Champions Parsee Gymkhana bowlers were disciplined lot and held their nerves to register a narrow victory over Dr. D.Y. Patil SA in the opening match of the RFS Talyarkhan Memorial Invitational T20 Cricket Tournament played under floodlights at the Bombay Gymkhana ground on Tuesday night.
Put into bat first, Parsee Gymkhana rustled up a score of 166 for seven and then their bowlers with a determined showing restricted D.Y. Patil Sports Academy to 161 for 8.
The eight team tournament will feature hosts Bombay Gymkhana Ltd, Cricket Club of India, D Y Patil Sports Academy, Islam Gymkhana, MCA Colts, Police Gymkhana, P J Hindu Gymkhana and Parsee Gymkhana with the final scheduled for April 22.
Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani was the mainstay among the Parsee Gymkhana batsmen producing a fine knock of 78 which included three sixes and seven boundaries. Sagar Chhabria with an unbeaten effort of 38 runs provided the necessary support. Prince Badiani with 3 for 29 did the star turn for Patil Academy.
In their reply, despite a heroic effort of Aman Khan who scored 70 runs which comprised four sixes and eight boundaries, the other batsmen caved in against the bowlers Sylvester D'Souza, Sagar Jadhav, Zaid Patankar and Ayush Vartak who claimed two wickets apiece to bowl Parsee Gymkhana to a memorable win.
Brief scores: Parsee Gymkhana 166 for 7, 20 overs (Shams Mulani 78 (51-balls, 7x4,3x6), Sagar Chhabria 38; Prince Badiani 3/29, Umar Khan 2/21) beat Dr. D.Y. Patil SA 161 for 8, 20 overs (Aman Khan 70 (34-balls, 8x4,4x6); Sylvester D'Souza 3/20, Sagar Jadhav 2/27, Ayush Vartak 2/49, Zaid Patankar 2/21). Result: Parsee Gymkhana won by 5 runs.
