Vijay Merchant Trophy: Aryan Sakpal's ton helps Mumbai dominate Gujarat in finals

Aryan Sakpal

Mumbai U-16 are poised to win the Vijay Merchant Trophy as Aryan Sakpal's team enjoyed a lead of 186 runs over Gujarat on Day Two of the four-day final in Alur, Karnataka, on Thursday.

Thanks to pacers Himanshu Singh and Sarthak Bhide, who claimed three wickets apiece, Mumbai bowled out Gujarat for just 145 on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Mumbai scored 331-7. After losing openers Devansh Trivedi (0) and Raza Mirza (3) early, one-drop Sakpal (127, 13x4, 3x6) played a marathon knock, facing 355 balls. No. 4 Harsh Gaikar smashed 69 with the help of 14 hits to the fence. "I enjoyed my innings. We lost the first wicket for nothing on the board, so I just told myself to be patient and try to play as long as possible," Sakpal told mid-day from Alur on Thursday.

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He smashed back-to-back sixes over the bowler's head to reach his century. Sakpal did not make the Mumbai U-16 team last season. "I could have got a chance last season. I thought, if I was not able to satisfy selectors, I need to score more runs. They picked batsmen who scored more runs than me and it was right. This year, I scored 230 runs in four innings of the Payyade Trophy.

"Being captain, I wanted to shoulder responsibility and I am glad I did it. We have a very good chance of winning the final outright," Sakpal signed off. Aryan's dad Sandesh is over the moon. He wanted to watch the game at Alur, but Sakpal Jr opposed the idea.

Brief scores
Gujarat U-16 145 all out (Kavya Patel 66; Himanshu Singh 3-34, Sarthak Bhide 3-38) v Mumbai U-16 331-7 (Aryan Sakpal 127, Harsh Gaikar 69; Kavya Patel 4-38)