Mumbai: Al Barkaat MMI English school set up a pulsating final with defending champions Anjuman-I-Islam Allana English School at Wankhede Stadium. The Kurla school pulled off an improbable chase of 290 and won the semifinal by five wickets in the Dream Sports MSSA Harris Shield U-16 Inter-school Cricket Tournament at DY Patil Stadium, Nerul, on Thursday.
General Education Academy Chembur enjoyed the edge in the first two days by taking 25 runs first innings lead and then making 264 for 6 in the allotted 40 overs in their second innings. Aarush Kolhe scored 105 runs in 82 balls while Ayush Kumar contributed 61 runs. Hardik Kumar snapped three wickets.
The chase seemed a tough ask in 40 overs, the way Al Barkaat had batted in the first innings, managing 170 runs all out. However, they approached the chase with a fearless attitude. Ishaan Pathak led the way with 132 in just 88 balls, and Hardik Kumar took the team to victory. Pathak stood out with a great batting display under pressure, striking a balance between caution and aggression. He hit 15 fours and six maximums in his match-winning knock. Jai Gupta (42), Pradnyankur Bhalerao (39), Arhan, and Hardik chipped in with crucial knocks.
"We were confident to chase whatever target was given to us. I played every ball on merit and tried to implement things that my coach said in the morning," said Ishan, who has represented Mumbai at the Under-14 level and is currently in the U-16 probables.
"I play for the DY Patil team and know the wicket well. The coaching staff told the guys to stand there, and the wicket will flatten out as the day progresses on the third day. They did the job well in the middle," said bowling coach Sarfaraz Shaikh, who, along with senior coaches Nafees Khan and Javed Khan, helped the Al Barkaat boys to turn tables on Thursday.
The chase was tricky, but Pathak and Arhan calmed nerves with a 114-run stand for the fourth wicket. Later, Hardik Kumar and Jay Gupta took them closer. Al Barkaat needed 24 in 28 balls, and Hardik, who had broken through well on Wednesday to sneak the second wicket, scored a crucial boundary to make it easy. With just two runs required, Jay Gupta went for a glory shot but mistimed a pull shot to be caught by Ayush Kumar at mid-wicket. New batter Mohammed Ali dispatched the first ball straight for the boundary to invite celebrations in the Al Barkaat camp with eight balls to spare.
Anjuman outfit won by three wickets at MIG Cricket Club, thus becoming the second team to enter the final. Chasing down their final innings target, the Anjuman team chased down 130-7 in 33.5 overs. Umar Khute made 48, Yuvraj Bhingare-33 while Aarav Yadav contributed 26 runs. For Dnyandeep, Golu Pal snapped up a fifer (5-56) while Virat Yadav picked 2 wickets. An all-round show ensured Virat won the Man of the Match award.
Nadim Memon- Cricket Secretary of MSSA Shared, “The final of the 129th Harris Shield will be played between Al-Barkaat MMI English School Vs Anjuman I-Islam Allana from 23rd to 25th December 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The standard of cricket has reached a spectacular level with quality games played in true sportsmanship spirit. During the semis, the games were of 80-80, 40-40 overs. The boys played at a World Cup venue-DY Patil, which has outstanding infrastructure and the match went down to the wire. Cricket is a Gentleman’s game, a trademark shown by our U16 boys. The icing on the cake, our Mumbai’s cricketing pride thoroughly enjoyed each playing moment on the field.”
