Rizvi Springfield made a wise decision in spending R19,000 to fly in skipper Akash Luthra from Kerala, where he was representing Mumbai in an U-16 tournament, to play the Harris Shield final against IES Raja Shivaji, Dadar yesterday
Rizvi Springfield made a wise decision in spending R19,000 to fly in skipper Akash Luthra from Kerala, where he was representing Mumbai in an U-16 tournament, to play the Harris Shield final against IES Raja Shivaji, Dadar yesterday.
Luthra left his Mumbai teammates behind and flew in alone to lead Rizvi in the final. He reached Mumbai on Monday evening while the rest of his team arrived yesterday. "The last couple of days have been absolutely crazy. I desperately wanted to play for Rizvi in the final and I'm glad I reached just in the nick of time," he said.u00a0
Luthra made his presence felt immediately with a gritty knock of 82 helping the defending champions post a total of 259 in their first innings of the four-day final being played at the Cricket Club of India, Churchgate.
Luthra was well supported by Rugved Insulkar (88). The pair added 147 runs for the fifth wicket.
Springfield coach, Raju Pathak had to seek special permission from Mumbai Cricket Association officials, to allow Luthra to leave Kerala. "I'm happy that our request was granted. I think spending so much money was worth it," he said.
Opting to bat on a wet pitch, Rizvi were left reeling at 36 for four as Raja Shivaji's opening bowlers Sankesh Maurya and Akshay Ramane made merry in helpful conditions. However, Luthra and Insulkar resurrected Rizvi's innings.
Raja Shivaji became the first side this season to bowl out Rizvi inside a day.
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