Twitter
Advertisement

Gaurang, the miserly bowler

Class 7 student of Yashodham HS has picked up nine wickets without conceding a run in two games including 3/0 in Tuesday's big win

Latest News
article-main
Krish Mankar bowls at the Azad Maidan on Tuesday. He picked up two wickets and scored 129
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Yashodham High School's Gaurang Sachar seems to be a miser as far as giving away runs are concerned. The right-arm medium-pacer just doesn't seem to concede any.

In his last two games in MSSA tournaments, the 15-year-old has taken nine wickets in 13 overs and hasn't conceded any run.

On Tuesday, the opening day of the Harris Shield, Sachar claimed 3/0 in three overs against St Teresa's High School (Girgaon) at Azad Maidan to star in Yashodham HS's 185-run win.

But his previous match, though it came in the last season, just takes the icing on the cake. In last year's Harris Plate Division final against Rajhans Vidyalaya (Andheri), he took 6/0 in 10 overs besides scoring 87 to give his team the victory, and more importantly, seal a place in Harris Shield.

"I will never forget that match last year. Everything went right for me. I didn't concede even a cheeky single. I would've been happy by just getting the six wickets. Getting runs on the board was also special," Sachar said on Tuesday.

It was not as a bowler that Sachar began playing cricket, though. When he began playing the game in Class 7, all he wanted to do was to smack the ball around the park. He wanted to be a batsman. But his coach, Jayesh Kansara, saw a bowler in him and asked him to switch wood for leather.

Kansara said it's Sachar's athleticism that convinced him he was better suited for bowling. "He has a brilliant natural action. When I saw him warm up at practice, I knew he should give more importance to bowling," the coach said.

It's not surprising that Kansara saw Sachar's athleticism. The 15-year-old has been a short-distance runner from primary school. He even won the Best Athlete Award in his school this year.

Does he regret not being a frontline batsman?

"Not at all. Yes, I did want to hit big runs but then I trusted my coach. Sir (Kansara) asked me to bowl fast, and then realised that I was better off bowling medium pace. That's what I did, and look how successful I have been as far as playing for my school is concerned," he said.

Sachar said that he would have loved to take up cricket at an early age but his parents told him to concentrate on running.

"They asked me to choose between running and cricket. I chose running. But in Class 7, they allowed me to do both. There has been no looking back," said Sachar.

Brief Scores: Yashodham HS 231 all out in 36 overs (A Pillandkar 45, R Chipkar 45; N Bamnolkar 5/39) bt St Teresa's HS (Girgaon) 46 all out (G Sachar 3/0) by 185 runs

MAIDAN MASALA

Five-for despite fever
Nishant Bamnolkar wasn't supposed to play in his team St Teresa's (Girgaon) 185-run-loss to Yashodham High School on Tuesday. After all, he has been down with fever from Monday. But he still decided to play with it, and emerged his team's star performer. He took 5/39 in 10 overs but unfortunately, it'd be the only game he'd play in this tournament.
"It's sad that after playing so well we got knocked out. We bowled well, but when the team can score only 46 runs, then we can't win. After so much practice, we get to play only one match. It's the worst feeling ever," he said.

Living a dream
All that Class 10 student Krish Mankar of Balmohan Vidyamandir English School wanted was to win a match in Harris Shield. For the last two years, his team has been getting knocked out in the first round.
But on Tuesday, Mankar promised himself that he's going to do his best so that his team did not suffer the same fate. He did exactly that, scoring 129 and picking up two wickets in his school's win over SAS Billabong (Mahim).
"I just wanted to do it for the school and for myself. I just didn't want to pass out from school without winning a single game in this inter-school tournament," he said.
Brief Scores: Balmohan Vidyamandir English School 411/4 in 45 overs (K Mankar 129, I Jawadekar 86, R Joglekar 65*) bt SAS Billabong 97 all out by 314 runs

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement