Lavande, Bais steer Tata’s to MCA Corporate ‘A’ Div title

Mumbai, April 24: Dashing opener Varun Lavande’s cracked a feisty 30-ball 76 runs (7×4,6×6) and No.3 bat Anand  Bais smashed a composed unbeaten 43-ball 76 runs (7×4,5×6) and steered Tata Sports Club to a convincing 8-wicket victory against Dr. D.Y. Patil SA in the MCA Corporate Trophy ‘A’ Division final, played at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana ground, Marine Drive on Monday evening.

Chasing a challenging target of 182 runs, Tata SC lost opener Aakarshit Gomel cheaply and with only 23 runs on the board. But, Lavande and Bais took the fight to the rivals and stitched together a match-winning second wicket partnership of 126 runs from 66 balls to put their team on the road to victory. Lavande’s 69 minutes stay in the middle was studded with seven boundaries and well-timed sixes, while Bais who batted sedately initially, but later was aggressive smashed seven hits to the ropes and five powerful sixes which ensured Tata’s SC easily crossed the finish line reaching 182 for 2 wickets with plenty to spare. D.Y. Patil ledt-arm medium pacer Vipul Krishna claimed both the Tata SC wickets giving away 30 runs.

Earlier, D.Y. Patil who were sent in to bat first, saw their batsmen failed to convert the good starts and make bid contributions and the innings close at 180 for six wickets from their stipulated 20 overs. Ayaz Khan 33 runs, Naushad Shaikh 32 runs, Parth Sahani 32 runs and Chinmay Sutar 30 runs were mainly responsible to prop their total. Atif Attarwala 2 for 24 and Mohit Awasthi 2 for 41 were D.Y. Patil’s best bowlers.

Brief scores – A Division (final): Dr. D.Y. Patil SA 180 for 6 wickets, 20 overs (Ayaz Khan 33, Naushad Shaikh 32, Parth Sahani 32, Chinmay Sutar 30; Atif Attarwala 2 for 24, Mohit Awasthi 2 for 41) lost to Tata Sports Club 182 for 2 wickets, 14.3 overs (Varun Lavande 76 (30-balls, 7×4,6×6), Anand  Bais 76* (43-balls, 7×4,5×6); Vipul Krishna 2 for 30). Result: Tata SC won by 8 wickets.