Vithoba XI win Master Cup

Nagpur: Riding on excellent bowling preformances from Shailesh Harbade (3-0-13-3) and Prashant Bambal (3-0-26-1), Vithoba XI defeated City Gymkhana by 22 runs to emerge champion in F15 Master Cup (for 40+ age group). This was their third title in a row.Defending the 137-run target, Harbade and Bambal kept things tight with the new ball and forced panic into City Gymkhana’s dugout. Both the pacers reduced City Gymkhana to 4 for 26.Gymkhana’s Nitin Gawande (25 off 15) and Abhijit Piprode (39 off 22) tried their best after losing half of their side for 28 runs. But the fall of well-set Gawande after 55-run partnership shifted the match in Vithoba XI’s favour. City Gymkhana managed 114 for 9.The Gymkhana outfit had former VCA president Adwait Manohar in its ranks. This VCA affiliated tournament has become popular in the last three years. All the participating teams try to rope in former Ranji players, which makes the contests interesting. So far, all the editions have been won by Vithoba XI.Earlier, Vithoba XI’s Mangesh Samdurkar (28 off 12), Ravi Daff (25 off 16), Yogesh Chandurkar (22 off 10) and Sudhir Wankhede (23 off 16) took their side to 136 for 6 in the 15-over summit clash. The winners were handed over cash prizes and trophies by Sanjay Baskas, secretary of VCA.Individual prizes: Man of the series: Nitin Gawande, Best batsman: Vivek Naidu; Best bowler: Yogesh Chandurkar; Best allrounder: Shailesh Harbade.