Atharva Desai’s classy 98 & Shivam’s 73 steers Vighnesh Sports Academy to a Quarter Final Win in the Kalyan Premier League

Mulund Gymkhana & Vighnesh Sports Academy clashed for the all important quarter finals at the Santosh Sports Academy (Ground), Kalyan Thane. Vighnesh Sports Academy won the toss & elected to bat first & make the most of the pitch conditions to post a big total on the board. Since both the teams were equally strong, a tough competition was bound to happen.

Batting first, they were off to a tricky start with Aarya (opener) & Kabsh (no.3) out for 26 & 18 respectively. However, it was their opener Atharva desai who led from the front and scored a magnificent 98 for his team. He was just 2 runs short of what could have been a great century. Atharva smashed 98 off just 97 balls and smashed 17 boundaries in it. Atharva did not indulge in rash shots but smashed the loose balls for boundaries when they were needed & kept the scorecard ticking maintaining a strike rate of almost above 100. Apart from him, it was Shivam kumar who also played well for his 31 ball 73. Shivam completely outclassed the bowlers and dominated like a pro smashing 5 sixes & 9fours in his 31 ball stay at the crease. Swayam Waghmare was the pick of the bowlers for Mulund Gymkhana with bowling figures of 3/26 in his 4 overs followed by 2 wkts for Heramb Kothari who took 2 wkts.

Chasing 276, Mulund Gymkhana which is equally a strong proposition gave a tough fight and just fell short of 8 runs getting all out for 267 in 35 overs. Anuj Sawant & Hrishikesh Gore chipped In with half centuries but the rest of the batsman couldn’t fire. Arya Rane was the pick of the bowlers with bowling figures of 3/49 in 7 overs followed by 2 wkts each for Dhruv, Aryan & Kalash.

Vighnesh Sports Academy won the quarter-finals & opener Atharva Desai was adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his great performance. Cricketgraph wishes the team luck and all the players will certainly move ahead with a lot of confidence in the tournament.