27 December,2012 10:35 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
Batsmen made merry on the opening day of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association-Mumbai Indians Giles Shield Elite Division at Shivaji Park yesterday with five centuries being scored. On the other hand, Satyak Patel (7 wickets) and Rohit Desai (6 wickets) returned with commendable performances with the ball.
Patel's seven-wicket haul helped Hansraj Morarji (Andheri) bundle out Balmohan Vidyamandir (Dadar) for 121 in 70 overs.
In another match, Don Bosco (Matunga) bundled out Modern English School for a paltry 84 in 46.2 overs thanks largely to Rohit Desai's efforts.
Later, Bosco skipper Bhupen Lalwani's unbeaten knock of 169 helped the Matunga team end the day on 219-2 in 31 overs. Lalwani hit 34 boundaries off the 125 balls he played.
"I shifted from Chembur to Don Bosco to make a career in cricket two years ago. And I'm glad that the move has worked in my favour. The exposure has made me a confident cricketer," an elated Lalwani said.
Rizvi Springfield's (Bandra) skipper Satyalaksh Jain also led from the front scoring an unbeaten 124-ball 139 to help his school end the day at 351-6 against Smt M D Bhatia (Ghatkopar).
Parle Tilak's Atharva Ankolekar (141), Al Barkaat Malik Muhammad Islam's Shoeb Khan (140) and IES V N Sule Guruji's Hrushikesh Padwal (110 not out) also slammed tons on an eventful day.u00a0
Leaking pipe causes massive delay
The match between newly promoted side Al Barkaat Malik Muhammad Islam and Shree B A K Swadhyaya Bhawan was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes after a pipe, five yards away from the pitch, developed a leak.
Shockingly, MSSA asked the teams to play on even while the repair work was going on, much to the chagrin of both coaches.
However, MSSA cricket secretary HS Bhor defended the issue by saying, "The coaches are lying. I agree there was a minor problem with the ground as a pipe that was broken. But it was fixed by the end of the day. There was a delay in the match but not an hour. It was just 45 minutes."
