30 December,2011 08:22 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
Five-wicket hauls by Hansraj Morarji Public's tweakers, Darshan Jain (left-arm spinner) and Zaid Barmare (off-spinner) helped the Andheri school book a semi-final berth with a nine wicket win over Anjuman-I-Islam Allana English (CST) on Day Two of the Giles Shield Elite Division match at Oval Maidan yesterday.
Zaid Barmareu00a0with Darshan Jain.u00a0 Pic/Bipin Kokate
Darshan's 4-28 helped Hansraj bowl out Anjuman for 95 in 44.3 overs in the first innings while in the second, Darshan and Zaid's impressive bowling saw Anjuman being bundled out for a mere 98 runs. Hansraj were all out for 185 in their first innings and later scored the nine runs required to win the match comfortably in 3.3 overs.
Darshan's 5-53 came in 22 overs, while Zaid took his fifer conceding 41 runs in 21.1 overs. The 2007 Giles Shield winners are glad that they made it to the last four stage after a gap of four years.
They will play their semi-final against IES V N Sule Guruji (Dadar), who defeated IES Modern English (Dadar) by an innings and 80 runs at Cross Maidan. Thirteen-year-old Darshan, who has taken 25 wickets in the tournament was not satisfied with the result. He felt that they could have easily registered an outright win over the CST team. "As we had a 90-run lead in the second innings, there was no pressure on us. But we were unable to claim the last two Anjuman wickets on time. I hope we reach the final this year," added the Andheri resident.
While his bowling partner Zaid is glad that their team reached the semis, "In the last four years, we haven't been able to make the semi-final. We want to win the title for our academy director Chandrakant Pandit Sir," he said.
Hansraj coach Amit Vengurlekar was confident of pulling off a win against any opposition. "It's been a while since we won the Giles Shield Elite Division title. But I'm confident that these guys can win this season."
