Parsee Gym, Payyade SC enter final

Parsee Gym pacer Tushar Deshpande celebrates after dismissing Police Gym’s Anup Fulper at MIG, Bandra, yesterday. Pic/Sameer Marakande

Riding on some extraordinary batting performances and some equally good bowling, Parsee Gymkhana beat Police Gymkhana by 14 runs in the first semi-final of the Padmakar Talim Shield (T20) tournament at MIG Cricket Club in Bandra on Tuesday.

After being put in to bat, Parsee Gym posted a mammoth 208-5 in their 20 overs thanks mainly to Vikrant Auti (35-ball 49) and Parag Khanapurkar's 23-ball 47 (5x6, 2x4). Left-arm pacer Yogesh Jagtap and left-arm spinner Pushkaraj Chavan claimed two wickets each for the cops. In reply, opener Kaustubh Pawar gave the policemen a good start, scoring a 38-ball 62, but that was not enough as the team finished on 194-7. Parsee Gym pacer Tushar Deshpande (4-0-16-1) bowled a fiery spell and was ably assisted by pacers Anjadeep Lad (3-50), Siddharth Raut (2-42) and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (1-42). Deshpande, who was a net bowler for IPL-14 champions Chennai Super Kings in the UAE, credited his good show to CSK skipper MS Dhoni's guidance.

"Bowling in the CSK nets was a great opportunity and was a huge learning. He [Dhoni] told me to back my strengths. Mahi bhai told me that the ability to adapt quickly in different and difficult situations is the key to success. He encouraged me to bowl both yorkers and bouncers during match simulations and in the nets," Deshpande told mid-day.

In the second semi-final, Payyade SC beat hosts MIG CC by three wickets, thanks to an all-round performance by leg-spinner Pradeep Sahoo. Batting first, Siddharth Chitnis made a 39-ball 45 as MIG CC posted 152-7. For Payyade, left-arm pacer Atif Attarwala and Sahoo claimed three and two wickets respectively.

In reply, MIG's left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar (3-25) and pacer Harsh Tanna (2-31) tried hard, but Sahoo's 27-ball 41 (1x4, 3x6), Siddhesh Lad's 13-ball 29 and Rohan Raje's unbeaten 23 off 15 helped Payyade emerge comfortable winners.