Aayush Surve and Shaurya Rane’s stellar bowling performance powered Matunga Premier School (Matunga) to a convincing eight-wicket win over St Dominic Savio High School (Andheri) in a first round match of the Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Harris Shield inter-school cricket tournament at Azad Maidan on Wednesday.
Leg-spinner Aayush impressed with figures of 4-18 in 5.2 overs, ripping through St Dominic Savio’s middle order, while left-arm spinner Shaurya proved equally effective, claiming 4-20 in six overs. Despite a combative 23 runs from opener Kaustubh Rawal, St Dominic Savio were dismissed for 78 in 20.2 overs.
The match was reduced to 21 overs per side and only began at 12:30pm due to the ground being unfit for play because of incessant rain on Tuesday. Aaryan Kumar and Tanishk Bhosale also chipped in with a wicket each for Matunga Premier.
Chasing a modest target, Matunga Premier lost a couple of wickets before Yuv Shah (33 not out) and Harshvardhan Satarkar (26 not out) saw them home comfortably in 16.5 overs.
For the 14-year-old duo of Aayush and Shaurya, it was a case of proving themselves at their new school team. They shifted here from Don Bosco High School (Matunga) this academic year after struggling to get picked regularly.
“I worked hard for years, but wasn’t able to break into the [Don Bosco] squad. When I got an opportunity here, my parents and I decided to make the move,” Aayush said.
Shaurya also echoed similar sentiments as the pair now look to make the most of their fresh start.