Mumbai: Powered by half century knocks from top order batsmen Mayur Sanap 71 runs and skipper Shrikant Limbole 83 runs, and their third wicket partnership of 140 runs helped Mumbai Police Gymkhana charge to a five-wicket win against hosts Islam Gymkhana in a first round match of the 70th Nawab Salar Jung Invitation T20 Cricket Tournament 2019, organised by the Islam Gymkhana under the auspices of the Mumbai Cricket Association, and played at the Police Gymkhana ground on Saturday.
Limbole after winning the toss decided to field first and his bowlers did a tidy job to restrict Islam Gymkhana to a modest total of 175 for five wickets from their quota of 20 overs. Opening bat Shoaib Khan 41 runs and number 4 bat Hashir Dafedar 43 runs from 24 balls with two fours and three sixes ensured Islam Gymkhana reach a challenging total. For the policemen Faiz Khan picked up 2 wickets for 39 runs.
Mumbai Police began the chase on a dismal note as both the openers Armaan Shaikh and Sunil Patil fell for ducks and with just nine runs on the board. But, number three batsman Sanap who played a responsible innings as his knock came from 66 balls with five hits to the boundary and four sixes while the captain Limbole was more aggressive and took just 39 balls to scores his runs and which was studded with 14 well-timed hits to the ropes and a solitary shot over the fence. The duo were associated in a 140-run partnership for the third wicket which put them on the road to a convincing victory.
In another match, Bombay Gymkhana recorded a seven-wicket win against Bohra Cricketers and played at the Islam Gymkhana. Bohra Cricketers after deciding to bat first, scored 127 for 9 wickets in 20 overs with Sadab Khan top-scoring with 27 runs, while the others who made useful contributions was Swapnil Chavan 20 runs and Nabijaan Ansari unbeaten knock of 20 runs. Bombay Gymkhana easily reached their target making 129 for 3 wickets, in 18 overs. Kaustubh Chalke struck a half century 56 runs and Abhishek Srivastava chipped in with 36 runs and Aryan Hemdev made 29 runs to steer the team to victory.
