Captain and left-handed opening bat Vikrant Auti’s solid unbeaten century knock 115 runs (59 balls, 15x4s, 3x6s) powered Parsee Gymkhana to a fighting 6-wicket victory against Marwari Cricket Club in an exciting first-round match of the 72nd Salar Jung Invitation T20 Cricket Tournament, organised by Islam Gymkhana under the auspices of the Mumbai Cricket Association, and played at the Parsee Gymkhana ground.
Number 3 batsman Nikhil Patil also played a key role smashing a quick 17-ball 54 runs (2x4s,6x6s) and helped Parsee Gymkhana surpass the winning target reaching 219 for 4 wickets in 19.3 overs. Earlier, Marwari CC batted positively and with major contributions from Akash Parkar’s unbeaten 93 runs (45 balls, 12x4s,3x6s), and Shreeraj Gharat’s 86 runs (49 balls, 6x4s, 4x6s) amassed a challenging total of 216 for 3 wickets from their stipulated 20 overs. Aquib Qureshi (2/31) was Parsee Gym’s most successful bowler.
In another first-round encounter, Souvenir Cricket Club defeated United Friends SC by a convincing 9 wickets. Souvenir CC deciding to field first bowled well to dismiss United Friends for a low total of 125 runs in 17 overs. Middle-order batter Omkar Ghule was United Friends top-scorer with 43 runs (23 balls, 4x4s,3x6s), while Irfan Umair (4/19), Atif Attarwala (2/16), and Raunaq Sharma (2/24) shared the wickets. In reply, Souvenir CC scored 127 for the loss of just one wicket in 13 overs. Opener Kevin D’Almeida 74 runs (43 balls, 10x4s,2x6s), and Gaurav Jathar 35 runs (29 balls, 3x4s,1x6s) steered Souvenir to a fluent win.
Brief scores: Bohra Cricket Club 166 for 5 wickets, 20 overs (Gandhar Bhatawadekar 60, Omkar Patni 35; Anuj Bhosle 3/34, Kartik Savla 2/37) beat Young Friends SC 142 for 9 wickets, 20 overs (Adarsh Upadhyay 46; Om Padiyal 3/21, Vinay Shukla 2/24). Result: Bohra CC won by 24 runs.
United Friends SC 125 all out, 17 overs (Omkar Ghule 43; Irfan Umair 4/19, Atif Attarwala 2/16, Raunaq Sharma 2/24) lost to Souvenir CC 127 for 1 wicket, 13 overs (Kevin D’Almeida 74, Gaurav Jathar 35; Ayan Shaikh 1/18). Result: Souvenir CC won by 9 wickets.
Marwari CC 216 for 3 wickets, 20 overs (Akash Parkar 93*, Shreeraj Gharat 86; Aquib Qureshi 2/31) lost to Parsee Gymkhana 219 for 4 wickets, 19.3 overs (Vikrant Auti 115*, Nikhil Patil 54; Akash Parkar 1/48). Result: Parsee Gymkhana won by 6 wickets.