Hindu Gym, John Bright make winning starts In Rathod Cup: Jagdale, Lalwani, Juned and Pokhare the Top Performers

Mumbai, April 11: The collective efforts of middle order batsmen Vishwajit Jagdale 78 runs and Utkarsh Raut 70 runs and Juned Khan’s brilliant spell of 5 wickets for 11 runs were the highlights of P.J. Hindu Gymkhana’s convincing 59-run victory against Mumbai Police Gymkhana in a first round match of the John Bright CC organised MCA Rathod Trophy Under-25 Invitation T20 knockout cricket tournament 2022-2023, played at the Police Gymkhana ground on Tuesday.

In another match, hosts John Bright CC overcame a solid fight from Bombay Gymkhana and managed to snatch a tight 13-run win at the latter’s ground. Batting first John Bright scored 201 runs for 5 wickets from their 20 overs. Openers Meer Rizvi 55 runs and Arman Jaffer 46 runs and later Omkar Malekar 51 runs lifted the John Bright innings. Later, Bombay Gymkhana was restricted to 188 for 5 wickets in 20 overs. Only the two opening batsmen Bhupen Lalwani who smashed an unbeaten 84 runs and Akash Savla 66 runs kept them in the chase, but the other batsmen failed to support the top two batters.

Meanwhile, Hindu Gymkhana after losing three quick wickets initially recovered well with Jagdale and Raut putting the inning back on track and taking them to mammoth total of 223 for 5 wickets from their stipulated 20 overs. Mumbai Police Gymkhana batsmen struggled to get going as found Juned Khan’s pace too hot to handle and lost wickets at regular intervals and their innings closed at 164 all out in 19.2 overs. Akash Parmar 34 runs, Aradhya Shinde 30 runs and Akash Kharvi 29 runs were Mumbai Police best scorers. Juned Khan received good support from Amanullah Manihar 2 for 23 and Yogesh Dongre 2 for 35 which helped clinch the big win.

In other matches, Parsee Gymkhana defeated Bharat CC by 5 wickets and Shivaji Park Gymkhana recorded a 7-wicket win against Dr. D.Y. Patil SA.

Brief scores: Bharat CC 148 for 6, 20 overs (Rupesh Borate 37; Sylvester D’Souza 2 for 25) lost to Parsee Gymkhana 151 for 5, 19.5 overs (Rushikesh More 51*, Saksham Parashar 33*, Yash Singh 33; Vighnesh Solanki 3 for 15). Result: Parsee Gymkhana won by 5 wickets.

P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 223 for 5, 20 overs (Vishwajit Jagdale 78, Utkarsh Raut 70, Akash Malbari 37; Akash Sharma 2 for 32) beat Mumbai Police Gymkhana 164 all out, 19.2 overs (Akash Parmar 34, Aradhya Shinde 30, Akash Kharvi 29; Juned Khan 5 for 11, Amanullah Manihar 2 for 23, Yogesh Dongre 2 for 35). Result: Hindu Gymkhana won by 59 runs.

John Bright CC 201 for 5, 20 overs (Meer Rizvi 55, Omkar Malekar 51, Arman Jaffer 46; Bhushan Kastur 2 for 24, Mayur Barade 2 for 26) beat Bombay Gymkhana 188 for 5, 20 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 84*, Akash Savla 66). Result: John Bright CC won by 13 runs.

Dr. D.Y. Patil SA 161 for 9, 20 overs (Hitesh Chauhan 69; Satyam Chaudhary 3 for 31, Sumit Markali 2 for 35) lost to Shivaji Park Gymkhana 166 for 3, 20 overs (Jayesh Pokhare 72*, Manal Kawle 34*; Himanshu Choudhary 2 for 16). Result: Shivaji Park Gymkhana won by 7 wickets.