A solid batting display from right-handed opener Shashank Singh, whose fine century knock of 126 runs, helped Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Association to enjoy a commanding position at 415 for the loss of six wickets in 85 overs in their first innings (90 overs) against Payyade Sports Club on the first day of the three-day final of the Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. sponsored ‘70th Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament’, and played Mumbai Police Gymkhana ground on Friday.
Shashank Singh
Put in to bat first, the Payyade bowlers were unable to trouble the free flowing D.Y. Patil batsmen. Both the openers Singh and Subramanian Doraiswamy (85 runs), also a right-handed batsman, enjoyed themselves in the middle belting the ball to all corners of the park and they put together a solid 155-run partnership for the first wicket, which provided the momentum to their innings and laid the foundation for the other batters to prop up the total.
Singh’s massive effort came from 180 balls with 11 boundaries and four sixes and consumed 241 minutes at the crease.
Shubham Ranjane (73) and seasoned Iqbal Abdulla (batting 65) made useful contributions to the scoreboard. Payyade’s left arm spinner Harmeet Singh toiled hard and was rewarded with three wickets for 110 runs.
When play resumes on Saturday, D.Y. Patil will look to score briskly and add some more runs to their innings from the remaining five overs. They will then have to bowl well to restrict the opposition batsmen and look to force an outright win.
Brief scores:
At Mumbai Police Gymkhana ground: Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Association (1st innings): 415 for 6 wickets in 85 overs (Shashank Singh 126(Min. 241, Balls-180, 11×4, 4×6), Subramanian Doraiswamy 85, Shubham Ranjane 73, Iqbal Abdulla 65*; Harmeet Singh 3/110) vs Payyade Sports Club.