In a thrilling match, VPM’s Vidyamandir (Dahisar) came out trumps as they defeated IES New English School (Bandra) by a slender margin of 2 runs in the MI Junior Interschool Cricket Super Knockout tournament in Mumbai on Wednesday.

After opting to bat, the middle-order trio of Ayush Yadav (48), Smit Kerkar (31) and Laxman Yadav (25) got off to good starts, however a fantastic 5-wicket haul from Parin Dubey stemmed the flow of runs, as VPM’s Vidyamandir were restricted to a total of 165.

Chasing a modest target of 166, IES New English School came agonisingly close, only to lose by 2 runs. After positive starts from Maanveer Jain (33), Harshal Sonavane (28), Nirvn Shah (27) and Ujaan Phadnis (25), IES New English School seemed on the cusp of victory. However, some exceptional bowling under pressure from Arnav Gavankar (3/26) and Rudra Bandre (3/29) ensured a nerve-wrecking victory for VPM’s Vidyamandir.

In the Girls’ U15 category, St. Columba School marched past National English School with a convincing 74-run victory. Batting first, skipper Aarya Wajge led from the front, scoring an unbeaten half-century worth 56 runs, guiding St. Columba to a score of 135. Kasturi Shah pulled off an incredible all-round effort as she ended the match with 33 runs and figures of 3/1. National English School were bowled out for 61 as Kasturi received admirable support from Durva (2/10) and Shalan Mulla (2/11).

Brief Scores:

Boys’ U-14:

• Modern English School (Chembur) 130/1 in 18.1 overs (Shravya Shah 76 n.o, Aryan K 25, Vedang Mishra 20 n.o) bt Tarapur Vidyamandir (Palghar) all out 129 in 31.2 overs (Dairy Meher 53, Nimish Dev 21 n.o; Shaunak Gawade 2/7, Nishad Parab 2/24).

• VK Krishna Menon Academy (Borivali) 261/8 in 40 overs (Hridhaan Bambhania 61, Saif Ali 44, Yuvaan Gurav 40, Ansh Sonawane 28; Veer Sachade 3/28, Rajveersinh Surve 2/48) bt Shardashram Vidyamandir (Dadar) all out 137 in 32.5 overs (Rajveersinh Surve 32, Bongu Shlok 27, Atharva 20; Caleb Almeida 4/23, Avnesh Shukla 3/31, Atharva Jogale 2/20).

• Swami Vivekanand International School (Borivali) 219/6 in 40 overs (Aryan Purohit 76, Rudra Mehta 39 n.o, Shauryakant Upadhyaya 32; Eshan Kale 2/39) bt IES VN Sule English School (Dadar) all out 173 in 34.2 overs (Nirav Bhorkar 52 n.o, Varad Phadtare 51; Aryan Purohit 4/10, Rudra Mehta 3/23).

• VPM’s Vidyamandir (Dahisar) 165/9 in 40 overs (Ayush Yadav 48, Smit Kerkar 31, Laxman Yadav 25; Parin Dubey 5/26, Shivraj Thorat 2/32) bt IES New English School (Bandra) all out 163 in 38 overs (Maanveer Jain 33, Harshal Sonavane 28, Nirvn Shah 27, Ujaan Phadnis 25; Arnav Gavankar 3/26, Rudra Bandre 3/29, Ayush Yadav 2/36).

Girls’ U-15:

• St. Columba School (Gamdevi) 135/4 in 17 overs (Aarya Wajge 56 n.o, Kasturi Shah 33; Aanshu Pal 2/22) bt National English School (Virar) all out 61 in 12.2 overs (Kasturi Shah 3/1, Durva 2/10, Shalan Mulla 2/11).

• Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School 202/8 in 18 overs (Yesha Gala 75 n.o; Shreya Prasad 4/32, Nitika K 3/14) bt Lok Puram Public School 166/9 in 17 overs (Saee Kamlakar Chavan 23, Shravani 22; Vyana Joshi 6/12, Yesha Gala 2/20).