Axis Mutual Fund starts off its Corporate Cricket campaign in style at the back of Anil Ronanki’s superb all-round display

Axis Mutual Fund returned to Corporate Cricket with a bang. In the Falcon T20 Cricket League 2023 held at the 40+ Belapur Sports Association Cricket Ground, Navi Mumbai, they beat Atmosphere Aces by 4 Wickets in a thriller.

Winning the Toss, Atmosphere chose to Bat on what looked like a flat pitch. Axis received its first setback when opening bowler Ravi Sahu had to leave the field after his first Over, sustaining a painful blow on his hand trying to stop a fierce drive.

Opening batsman Zeeshan Mirajkar played some exquisite shots to ensure a swift start, with 57 off 41 Balls (9 Fours, 1 Six). Sagar Shivkar (29 n.o. off 29 Balls) held the innings together towards the end.

For Axis, Nikesh Tripathi bowled well to stem the flow of Runs by picking up a couple of crucial Wickets. And a brilliant spell of 4-0-24-3 from ⁨Anil Ronanki seized the initiative from Atmosphere.

At 99/4 in 11 Overs, Atmosphere were looking good to post a score in excess of 200. But some excellent death bowling by Skipper Ajish Abdul Rehman (the most economical spell of the Match – 20 Runs in 4 Overs) choked their batsmen during their quest to score quickly, as they ended up scoring 160/7 in their allocated 20 Overs.

With the Required Run Rate climbing up, some lusty hitting by Anil (a couple of hits landed beyond the Railway tracks), with some elegant Shots to go with them, changed the course of the Match. His quickfire 37 came off just 12 Balls (2 Fours & 4 Sixes).

For Atmosphere, Yogesh Ghuge (4-1-21-1) and Mayur Tare (2 Wickets) were the pick of the Bowlers.

But with 73 needed from 54 Balls, it was a brilliant display of skill & planning from Vice-captain ⁨Vipul Tripathi⁩. His unbeaten 34 off 21 Balls (1 Four & 2 Sixes) included some clean shots. Useful hits from ⁨Anoop Nair and ⁨Rajesh Yadav provided the much-needed support.

Anil was awarded the Man-of-the-Match Award for his outstanding all-round performance that also included 3 good Catches.

Overall, a great Team performance was on display from Axis Mutual Fund. They play their next League Match on the 11th.