Pune Monsoon League: Shirodkar's unbeaten 96 sends two teams into semis

The fifth Sportsfield Monsoon League Championship, organised by Sportsfield Management, is underway at Tembhekar Farms cricket ground on Satara Road in Pune. It is a 30-over cricket tournament for players under 14. Two teams, Vijay Cricket Academy and Specialized Cricket Clinic (Pune), put up strong performances to book their places in the semifinals.

In the first match, Vijay Cricket Academy beat Aryans Cricket Academy by 83 runs on the strength of Samarth Jadhav's all-round play, sealing a place among the last four teams. Batting first, Vijay Cricket Academy posted a challenging 186 with contributions from several batters, led by Samarth Jadhav's 44. He was supported by Shravan Dhumal (36), Sachin Bora (33) and Vihaan Takawale (26).

For Aryans Academy, Rivaan Tibrewal bowled effectively, sending back five batters. Chasing 187, Aryans Cricket Academy's innings folded for just 103 in 20.5 overs. Apart from Rishik Guha's 25, no other batter made a significant contribution. For Vijay, Manav Solanki and Samarth Jadhav took three wickets each to break the opposition's batting, while Rishikesh S. took two wickets to seal the win.

In the second match, Specialized Cricket Clinic entered the semifinals with a 5-wicket win over Cricket Next Academy, powered by an explosive innings from Stephen Shirodkar. Cricket Next Academy, who won the toss and batted first, set a target of 177 in their allotted overs, with Avdhut Ippe (49), Ojas Waikar (45) and Vivaan Deshmukh (35) shaping the innings.

Chasing 178, Specialized Cricket Clinic secured victory in 28.4 overs. The hero of the win was Stephen Shirodkar, who smashed an unbeaten 96 off just 54 balls with 6 fours and 6 sixes. He was supported at the other end by Kartik Paslkar, whose composed unbeaten 40 helped seal the win.