Laghate lashing for Mumbai

OCTober 24: Maharashtra skipper Kapil Laghate ensured another day of dominance for his side with a superb century under trying circumstan...

OCTober 24: Maharashtra skipper Kapil Laghate ensured another day of dominance for his side with a superb century under trying circumstances at the Wankhede Stadium this afternoon. The 19-year-old bespectacled Laghate single-handedly charted the safety course for Maharashtra on the penultimate day of their West Zone Cooch Behar under-19 contest against Mumbai.

Laghate8217;s chanceless 115 165b, 263m, 16215;4 in the team total of 195 speaks volumes of the lone battle that he waged against Mumbai. Equally commendable was Sayeed Khot8217;s 30: 96b, 112m, 3215;4 resilience as the duo staged a brilliant fightback to snatch the initiative and the vital first innings lead from the opponents.

Resuming the day at 10-2, Maharashtra were up against a fired-up Mumbai. The attack spearheaded by medium-pacer Prathmesh Athavale 4-57 had the visitors by the scruff of their neck. Maharashtra were miserably placed at 44-6, when Sindhudurg lad Khot walked in to join Laghate. From then it was Laghhate versus Mumbai. While Khot wasan able foil in the innings highest stand of 80 for the seventh wicket, Laghate refused to buckle down despite the dismissal of the former. The TYBC student of SP College, Pune was also involved in valuable partnerships of 41 with Aditya Dhawale 7 and 28 with Charudutta Kulkarni 11 which saw Maharashtra surge past the Mumbai first innings tally of 176.

It was Laghate8217;s best display in the tournament besting his 85 against Baroda last season.

At close, Mumbai were 49-2 in their second essay. Quick runs and an early declaration on the concluding day tomorrow would now be Mumbai8217;s menu if they are looking for an outright victory. But paucity of time could well see Mumbai settle for just three points from this encounter while Laghate would well laughing away home with five points in his team8217;s kitty.

Scoreboard

Mumbai 1st innings: 176
Maharashtra 1st innings; overnight 10-2: Amit Kumbhare c Chafe b Athavale 8, Virag Awate lbw b Athavale 0, Narendra Jadhav b Joglekar 4, KashinathKhadkikar b Athavale 9, Kapil Laghate c Athavale b Ganpule 115, Ranjit Kamtekar c Mane b Joglekar 1, Chetan Bhuimber c Manjrekar b Prasad 7, Sayeed Khot c Manjrekar b Athavale 30, Aditya Dhawale lbw b Prasad 7, Charudutta Kulkarni lbw b Ganpule 11, Hrishikesh Shinde not out2; Extras: 1w 1. Total: all out in 74.4 overs 195.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-5, 3-18, 4-29, 5-30, 6-44, 7-124, 8-165, 9-193
Bowling: Gaurang Joglekar 17-7-51-2, Prathmesh Athavale 25-9-57-4, Shakti Prasad 22-5-53-2, Rohan Ganpule 5.4-1-12-2, Onkar Khanvilkar 5-0-21-0.

Mumbai 2nd innings: Vinayak Mane c Dhawale b Kulkarni 10, Kamran Chowdhary lbw b Khadkikar 23, Sushant Manjrekar batting 12, Shakti Prasad batting 0; Extras: 1b, 1lb, 2nb 4. Total: for two wickets in 20 overs 49.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-45
Bowling: Charudutta Kulkarni 7-3-14-1, Narendra Jadhav 7-1-19-0 1nb, Kashinath Khadkikar 3-2-2-1, Hrishikesh Shinde 2-0-8-0 1nb, Sayeed Khot 1-0-4-0.