MMA
Arshin Kulkarni, the lanky allrounder, stole the limelight at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium on the outskirts of Pune on Monday night yet again.
Not only did he overshadow the performances of both the captains - Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad - but he was instrumental in Eagle Nashik Titans clinching a thrilling one-run win against Puneri Bappa in the Maharashtra Premier League.
READ MORE: Puneri Bappa cruises to second consecutive win
Had it not been for Kulkarni’s fearsome hundred (117, 54b, 3x4, 13x6), the Titans would not have been able to pile on a gargantuan 203 for nine on Monday night. With Yash Kshirsagar’s aggressive 27-ball 47 and Gaikwad’s 23-ball 50 resulting in the Bappas inching closer to the target, the Titans again looked up to Kulkarni’s right-arm medium pace.
And Kulkarni delivered with a magic spell that read 4-0-21-4. In fact, the promising youngster conceded just four runs in the last over, when Bappa required six runs to win.
No wonder then that Kulkarni walked away with his second player of the match award after the Titans’ third consecutive victory before leaving for Bengaluru for an allrounders’ camp at the National Cricket Academy.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, Kedar Jadhav’s Kolhapur Tuskers returned to winning ways with a facile 26-run against Solapur Royals. Riding on Jadhav (85, 52b, 11x4, 3x6) and Ankeet Bawane’s (63, 47b, 9x4, 2x6) 154-run opening partnership - the highest association of the tournament so far - Tuskers raced to 186 for five.
Jadhav then used his bowlers effectively as Royals put on another lacklustre display. This was the Tuskers’ second win in three games while Royals suffered its third consecutive loss.
Comments
SHARE