L&T make dream debut

Larsen & Toubro Insurance turned their maiden showing in the Insurance Shield Cricket Tournament into a memorable one by lifting the cup after beating last year's runners-up Mazgaon Dock by 45 runs at the National CC Cross Maidan.

Batting first, the eventual winners though were tottering at 64/5 at one stage. But they then recovered through Jagdish Sorkhade's 30 and Vineet Asgaonkar (23) as they put up a 42-run partnership. Another mini collapse led to L & T being reduced to 125 for 7 when No.9 Uday Bagkar walked in.

And he struck a valuable 33 and with the other tailenders providing able support, gave his side a fighting total of 174. Mayur Gharat was the pick of the Mazgaon dock bowlers claiming 3/34.

Buoyed by the fightback, the L & T new ball bowlers struck immediately to have their rivals on the ropes at 29 for 5. Rahul Joshi with his medium pacers claimed three wickets to blow the wind out of Mazgaon Docks' sail.

A partnership of 53 runs between opener Santosh Pawaskar (49) and Swapnil Tare yielded 53 runs and after both departed, the writing on the wall became clear. And Mazgaon finally folded up for 129 as Bhagwan Sanap claimed a vital caught and bowled and then effected a crucial run out.

Their total of 174 might not have been a significant one, especially considering that this was their maiden apperance at this stage but L&T kept their nerves to eventually lift the title with a thumping win.

Brief Scores

L&T Insurance 174 (Jagdish Sorkhade 30, Uday Bagkar 33; Mayur Gharat 3/24) bt Mazgaon Dock 129 (Santosh Pawaskar 49; Rahul Joshi 3/24).

Maharashtra enter semisin Santosh Trophy

Maharashtra entered the semifinals of the 67th Santosh Trophy national football tournament, beating Tamil Nadu 2-1 in a group B quarterfinal league match here today. They qualified for the semis by securing nine points after winning all the three matches in the quarterfinal league. Maharashtra had beaten Jharkhand 4-1 and Goa 3-0 in their earlier matches.

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