Giles Shield: Neil’s 89 helps Dnyandeep storm into second consecutive final

Neil Naik. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Dnyandeep Seva Mandal (Nerul) entered the final of the Dream Sports-Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Giles Shield inter-school cricket tournament, beating VN Sule Guruji English Medium School (Dadar) on the third and final day of the semi-final at the Parsee Gymkhana, on Wednesday.

Dnyandeep sealed the contest by virtue of a first-innings lead of 109 runs, marking their second consecutive Giles Shield final. On the third day, Dnyandeep posted 218 for 7 in the allotted 40 overs. Neil Naik (89 runs off 110 balls) anchored the innings, striking 11 boundaries. He got good support from Lavish Singh (66 off 76).

Jay Mhatre (3-16) was the pick of the bowlers for VN Sule. He was well supported by Aaradhya Kadam (2-15) and Sparsh Palhkude (2-25). In response, VN Sule were restricted to 149-7. Devang Koli (63 not out) top-scored for them. For Dnyandeep, Atharv Kalel (2-17) and Aryan Chauhan (2-17) stood out for their performances with ball.