Pankaj Jaiswal shines for Toyota in the opening match of automotive cricket league

The inaugural match of Automotive Cricket League T20 2018-19 was played between Toyota and Automotive on October 27 at MIG Ground, Bandra, Mumbai. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Automotive restricted Toyota to 160-6 in 20 overs.

Middle order bat Pankaj Jaiswal bludgeoned the Automotive attack as he smashed an unbeaten 71 off 39 striking four boundaries and five sixes. On the other hand, Automotive bowlers had an ordinary day at office, with right arm medium pacer Sachin Sanghvi, being the only anomaly. Sanghvi wrecked havoc as he scalped 3-24 in his four overs and was the most economical bowler. Chasing a respectable target of 161, Automotive was bundled out for 138 in 18 overs, losing the match by 22 runs. Sarthak Gangavane top scored with 38 but failed to find an able ally. Opening the bowling for Toyota, Rahil Shaikh struck 3-37 in his three overs. Jaiswal who had earlier showed his heroics with the bat, rolled his arm over to pick up 2-12 in his two overs and was deservingly adjudged the Man of the Match.

The second match of the day was played between Kathiwada and Yes Bank. It was a lopsided affair as Kathiwada went on to win the match by eight wickets with 12 overs to spare. Yes Bank won the toss and elected to bat first. They were sent packing for a paltry 77 in 18.3 overs, with the highest score coming from the no. 11 batsman Sachin Thakur (18). The bowling of Kathiwada clicked as a team as Harsh Dhadda, Vishal Shah, and Siddharth Kadam grabbed two wickets apiece. Chasing a modest target, the openers of Kathiwada provided a solid start, thanks to Vishal Shah (33) and Ankit Chopra (31). They lost Chopra in an unfortunate run out. Yes Bank bowlers failed to get pass Kathiwada batting and the lone wicket taker in the second innings was Amit Kumar (1-20 in two overs). Vishal Shah won the Man of the Match for his all-round effort.