Skipper Akshay Powale smashes a 55ball ton in the semis to continue his form in the T20 Inter Club Tournament ‘18

Played between Khar Gymkhana and Chembur Gymkhana at the Khar Gymkhana Ground, Khar boys won the toss and rightly elected to bat first considering their strong batting line up and as well as their in-form skipper to make a big 1^st innings total and put the opposition under pressure.

Their decision to bat first was completely spot on as this time skipper as well as their in-form opener Akshay who was already scoring quick fifties this time converted his fifty into a thumping hundred scoring 109 off mere 55 deliveries at the top of the order. Playing at a strike rate of almost 200, Akshay did not spare any bowler smashing 9fours and 10 sixes in almost every corner of the ground. The rest of the batsman batted around him scoring 20’s to take the team total to 202/6 in 20 overs which is anyday a good score to defend. Suraj Lalwani and Saurabh Singh were the pick of the bowlers taking 2wkts each.

Chasing a score of 200+ is always a difficult task in T20’s but Chembur Gymkhana gave a serious tough fight despite losing wickets early. All-rounders at the middle order Suraj lalwani(50 off 25b) and Saurabh Singh (73 off 47b) gave their best stitching a 100+ runs stand between themselves taking their team almost towards the victory line. Chembur Gymkhana fell just 10runs short as they managed to score 192/9 in 20 overs. Ritesh Dubey who took 3wkts in one over was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the bowler also did a fabulous job. Khar Gymkhana won the semi-finals by 10 runs and skipper Powale received his back to back ‘man of the match’ award propelling his team towards the finals.

CRICKETGRAPH