Sachin Yadav shines again for Parsee Gym; Payyade SC enter final

Parsee Gymkhana’s Sachin Yadav

Parsee Gymkhana batsman Sachin Yadav (115, 12x4, 2x6) proved his mettle yet again to help his team beat MIG Cricket Club by 237 runs in the Police Shield semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Put in to bat, Parsee Gym were struggling at 130-5 with India batsman Suryakumar Yadav (35), Aakarshit Gomel (33) and Nikhil Patil Jr (31) back in the dressing room. However, Yadav and all-rounder Shams Mulani (90, 8x4, 2x6) stemmed the rot and put on 180 runs for the sixth wicket.

Yadav, 28, who shifted from PJ Hindu Gymkhana to Parsee Gym this season, played a vital role in Parsee Gymkhana's Padmakar Talim Shield and Madhav Mantri Centenary One-Day League wins recently.

The ex-Mumbai U-23 left-handed batsman was the highest run-getter (205) in Talim Shield and scored 200-plus runs in the Madhav Mantri tournament.

"We lost our top five early, but we were determined to score big and managed to stitch a good stand, which turned out to be a match-winning one," Yadav, who scored 84 against Shivaji Park Gymkhana last week, told mid-day on Sunday.

Left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar and pacer Nikhil Date claimed four and three wickets respectively for the Bandra (East) club.

In reply, MIG CC were bundled out for just 128 in 42.4 overs. Medium pacer Siddharth Raut and left-arm spinner Mulani picked up four wickets each for the Marine Drive team.

In the other semi-final, defending champions Payyade Sports Club outclassed Parkophene Cricketers by five wickets at Police Gymkhana where left-arm pacers, Royston Dias (4-35) and Atif Attarwala (4-54) helped bowl out Parkophene for 163. Payyade opener Akhil Herwadkar (42), skipper Siddhesh Lad (30) and No.5 Sagar Mishra (40) completed the formalities by securing a convincing win in 43.5 overs.

Payyade SC will play Parsee Gym in a three-day final starting December 24 at Police Gymkhana.