Mumbai U-16 boys clinch Vijay Merchant Trophy with dominant show

The Mumbai U-16 boys with the winner’s trophy in Rajkot on Wednesday

Exactly a week ago, a Riya Thakur-led Mumbai side beat Maharashtra by three wickets in the Women's U-15 One Day Trophy final in Puducherry on January 21.

And on Wednesday, Mumbai's U-16 boys replicated the same performance, beating arch-rivals Maharashtra by virtue of a first innings lead in the decider to clinch the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy in Rajkot.

Opting to bat first, the Maharashtra boys scored 381 all out in the first innings with Kshitij Yede and Neel Chandratre scoring 117 and 85 respectively.

For Mumbai, pacer Karthik Kumar claimed 4-106.

In reply, Mumbai posted 494 all out, thanks to Arjun Gadoya (105), skipper Aayush Shete (95) and wicketkeeper-batter Aakash Mangde (76). In the second essay, Maharashtra opener Eknath Devade and one-drop Prajwal More fought well scoring 101 and 90 respectively.

However, the match ended in a draw with Maharashtra 203-5 at stumps on the fourth and final day and Mumbai emerged winners on the basis of their first-innings lead.

"It's a complete team effort as everyone contributed throughout the tournament," Mumbai U-16 coach Nilesh Masurkar told mid-day from Rajkot on Wednesday.

"The bowlers brilliantly shouldered their responsibilities across different games. In the batting department too, we scored heavily. Our batters scored 600 and 500-plus scores against Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Overall, we showcased total dominance and confidence and that helped us win this trophy," added Masurkar.