Chasing a modest 204 (42.1 overs) put up by Wadekar XI, Salim Durrani XI were cruising at 88 for no loss after 22 overs. They then slid down to 123-5 in the 33rd over. There was a recovery with two sizeable partnerships of 38 and 27 runs respectively for the sixth and seventh wickets which brought Durrani XI closer to the target.

Medium-pacer Mohit Bise returning for a second spell took a stunning return catch to send back Sunil Mallapurkar for 22 and then removed the dangerous big hitter Gautam Yadav (36) in the 44th over with the score at 188.

This proved to be the turning point of the match. The later batsmen fought on gamely but threw away their wickets through needless runouts as the opponents fielding wilted and gave them some easy runs.

In their anxiety to steal moreruns and convert ones into twos, Durrani XI batsmen ran `short' on four accassions. In the ultimate analysis the four runs proved costly.

Earlier, Wadekar XI skipper Vineet Indulkar won the toss and elected to bat on a good batting track. They had a good start of 36 in 8.1 overs but after Waghela was snapped up by the keeper, Indulkar was run out to the first ball he faced. Parag Madkaikar, the other opener, then added 61 for the third wicket in the company of Sanket Bhaye.

Parag was severe on the rival bowlers hammering ten fours in his 56 which ultimately turned out to be the top score of the match. Sanil Rane and Atul Lad (40) came up with a 64-run fifth wicket stand which finally helped Wadekar XI cross the 200 run mark.

Leg break-googly bowler Sanjay Mahaddalkar captured 3 for 45 and Ashish Naik got 2 for 52. Naik was to contribute 36 later while opening the innings for Durrani XI only to see himself on the losing side.

BRIEF SCORES

Wadekar XI 204 42.1 overs (Parag Madkaikar 56, Atul Lad40, Sanjay Maddalkar 3-45) bt Durrani XI 203 (A Naik 36, Swapnil Patil 49, Gautam Yadav 36, Dinar Gaonkar 3-38).

Man of the Match: Swapnil Patil (Durrani XI)

TALENT WATCH

Swapnil Patil

Speciality: Wicket-keeper, Right hand opening batsman
Performance: 2 catches, two stumpings, scored 49 runs
Age: 15 years
School: New English HS, Vasai
Coach: Prakash Patil