Nilesh, Bahutule have WR reeling

Western, chasing Elf Lubricants’ first innings total of 172 for 6 declared, collapsed to 70 all out in their first venture and are precariously placed at 34 for 5 in their second knock.

Nilesh was well-supported by leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule who conceded just 11 runs for his three-wicket haul off 9.2 overs. He also sent down four maidens to boot.

With a lead of 101 runs, Elf rattled up 147 for the loss of three wickets before declaring their second innings closed, leaving Western a target of 249 for victory.

However, with both Kulkarni andBahutule spinning a web around them, the Western batsmen were frustrated into committing errors. They also had to contend with the fiery pace of Kurivilla who bowled with renewed vigour. Kuruvilla scalped 3 for 9, while Kulkarni added two more to his first innings haul of 6 for a match haul of 8. Going by the trend and with their best batsmen back in the pavilion, the match in all likelyhood should wind up before lunch on the morrow.

At the Parsee Gymkhana ground, tailenders Mandar Sane and Zaheer Khan came up with a rescue act to give Sun-Grace Mafatlal a vital first innings lead of 12 runs and threaten to stretch it further.

Khan and Sane put on an astonishing 98 runs for the ninth wicket to overhaul BPCL’s total of 319. Khan, who slammed a boundary off left-arm spinner Sangram Sawant to overhaul BPCL’s total, was unbeaten on 44, while Sane is batting with a well-made 51.

BPCL were able to add a mere 23 runs to their overnight total to finish at 319. It was Orissa Ranji medium-pacer Robin Morris whodid the damage, picking 3 for 9 to finish with 4 for 43.

At the Elf Vengsarkar Academy ground, an unbeaten knock of 83 by left-hander Tariq-Ur-Rehman and his 97 runs partnership for the second wicket with opener Sameer Dighe helped Air-India take a vital first innings lead over Tata Sports Club. At close of play, Air-India were 219 for six, 26 runs ahead of the Tata total.

Tariq’s knock was studded with 10 hits to the fence and came of 216 balls, while Sameer Dighe, who proved to be a perfect foil, chipped in with a compact 53 with the help of 8 boundaries after facing 118 balls.

Tata, who resumed at the overnight total of 192 for 9, added only a single run before folding up. Medium-pacer Bhupendra Singh finished with a healthy haul of 5 for 44.

Chasing Central Railway’s total of 138, Indian Oil, overnight 90 for 6, barely managed to take a vital first innings lead through a steady knock of 49 by Mandar Phadke (1×6, 2×4). They finished the innings on 155 which also included 12 penalty runs.

CentralRailway finished the second day with a none-too-impressive second innings total of 140 for 6, just 123 runs ahead. Medium-pacers Manish Patel and Vishal Mahadik did most of the damage by capturing two wickets each.

Brief scores:

GROUP A – Elf Vengsarkar Academy ground, Oval: Tata Sports Club 193 (Manoj Joglekar 72; Bhupendra Singh 5-44, Ashutosh Dube 3-36) vs Air-India 219 for 6 (Sameer Dighe 53, Tariq-ur-Rehman batting 83; Mayank Khandwala 3-37).

Western Railway ground, Mahalaxmi: Elf Lubricants 172 for 6 decl and 147 for 3 decl (Amol Rane 37, Atul Ranade 31, Rishikesh Kanitkar 31 n.o.; Iqbal Thakur 3-43) vs Western Railway 70 (Nitin Surve 27; Nilesh Kulkarni 6-18, Sairuj Bahutule 3-11) and 34 for 5 (Abey Kuruvilla 3-9, Nilesh Kulkarni 2-3).

GROUP B – RCF ground, Chembur: Central Railway 138 and 40 for 6 (Vasu Dornal 44, Rajendra Jalal 27; Manish Patel 2-41; Vishal Mahadik 2-27) vs Indian Oil 155 (Mandar Phadke 49; Manu Kumar 3-25; Dinesh Parmar 3-36; SohailMasood 2-16).

Parsee Gymkhana ground, Kennedy Seaface: BPCL 319 all out (Sitanshu Kotak 131, Abhijit Kale 78; Zaheer Khan 4-61, Robin Morris 4-43) vs Sun-Grace Mafatlal 331 for 9 (Amit Pagnis 54, Rohan Gavaskar 29, Iqbal Khan 36, Robin Morris 35, Mandar Sane batting 51, Zaheer Khan batting 44; Akim Khan 3-55, Vishwas Walawalkar 3-75).