Skipper Pushkar Sharma’s all-round show takes Shivaji Park Youngstar SC to a win in the Cosmopolitan Shield 2018-19

It was Skipper Pushkar Sharma all the way against Bandra Gymkhana at the picturesque Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana in Kandivail on the 9th of December, 2018.

Winning the Toss on a slightly damp Pitch, Shivaji Park Youngstars elected to Field first. Pushkar justified his own decision by breaking the backbone of Bandra Gymkhana with an impressive spell of swing bowling coming up with bowling figures of 9-3-22-4 (Economy: 2.44) opening the Bowling. He was ably supported by miserly spells from his Teammates Chandan Gaud and Ajay Pande to ensure that the opposition were all out for 129 in 34.1 overs in the 45 over Match.

While chasing, Pushkar, Opening the innings came out and blasted a magnificent unbeaten 90* off just 49 Balls that consisted of 5 Sixes and 9 Fours. The Innings was a treat to the eyes with some stylish strokeplay from the classy left-hander. Pushkar was in an aggressive mood right from the go ensuring they reached the target of 130 without any loss in just 16.2 Overs. He seemed to be in a different zone at a strike rate of 183.7, where the other 12 who batted in the match had a combined strike rate of 60.6.

Just a Week ago at Navroz Ground (Azad Maidan) against Lord North Brook, we had seen a similar All-round performance from Pushkar. After restricting the opponents to a mere 135/9 off the allotted 45 overs, Shivaji Park Youngsters had chased it down in 23.2 Overs with 6 Wickets to spare. Again, his tight Spell of 8-2-15-1 at 1.88 Runs per over was instrumental in his Team’s great performance. There too,  Pushkar had scored a crucial 41 off 35 balls. Another All-round performance in the same match was from Dashrath Chavan who had earned the Man of the Match Award.

Coming back to the present, it was befetting that Pushkar Sharma received the Man of the Match Trophy from Mr. Prakash M Kelkar, Secretary of Shivaji Park Youngstar Sports Club and somebody who had helped him immensely, and continues to do so in his Cricketing journey. Kelkar Sir, as he fondly calls him, had helped him a lot financially as well when he did not have any other means. Many of his Cricketing equipments were gifted by Mr. Kelkar.

Pushkar also expressed his deep gratitude towards his Employer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance, for providing him with a Job opportunity a few months ago. The elegant left-hander said that the Job has helped him grow both personally as well as professionally, apart from providing a means to sustain himself and his family in this City.

The win also takes Shivaji Park Youngstar SC to the Top 16 in the Cosmopolitan Shield 2018-19