Al-Barkaat spinner Rajesh Sardar scalps an astonishing 7-37 while SVIS pacer Suved takes 6-19 as bowlers dominate on Day One of the Giles Shield tournament
Al-Barkaat's Rajesh Sardar and SVIS' Suved Parkar. Pics/Suresh KK
Mumbai: Bowlers hit the right notes while batsmen struggled to find their feet on Day One of the Giles Shield Elite Division semi-final matches at Azad Maidan yesterday.
Al-Barkaat's Rajesh Sardar
Two bowlers — Al-Barkaat MMI's (Kurla) Rajesh Sardar and Suved Parkar of Swami Vivekanand International (Borivli) took seven and six wickets respectively in their semi-final matches. Suved was the day's highest scorer too, with a unbeaten 48 against Don Bosco (Matunga).
Defending champions Al-Barkaat MMI's left-arm spinner Rajesh scalped seven Rizvi Springfield wickets in the first semi-final, giving away a measly 37 runs before the Bandra school were bowled out for 125 runs in 52 overs. At the end of day's play, Al-Barkaat were 61-2 in 15 overs.
For 12-year-old Rajesh, cricket has been admission ticket to Al-Barkaat school. Last year, his coach Digambar Pardale spotted him from one of the maidans in Govandi and took him to Al-Barkaat coach Nafees Khan, who got him admitted to the school. He justified his admission by playing a key role in the team's Giles Shield success last year.
SVIS' Suved Parkar. Pics/Suresh KK
This year, he was a part of the Mumbai U-14 side that emerged the West Zone champions on Tuesday. Rajesh though is hungry for more. "Cricket has given me everything. My parents (Santosh and Tara) are unemployed. My grandmother Sunderbai sells fish in Govandi to run our house.
My aim is to get as many wickets as I can in the tournament. I hope to be part of the Mumbai Ranji team one day," said the Class VI student. Meanwhile, Swami Vivekanand's right arm medium pacer Suved's 6-19 in the second semi-final saw Don Bosco (Matunga) bundled out for 100 in 48.5 overs.
At stumps, Suved was unbeaten on 48 with the Borivli team on 95-2 in 37 overs. Suved is keen to help his school win the title now. "Our school won the Giles title in 2005. After that, we have not even managed to reach the final. This time I hope I can help my team to the title," said the Borivli resident.
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