Youngster Atharva Ankolekar stands out with his all-round show as Nanavati wins the finals of Times Shield ‘18

For a young prodigy to deliver in the finals which is full of pressure takes a lot to perform and it certainly tests your skills, resistance level and patience to perform at crunch situations and Times Shield is one such prestigious tournament where teams from different corners of Mumbai come and give their best. It also provides a platform to showcase your skills and get noticed and when you are playing in the finals of such tournament, it is itself a success and a big deal for youngsters like Atharva who delivered with flying colors in the finals.

The finals was played at the MIG CC, Cross Maidan where in Nanavati who have performed brilliantly throughout the tournament had to take on the promising team of Route Mobile. Route Mobile who were batting first were reduced to just 213runs all out in 60.3 overs as Nanavati bowlers did a very nice job. Route Batsman got off to starts but they were not able to convert it into big scores which eventually made them all out for a low total. From Route Mobile, their no.3 batsman Saeed Shaikh was the highest scorer with a hard fought 68 off 124balls. Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar was the pick of the bowler taking 4/55 while Ashish G and Rahul Sawant also bowled well.

Chasing 214, Nanavati boys ensured they chased it down successfully despite a patchy start when they were struggling at 39/4 at one point.  However, their all-rounder Atharva Ankolekar top scored with the bat scoring 73* off 135balls(7fours) which was purely an anchoring knock steering the chase.  Bhushan Shinde also showed his experience with the bat as he also came with a splendid knock of 56 off 79balls and stitching a 104run stand with Atharva.  Eventually, Pratik Panade gave the finishing touch to the chase with his 40* supporting Atharva to win the match by 4wkts.

Team Nanavati lift the Times Shield ‘C’ Div Trophy in a commanding manner and it was surely Atharva who stood out with his all-round brilliance while the entire team including Bhushan Shinde and Pratik Panade gave crucial contributions.

CRICKETGRAPH