Mitsui Shoji Cup S-F 1: Akshay Darekar’s five-for books finale ticket for Ghatkopar Jets
Venue: Police Gymkhana
A superb 88* from Sarvesh Damle followed by an exceptional bowling performance by Akshay Darekar powered Ghatkopar Jets into the Grand Finale of Mitsui Shoji Cup, defeating Shivai Park Warriors by 7 runs in the semi-final. Akshay has been former India A and Maharashtra Ranji player and stamped his class when his team needed him the most. In a tournament where top Mumbai players play with ex-Ranji players, both teams had everything to play for in this all important semi-final.
Shivaji Park Warriors won the toss and elected to field first. The decision proved to be correct till the 6th over was in progress as they were able to send back 3 of the top 4 Ghatkopar batsmen with only 44 on the board. But No. 3 Sarvesh Damle and No. 5 Yogesh Pawar not only steadied the ship for Ghatkopar but also maintained a good scoring rate, adding 81 runs in the process. Yogesh played his part with a 30 ball 37. Sarvesh continued his superlative form and smashed Shivaji Park bowlers to all corners of the ground. He remained not out on 88 (55 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) while Ghatkopar finished the innings on 161.
As many as 8 bowlers were used by Shivaji Park, but none apart from Yogesh Dicholkar was able to contain the batsmen. He returned with a couple of wickets to his name.
162 is a challenging score especially when the semi-final pressure is on. But Warriors were off to a flying start with Shashank going hammer and tongs after the bowlers, scoring 23 runs off just 11 balls. But he was out in the 4th over off the bowling of Akshay. Shashank’s dismissal triggered a collapse as Warriors kept losing wickets at regular intervals and there was not a single big partnership in the innings, highest being 37 for the 4th wicket between Pankaj and Bhavin. Bhavin was the top scorer with 47.
Ghatkopar bowlers, led by Akshay kept their cool and despite Warriors keeping up with the required rate, managed to pull it off eventually winning by 7 runs. Ashish More was the other destructor, capturing 4 wickets. Akshay for his superb bowling display was adjudged man of the match.
Brief Scores:
Ghatkopar Jets: 161/4 in 20 overs (Sarvesh 88*, Yogesh 37, Yogesh Dicholkar 2/14)
Shivaji Park Warriors: 154/9 in 20 overs (Bhavin 47, Shashank 23, Akshay 5/21, 4/25)
Match Report by:
Sumanyu Jain
Regional Manager & Editor @CricketGraph