Elf ride home on Rane8217;s knock

MUMBAI, MARCH 21: Wicket-keeper batsman Amol Rane smashed a resolute 76 to guide Elf Lubricants to a comfortable six-wicket win over Sun Grace Mafatlal in the Times Shield A Division cricket final at the Wankhede Stadium today.Set a target of 224 on the last day, Elf cruised to the total, ten minutes before tea, for their maiden Shield title.

Sun Grace8217;s nightmare began soon as they entered the field. Opener Maroof Khan clobbered medium-pacer Mandar Gokarna for 21 runs in the very first over. This included three hits to the fence and a big one over the long on boundary. 8220;It was pre-planned,8221; revealed skipper Jatin Paranjpe after the match. 8220;The initial onslaught helped in easing the pressure for rest of the day.8221; Elf had to reach the target for a drawn match would have handed the trophy to Sun Grace, who had managed a slender first innings lead of 20.The departure of a rampaging Maroof 32 off 38 balls brought on regular opener Amol Rane to the crease. 8220;It has been my dream to score well in the TimesShield final and I lived it today,8221; said a relieved Rane of his marathon innings which lasted almost three hours and included nine boundaries and a six. It was for the second time that Rane had come in to bat at No 3, that too at the same venue. The last time he did that was in a Harris Shield final, when he made a double-hundred for Shardashram.

8220;I would have loved to get a hundred today but I guess that was not to be,8221; said the 21-year-old who was castled while defending a Rajesh Pawar delivery off the backfoot. The ball take the inside edge and run on to the stumps.

First innings top scorer Sairaj Bahutule chipped in with a 30 before Amol Muzumdar 25: 45b, 4215;4 and Paranjpe 33: 37b, 3215;4 took over. Both remained unbeaten as Muzumdar ended the match with a boundary.

Sun Grace skipper Rohan Gavaskar looked disappointed but said he was happy to have made the final. 8220;A total of 223 was never an easy one to defend but I am happy with the way the boys fought till the end.8221;

Scoreboard

SunGrace 1st innings: 274

Elf Lubricants 1st innings: 254

Sun Grace 2nd innings: 203

Elf Lubricants 2nd innings, overnight 1-0: Maroof Khan c Gavaskar b Pawar 32, Paras Mhambrey c Pagnis b Gavaskar 18, Amol Rane b Pawar 76, Sairaj Bahutule c Sugwekar b Raju 30, Amol Muzumdar not out 25, Jatin Paranjpe not out 33. Extras 4b, 4lb, 1w, 4nb: 13. Total for four wickets in 74.5 overs 227.

Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-62, 3-160, 4-168.

Bowling: Z Khan 6-1-21-0, Raju 25-5-54-1, Gokarna 1-0-21-0, Pawar 19-4-65-2, Gavaskar 10-1-26-1, I Khan 15-5-24-0, Morris 1-0-2-0, Sugwekar 0.5-5-0.

Umpires: Suresh Shastri, CS Lalaji.

Results: Elf won by six wickets.