Dashing opening batsman Shahid Shaikh’s hurricane century knock of 147 runs and combined with the fine all-round showing from Chirag Khurana (77 runs and 2 for 54) propelled Mumbai Police Gymkhana to a convincing 72-run victory against P.J. Hindu Gymkhana in a quarter-final match of the Padmakar Talim Shield Cricket Tournament 2017-2018, at the Police Gymkhana ground, Marine Drive on Sunday.
Mumbai Police put in bat first got cracking with Shahid being severe on the Hindu Gymkhana bowlers. He belted the ball to all corners of the park during his 92-balls effort which included 12 well-timed boundaries and nine powerfully struck sixes during 128 minutes at the crease. Chirag Khurana and Swapnil Kulaye (75 runs) played perfect supporting roles to help the Policemen reach a challenging total of 366 for the loss of five wickets from their quota of 45 overs.
Faced with a stiff target, Hindu Gymkhana started positively but their march towards the winning target was arrested by some disciplined bowling performances from the Mumbai Police attack. They could only score 295 for the loss of eight wickets in their 45 overs and suffered a defeat.
After losing the openers cheaply, Hindu Gym managed to repair the damage with S. Haravi (89 runs) and S. Wagh (68 runs) giving them hopes of fighting back and later S. Thakkar (50 runs) and P. Kumar (36 runs) tried their best to bail them out, but the Mumbai Police bowlers held the upper hand and came through. Santosh Shinde (2/34), Yash Jagtap (2/44) and Chirag Khurana (2/54) ensured their team complete the win and book their place in the semi-final.
Brief scores: Mumbai Police Gymkhana 366 for 5 wickets in 45 overs (Shahid Shaikh 147 (92b, 128m, 12x4s,9x6s), C. Khurana 77, S. Kulaye 75, M. Sanap 37; R. Rashid 3/73) beat P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 294 for 8 wickets, 45 overs (S. Haravi 89, S. Wagh 68, S. Thakkar 50, P. Kumar 36; S. Shinde 2/34, Y. Jagtap 2/44, C. Khurana 2/54). Result: Mumbai Police won by 72 runs.