Ankolekar’s all-round heroics help MIG beat Parsee Gym

MIG CC’s Atharva Ankolekar flicks during his unbeaten 113. Pics/Prakash Parsekar

MIG CC (Bandra, East) did incredible by earning first innings points in the Dr HD Kanga League ‘A' Division on Sunday when they surpassed hosts' Parsee Gymkhana's 227-5 declared at Marine Drive.

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The Bandra team lost their top three batsmen - Harsh Rane (5), Vedant Murkar (0) and Varun Lavande (6) by the fifth over when the scoreboard read 18-3. However, No. 6 Atharva Ankolekar (113 not out, 78 balls, 5x4, 9x6) and No.5 Arjun Dani (62-ball 66, 5x4, 6x6), showed how to chase a big target and ended up with 234-6 declared.

Sandeep Pawar

"When I took guard, I told myself that if we bat till the end, we will win this game. It's a small ground and if the batsmen showed some intent, the chase is not that difficult here. Parsee's bowling attack was challenging as most of the bowlers had Ranji Trophy experience. But I just backed myself and played well," Ankolekar told mid-day.

Raghuvanshi's knock in vain

Put into bat, Parsee Gym amassed 227-5 declared in just 23.5 overs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (42-ball 86, 5×4, 9×6), Vikrant Auti (64 off 51 balls, 4×4, 3×6) and Ishan Mulchandani (29-ball 51) contributing quick half-centuries. For MIG, left-arm spinner Ankolekar claimed 3-58.

It was Parsee Gymkhana's second successive defeat in the Kanga League. With the Mumbai selectors set to pick the team for the upcoming Bapuna Cup (T20) tournament to be held in Nagpur, the contenders played the red-ball Kanga League like the T20 format.

Islam Gymkhana's Kaustubh Pawar, who scored a 100

Meanwhile, at Cross Maidan in the ‘B' Division, hosts United Cricketers registered a convincing win over Young Comrade CC thanks to left-arm spinner Sandeep Pawar's 10-wicket match haul.

Sandeep claims 10-wkt haul

Batting first, Young Comrade were bundled out for 66. Pawar claimed 6-38, while off-spinner Parag Ovhal took two for two before opener Sairaj Mane's 30 helped United post 82 all out. Young Comrade's opener Karan Vasshodia scored 53 in the second innings in the team's score of 90-5 declared in which Pawar claimed 4-35.

In a ‘C' Division game between Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association (PDTSA) and Islam Gymkhana, the Marine Drive team outclassed PDTSA through ex-Mumbai cricketers Kaustubh Pawar (100 not out) and Javed Khan (8 wickets in the match).

Put into bat, PDTSA were bowled out for a mere 55 as Javed (5-15) and Pawar's (4-0) medium pace bowling was too much to cope with. In reply, Pawar's attacking knock and Hersh Tank's unbeaten 53 helped Islam Gym declare at 164-2. The Palghar-Dahanu team showed some resistance in the second essay with Shivram Yadav scoring an unbeaten 66 to prevent an outright defeat, managing 130-8.

Pawar, 32, who is the Mumbai U-16 team's assistant coach, wanted to prove a point too. "Our Mumbai U-16 head coach Sandesh Kawle told me, ‘Perform well in tomorrow's [Sunday's] Kanga League game, which will help you to provide an example.' I too felt that these boys didn't see us while playing, so they don't believe what we did earlier. So I think this will be a good lesson for them on how to play in tough conditions," Pawar remarked.