MI Jr cricket: Balla bowls Rizvi to victory

Mumbai, March 2 (IANS) Inter-school giants Rizvi Springfield High School, Bandra, were made to struggle for runs in a low chase by RV Nerkar Secondary School, Vasai, in a boys' U-16 quarterfinal match of the Mumbai Indians Junior Cricket Tournament at the Azad Maidan on Monday.However, Rizvi middle-order batsmen showed their experience to negate a mighty scare from the inexperienced RV Nerkar bowling line-up and romp to a five-wicket victory. Nishit Balla, who took a seven wickets against Dhirubhai Ambani International School on Saturday, followed up with a six-wicket haul on Monday against RV Nerkar to play a key role for Rizvi in bowling the opposition out for 76 in 17.2 overs. Player of the match Balla gave away just 18 runs in 6.2 overs, which included three maiden overs. The low target seemed a cakewalk for the much-fancied Rizvi batting line-up, but they were made to fight for every run. Roshan Kanojia (27) and Abhishek Yadav (18) applied themselves well to steer their side home in 15.4 overs after losing half of their side.
--IANS dm/arm