Opening batsmen Harsh Tank and Swapnil Pradhan, were both in cracking form and recorded centuries each as Mumbai Police scored 338 for the loss of 3 wickets in 62 overs against P.J. Hindu Gymkhana, on the first day of their two-day Group-C (Round-3) league match of the Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. sponsored 69th Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament – 2016, and played at the Police Gymkhana ground, Marine Drive, on Saturday.
Harsh Tank
Electing to bat first, the two Mumbai Police openers Tank and Pradhan hardly put a foot wrong as they plundered the Hindu Gym bowling attack to all corners of the park. Tank, who was more aggressive of the two, scored a quick 182 runs from only 147 balls and smashed 26 boundaries and 5 sixes during his 186 minute stay at the crease. Pradhan made a steady 112 runs from 154 balls, which contained a dozen hits to the fence. The two were associated in a partnership which yielded 282 runs for the first wicket and which laid the foundation for their huge total. Sujit Haravi (3/49) was the only successful bowler for Hindu Gymkhana.
Meanwhile, Karnatak Sporting Association scored a quick 9-wicket win over Sponsors XI (Jain Irrigation) in a Group-B league encounter at the Karnatak SA ground. After electing to field first, the Karnatak bowlers had the Sponsors XI batsmen in all sorts of problems and dismissed them for a paltry 76 in 24.3 overs. Akshay Girap (5/21) and Akbar Khan (4/21) did the damage. In reply Karnataka comfortably reached the winning target scoring 79 for the loss of just one wicket in only 10.1 overs. Anup Revandkar was unbeaten on 37.
Brief scores:
Group – A: MIG Cricket Club: 253/6 in 53 overs (Balkrishna Shirke 80, Kevin D’Almeda 57, Sidharth Chitnis 53*; Sagar Udeshi 3/60) vs Parsee Gymkhana.
Islam Gymkhana: 134 all out in 48 overs ( Hashir Dafedar 42; Atul Singh 3/26) vs Dr. D.Y. Patil SA: 7/0 in 3 overs.
Group – B: Sponsors XI (Jain Irrigation) 76 all out in 24.3 overs (Akshay Girap 5/21, Akbar Khan 4/21) lost to Karnatak Sporting Association: 79 /1 in 10.4 overs (Anup Revandkar 37*). Result: Karnatak Sporting Association won by 9 wickets.
Cricket Club of India: 280/9 in 53 overs (Shashikant Kadam 49, Paul Valthaty 46, Sachin Yadav 40, Aniket Redkar 39, Nikhil Patil (Jr.) 36; Rohan Raje 3/51) vs Payyade SC.
Group – C: Mumbai Police: 338/3 in 62 overs (Harsh Tank 182 (Min. 186, Balls-147, 26×4, 5×6), Swapnil Pradhan 112 (Min. 217, Balls-154, 12×4); Sujit Haravi 3/49 ) vs P.J. Hindu Gymkhana.
MCA Colts: 266/6 in 66 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 81, Pranay Memon 56, Aakash Anand 39, Shams Mulani 30; Yogesh Sutar 4/37) vs Bombay Gymkhana.