Akurdi lad joins ‘10-wicket’ elite club

What is common between Jim Laker of England and Anil Kumble of India? They are the two spinners to have taken 10 wickets in an innings. Now, a left arm leg-spinner from Maharashtra has joined this elite group.

Akurdi-based Hari Sawant has become the first bowler to achieve this rare feat in the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s history. Donning YMCA colours in the under-19 league, Sawant claimed the 10 wickets of Om Cricket Club at PYC ground on Thursday.

MCA tournament director Riyaz Bagwan confirmed that Sawant is the first bowler from Maharashtra to claim 10 wickets in an innings.

Jim Laker had claimed 10 wickets during the 1956 Ashes series, while Anil Kumble repeated that feat against Pakistan in New Delhi (1999). Both were spinners, and so is Sawant.