), Swais Khan 32, Darshan Mangukiya 22; Jitendra Paliwal 3/26, Rahul Sawant 2/27, Vinayak Bhoir 2/35, Atif Attarwala 2/40).