Keshav Dalal's ton takes Mount to title win at Laxman Dass cricket

The final of the Laxman Dass Memorial Cricket Tournament at the St Stephen's College Ground see-sawed till the end with Mount Cricket Club emerging champions after their opponents Sahgal Cricket Club renewed their zeal to fight towards the end through Delhi state player Mayank Rawat who took a wicket and held onto good catches.

Chasing a target of 297, Mount had lost four early wickets to stare down the barrel at 87/4. But a 185-run fifth wicket partnership between Keshav Singh Dalal (126 off 73 balls, 11x4s, 6x6s) and Dhruv Singh (61 off 63 balls) brought them back into a position of strength.

But Dalal's catch by Rawat off Shiva Singh turned the match into a cliffhanger. Soon, a flurry of wickets followed as Vision Panchal, Dhruv Singh and Saksham Gehlot fell quickly to leave Mount at 285/8 in 38 overs. With 12 off 12 and two wickets in hand, it was anybody's game.

Prashant Veer, who had scored a century earlier in the tournament to put his team into the semis, was then dropped at deep long off at the start of the 39th over. That was the drop that lifted spirits in the Mount camp. No. 10 Money Grewal then hit a six and a four off Rawat, bowling the last over and defending seven, to see the team through.

"When I went in, Dhruv and I decided that we will play ball to ball and take the game till the end. We thought we will cash in only on loose deliveries. We thought that we will pick bowlers that we can hit -- he will target the one he can hit and I can target the one I can hit," said Dalal, a Hauz Khas resident who represents Rann Star Cricket Club in the Delhi and District Association (DDCA) League.

Dalal has represented Delhi at the under-19 and under-23 levels.

For Sahgals, Shiva Singh took 3/41.

Earlier, Sahgal Cricket Club, a team composed of professionally-hired cricketers, made 296 all out in 39.3 overs.

Skipper Mohammed Sultan Ansari top-scored with 65 off 60 balls (8x4s, 2x6s) while Arjun Rapria made a quickfire 64 off 35 balls (6x4s, 4x6s). Vivek Tiwari picked 3/37 while Veer took 2/35.

Ansari was upset at the umpiring. There was an appeal for caught behind against Dalal, when Mount still needed plenty and the batsman was yet to reach his century, but that was turned down.

Mount coach Abhishek Mankotia said that the ball bounced before reaching the wicketkeeper.

"There was a clear edge but the umpire said that there was no edge. The question of ball bouncing before reaching the wicketkeeper comes later. I thought the umpiring went against us," said Ansari.

However, Dalal ensured he displayed his class. His shots, including an effortless hoick over deep square leg, were top class.

Ayush Doseja of Ravi Brothers ended as the top run-getter with 342 runs at 85.50 and Mount skipper Yugal Saini was the second highest run-getter with 285 runs at 71.25.

Vivek Tiwari ended as the top wicket-taker with 12 scalps while Manan Bhardwaj of Ravi Brothers took the second place with 10 wickets.

"Receiving this award is an incredible honour, but what makes it even more special is that my grandfather is here to accept it on my behalf. Knowing that he is standing here for me fills me with pride," said the young left-hander Doseja.

The winners got Rs 1.51 lakh as the prize money while the runners-up got Rs 71,000. The tournament was the first event of Delhi cricket's Hot Weather circuit.

Tags : Delhi cricket, Keshav Dalal, Yugal Saini, Mayank Rawat, Ayush Doseja, Vivek Tiwari