Siddharth Gopalkrishnan of DAIS Aces forces a tie against BD Royals

In a high scoring encounter that saw BD Royals and DAIS Aces locking horns against each other at Air India Sports Club, Santacruz, in the ongoing Zooters International Schools Dad’s Tournament, on Sunday, one could not have asked for a better end than a tie. Both the sides looked exceptional in all departments and finally the cliché “May the best team win” was put to rest as both, BD Royals and DAIS Aces were equally good. Batting first, BD Royals posted a challenging score of 166-3 in 20 overs, courtesy a mind blowing opening partnership of 118 runs in 91 balls between Vinay Jain (61 off 59) and  Kumar Adnani (52 off 42). Both these batsmen were timing the ball well and smashing the bowlers all around the park. However the middle perished like a puff of dust and BD Royals had to settle for 166 in 20 overs. Rabindra Jhunjhunwala was the pick of the bowlers for DAIS Aces with 2-20 in his four overs.

Chasing a daunting target of 167, the openers Kalp Parikh (44 off 44) and Siddharth Gopalkrishnan (85 off 59) gave the perfect start to the innings. Gopalkrishnan would have loved to get a century but perished against the run of play. He smacked 10 boundaries and gave a tough time to the bowlers. Out of the nine dismissals, five were run outs, which amplify that DAIS Aces need to get their running between the wickets in place. Rajiv Hingoo and Niraj Dalal picked up two wickets each. DAIS Aces finished off with 166-9 in 20 overs, forcing a tie. B

Both the sides fought hard and in the end the result was justified. For his scintillating knock of 85 runs, Siddharth Gopalkrishnan was awarded as the Man of the Match. Siddharth elucidated, “It’s amazing to play cricket and feels like going back to your school days. The energy levels among the players are astounding and we had a blast playing the match today. My innings right at the top of the order was crucial and I knew I had to play a big one for my team to have an outside chance in the game. The big boundaries meant that we had to run hard between the wickets. My partnership with Kalpesh is what I will cherish a lot ”.