Jaffer steals show

There was a mini recovery by left-hander Kiran Pawar (26) and Anand Yalvigi (32). Both carried the total from ten to 64. Thereafter, Karnatak lost three more wickets for the addition of 17 runs.

However, the eighth wicket pair of Suresh Shetty (46) and Yalvigi added an invaluable 48 runs and helped their side to reach the 150 mark. Off-spinner Sandeep Mahadkar was the most impressive bowler with 3 for 28. Left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni captured two wickets for 24.

National’s openers Wasim Jaffer and Sameer Apte gave their side asound start by putting on 119 runs, before Apte was out for 46 (92b, 6×4). Jaffer’s 81 off 90 balls were studded with 12 fours.

The winners received a cash prize of Rs 25,000, while the runners-up collected 15,000.

This was the third title triumph for National, who had earlier bagged the Purshottam Shield and Comrade Shield.

Brief scores: Karnatak SA 153 in 44.5 overs (Kiran Powar 26, Anand Yalviji 32, Suresh Shetty 46, Anthony Dias 22; Sandeep Mahadkar 3-28, Nilesh Kulkarni 2-24) lost to National CC 157-2 in 35 overs (Wasim Jaffer 81 n.o., Sameer Apte 46).

Mahindras champs

In an exciting final that lasted till the last ball, Mahindra and Mahindra notched a thrilling three-run win over Tatas to claim the Wills Merchant Cup.

In the seven-a-side cricket final at the Bombay Gymkhana ground today, Tatas chasing a total of 62 in five overs, could manage to score 59 runs in five overs. Manoj Joglekar, Man of the Tournament, contributed 25 (11b, 5×4). Jagdish Shetty took 2 for eightruns.

Earlier, Mahindras scored 61 for three in the allotted five overs. Maroof Khan scored 21 in nine balls with four hits to the ropes.

Mahindras beat Wills XI in the semi-finals, while Tatas defeated Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers to enter the final.

In all there were nine teams divided into three groups and played on league-cum-knock-out basis. Tatas, RCF and Wills entered the last four by topping their respective groups, while Mahindras made the semi-finals from losing teams as they had a better quotient.

The winners received a cash prize of Rs 18,000, while the runners-up collected Rs 9,000. The best batsman prize was awarded to Deep Jaywant, while the bowling prize went to Himanshu Waigankar and the best fielder award was bagged by Manoj Joglekar. Each received a cash prize of Rs 3,000.

Brief scores: semi-finals: RCF 48-2 in 5 overs lost to Tatas 52-1 in 4.1 overs (Manoj Joglekar 28 n.o.). Wills XI 64 for 2 in 5 overs (Jatin Paranjpe 31) lost to Mahindras 65-2 in 4.1 overs (MaroofKhan 25, Deep Jaywant 29 n.o.).

Final: Mahindras 61-3 in 5 overs (Maroof Khan 21) bt Tatas 58 in 5 overs (Manoj Joglekar 25; Jagdhish Shetty 2-8).