A brilliant all-round performance from Mairaj Khan was the highlight of Shivaji Park Gymkhana’s massive 135-run victory against defending champions MIG Cricket Club on the second day of their second round league match of the UPL-76th Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament 2023, at the MIG CC ground, Bandra on Sunday.
Sent in to bat, Shivaji Park Gymkhana managed to amass a total of 205 all out in 53.2 overs. Opener Aditya Anand made a 97-ball 65 runs while low-order batsmen Mairaj Khan scored a patient 87-ball 46 runs and Kunal Navrange contributed 44 runs. MIG CC’s off-spinner Ankush Jaiswal 3 for 41 and Shreyas Gurav 3 for 54 claimed most of the wickets.
In response, the MIG Cricket Club batting collapsed against the disciplined off-spin bowling from Mairaj Khan who picked 5 wickets for just 7 runs, while left-arm spinner Varun Joijode took 3 for 18 to reduced their opponents to 70 all out in 24.2 overs clinch a huge margin of victory.
This was champions MIG CC’s second straight defeat and Shivaji Park Gymkhana’s first win.
In other matches, Bombay Gymkhana snatched a narrow 4-run victory against National CC and P.J. Hindu Gymkhana easily defeated D.Y. Patil Sports Academy by 6-wickets. Both Bombay Gymkhana and Hindu Gymkhana have now recorded two wins each.
Meanwhile, hosts Mumbai Police Gymkhana suffered their second successive defeat losing by 6-wickets to Parkophene Cricketers. This was the first win in the group for Parkophene Cricketers.
Brief scores: Shivaji Park Gymkhana 205 all out, 53.2 overs (Aditya Anand 65, Mairaj Khan 46, Kunal Navrange 44; Ankush Jaiswal 3/41, Shreyas Gurav 3/54) beat MIG Cricket Club 70 all out, 24.2 overs (Mairaj Khan 5/7, Varun Joijode 3/18). Result: Shivaji Park Gymkhana won by 135 runs.
Bombay Gymkhana 183 all out, 31.2 overs (Nikhil Patil 65, Sumeir Zaveri 57;
Prabhakar Nishad 6/57) lost to National Cricket Club 179 all out, 54 overs (Akshay Darekar 53*, Prayag Bhati 42, Aditya Srivastava 36; Atharva Poojari 5/53, Aashray Sajnani 4/65). Result: Bombay Gymkhana won by 4 runs
D.Y. Patil Sports Academy 199 all out, 50 overs (Aman Khan 92, Anand Bias 73; Vinayak Bhoir 3/24, Atharva Bhosale 3/56) lost to P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 203 for 4, 46.5 overs (Eknath Kerkar 52, Ajit Yadav 50, Yogesh Dongre 43*). Result: P.J. Hindu Gymkhana won by 6 wickets.
Mumbai Police Gymkhana 264 all out, 63.5 overs (Harsh Rane 93, Dashrath Chavan 51, Ninay Kunwar 41; Dhanit Raut 4/90) lost to Parkophene Cricketers 266 for 4, 60.5 overs (Aayush Jethwa 129* (177-balls, 13×4, 2×6), Pratik Shukla 72; Dashrath Chavan 4/55). Result: Parkophene Cricketers won by 6 wickets.