08 February,2017 08:18 AM IST | | Binaisha M Surti
Al-Barkaat pacer Anas Malik's 7 for 31 helps bowl out IES VN Sule Guruji for paltry 86 on Day One of Giles Shield Elite Division final at MCA-BKC
Right-arm pacer Anas Malik's exceptional spell of 7 for 31 helped Al-Barkaat MMI English School (Kurla) claim Day One honours against IES VN Sule Guruji School (Dadar) in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA)-organised Giles Shield Elite Division final at the Mumbai Cricket Association-Bandra Kurla Complex ground yesterday.
The Dadar outfit were bowled out for a paltry 86 in 40 overs in their first innings. IES VN Sule Guruji did not make use of the batting conditions after winning the toss and missed the services of their in-form batsman Vedprakash Jaiswal, who is in Rajkot, representing the Mumbai under-14 team against Saurashtra.
Tight line
Anas bowled a great line and length to cause havoc in the opposition camp. Yash Rajan top-scored for his side with 35. At one stage, IES were reeling at 39-6 in 16.4 overs. Harsh Salunkhe (0) was the first to be dismissed by Malik after being caught behind by wicketkeeper Adil Khan. Tanay Khandeshi was trapped leg before wicket without opening his account as well. Aman Khan and Mahin Chopra were bowled by Anas for four and two respectively. Atharva Bhosale perished after scoring a mere two while Yash Kohli was bowled for a golden duck. Anas' seventh victim was Roshan Kunchikurve who was bowled for 12.
Clearly, nothing went as per plan for VN Guruji and Al-Barkaat didn't take long to take the upper hand.
Apart from being lethal, Anas and his fellow bowlers did not give the opposition any easy runs and the bowlers were well supported by a good fielding effort.
In reply, the Kurla team looked to chase down the total quickly and lost three wickets for 21 at one stage. However, Ankit Yadav stood like a wall for his side and remained unbeaten on 76 while Anas was unbeaten on two. Al-Barkaat ended the day with 118-5 in 46 overs.
Atharva claims three
IES VN Sule Guruji's left-arm spinner Atharva Bhosale was the pick of the bowlers with 3-29 in 22 overs. He claimed the wickets of Jeevan Karlekar (7), Harshvardhan Panday (20) and Owais Shaikh (8).
The remaining Al-Barkaat batsmen have their task cut out to go well beyond their 31-run lead on the second day.
Former Test all-rounder Karsan Ghavri was chief guest at the opening ceremony while Nawab Malik, the trustee of Al-Barkaat, was Guest of Honour. "All great players from Mumbai played the Harris and Giles Shield and made their mark in international cricket. When you get an opportunity, you should grab it and move up the ladder," Ghavri told the kids.
