Dnyandeep Seva Mandal School (Nerul) clinched the 124th Giles Shield title, defeating Swami Vivekanand International School (Borivli) by four wickets on the third and final day of the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Giles Shield final at the Brabourne Stadium, Churchgate, on Thursday.
Resuming Day Three on 58-5 after 17 overs in the second innings, SVIS finished on 178 for 8 in the allotted 40 overs, setting Dnyandeep a victory target of 125. Shauryakant Upadhyaya’s well-crafted 94 off 92 balls (8x4s) and skipper Kartik Chhajer, who remained unbeaten on 58 off 96 balls (2×4), helped SVIS fightback. The pair stitched together a crucial 132-run stand for the sixth wicket (off 164 balls).
Former India cricketer Sandeep Patil (centre) presents the Giles Shield to victors Dnyandeep Seva Mandal at Brabourne Stadium
In reply, however, the Dnyandeep Seva Mandal boys approached the chase with discipline and maturity, reaching 128 for 6 in 34.5 overs to seal the title.
Atharv Kalel anchored the innings with a fine 56 off 97 balls (7×4).
The victory crowned a consistent campaign for the Dnyandeep Seva Mandal outfit who finished runners-up last year. “It feels great to have won this one after losing the final last year. Our boys played their hearts out. I’m sure some of our boys will move on to play the Harris Shield next year and I want them to win that too,” Dnyandeep coach Abdul Khan told mid-day.
SVIS coach rues poor fielding
SVIS coach Lalu Yadav coach blamed the defeat on lapses in the field. “This [loss] is heartbreaking for us. Had we not dropped some of our catches in the first innings, we would have won this match. But it’s a good a learning experience for our boys. We will work harder and come back stronger,”
said Yadav.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning cricketer Sandeep Patil was the chief guest for the big final. The hard-hitting batter gave out some valuable advice to the
youngsters after the game. “I’ve been a youngster like you all and used to sit in the North Stand and watch matches in this stadium. My father would say,
‘I hope to see you play on this ground someday’, and I did, I played for Cricket Club of India (CCI) here.
During our days, we used to only have 12 to 15 schools participating, so when I heard there are around 200 schools participating now, I realise that our efforts have paved the way for the upcoming generation,” said Patil, who played 29 Tests, scoring 1588 at an impressive average of 36.93.
Don’t focus on T20s: Patil
“I would advise you all not to get into a habit of playing T20 cricket. You can watch it for fun, but the real test is Test matches. It shows how patient you are and what capabilities you have. That’s where you can come up from and represent our nation in any of the formats,” concluded Patil.
