Agni continues form while 50”s by Abhishek, Bhupen, Japjeet and Nikhil steer SRT XI to a semis win in the U23 Madhav Mantri Tournament ‘18

By CricketGraph Editor Last updated May 26, 2018

Played at the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana in Kandivali, two really balanced and talented teams namely Sunil Gavaskar XI and SRT XI took on each other with Gavaskar XI team winning the toss and electing to bat first on a track which has been assistive for the batsman.

**All-rounder Dhrumil Matkar who scored a fantastic 76 while also took 4wkts**

S.Gavaskar XI batting first scored 235/10 in 67overs despite suffering some early jolts when they were struggling on 4/39 at one point. Right-handers Vaibhav Patil and left handed Dhrumil Matkar stitched a crucial 162run stand for the 5^th wkt which saved them from an embarrassingly low total. While Vaibhav scored a solid 84 off 154balls (14fours) which looked quite composed, Dhrumil on the other hand scored a well time 89 off 95balls (12fours, 1six) keeping the scoreboard ticking. From the bowlers, medium pacer Shahid Khan was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/40 in 18overs. On the other hand, SRT XI made 263/10 in their 1^st innings as most of the batsmen were able to give good starts chipping in with 20’s and 40’s with left-handed Abhishek Srivastav top scoring at no.6 smashing 76 off 94balls laced with 10fours and a six. From the bowlers, all-rounder Dhrumil Matkar was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/57 making it an all-round perfomance.

**Agni Chopra continuing his stellar form with a fine 103 in the 4th innings**

S.Gavaskar XI declared their innings at 270/7 in the 2^nd innings with Agni Chopra who has had a good season and has been amongst the top run getters in this tournament extending his purple patch with the bat hitting a dominating 103 off mere 71balls. Agni was in a different zone and stayed true to his name firing up the bowers with 6fours and 7biggies.

**Japjeet S Randhawa who scored a fifty while chasing**

**Bhupen Lalwani who opened the innings with Japjeet scoring fifty**

Chasing a total of 246, SRT XI were off to a terrific start with their openers Bhupen Lalwani (58 off 148) who has also been in great form and the aggressive Japjeet S Randhawa(59 off 83) smashing fifties which created a positive momentum while chasing while the talented Nikhil Patil anchored the chase with a sublime 71* off 112at the middle order. Abhishek also gave good support to Nikhil with his 103ball 35. SRT XI eventually won the match by 4wkts and it was definitely a good team perfomance where all the boys contributed in their capacity. S.Gavaskar XI did lost the semis but players like Agni chopra have emerged to be a rising talent while Dhrumil also impressed one and all with his all-round show.

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