For the first time in the history of the Don Bosco Cricket team, they won the Shield by beating St. Mary’s in a thrilling final. Ravishankar Shastri rose splendidly to the occasion to dismiss the last two St. Mary’s batsmen when they had secured only four of the 13 runs required for a win to give Don Bosco an eight-run victory in the Giles Shield schools cricket tournament for under 15 at the Islam Gymkhana on Friday morning. St. Mary’s, needing 126 for victory, collapsed for 117.
It was Don Bosco’s first triumph in school cricket, which they entered only three years ago. After adding a single to his overnight score, Ajay Pitre tried to drive a quicker one from lift-arm spinner Shastri in the day’s second over and was bowled. Nikhil Sarad, who had shown admirable temperament, failed to retain strike at both ends and the moment last man Apurva Shah was exposed, young Ravi Shastri harried him, rapping him on the pads in his second over, and then two balls later, he had him LBW with his arm ball as he played forward. Ravi Shastri finished with an excellent spell of 5 for 40. Off-spinner Manek Daruwalla and leg-spinner Harinder Singh in the first inning gave him good support.
