Raunaq sizzles for Parsee Gym

MUMBAI: Sometimes you throw in all that you can, and yet it isn't enough.
Parsee Gymkhana's leg-spinner Raunaq Sharma took five wickets and scored 81 against Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association in the second round of their Times Shield 'B' Division game, but couldn't help his team to victory.
Palghar Dahanu Taluka made 279, while the hosts finished at 223 for six, resulting in both teams sharing points.
"It was a satisfying performance but could have been special if I had helped the team win the game. I got out at the wrong time," the 22-year-old told TOI on Monday.
It was a game that stretched Raunak to the limit. "I was tired after having bowled around 25 overs, and was looking to put my feet up when I suddenly found myself in the middle, as we were 20 for two.
I bided my time in the middle, and became aggressive against the spinners, which is my strength," he said. Elaborating on his leg spin, Raunak said: "Makarand Waingankar Sir, and our coach Onkar Salvi asked me to bowl more in the match after watching me in the nets. My first ball was a full toss, but things became better after that. Our captain Vinayak Mane also helped me," said Raunak.
He has played under former Test batsman Pravin Amre for Shivaji Park Gymkhana. He also led Podar College to the inter-collegiate title this season. "Surprisingly, no one from our college, or Ruparel, found a spot in the Mumbai University team that played in the Rohington Baria Trophy and the University Cricket Championship (UCC)," Raunak quipped.
Brief Scores: Young Maharashtra CC 122 (Kalpesh Sawant 32, Yogesh Dicholkar 4-45, Sagar Mishra 3-26, Dinesh Khatri 3-27) drew with New Hind SC 54-4 (Bhavik Patel 4-15), Dadar Union SC 179 (Sujit Haravi 52, Aditya Mandhre 44) & 105-5 (Rohan Bane 37, Vikrant Yadav 31, Geet Sharma 4-53, Nitin Surve 3-48) lost to Apollo CC 226-9 decl (Shubham Kamat 62, Roshan Khan 59), Khar Gymkhana 128 (Jeff Pereira 37, Jalil Khan 4-35) & 132-6 (Pereira 43, Jude Singh 38, Jalil Khan 3-43, Aditya Dhumal 3-47) lost to Sind SC 258-8 decl (Harsh Tank 94, Aditya Dhumal 53), Young Friends CC 108 (Sagar Shah 41, Rajendra Ambhire 5-29, Anandenu Parsekar 3-26) & 31-1 lost to Kandivli CA 123-4 decl (Dinesh Bonu 50, Yogesh Poojari 31*), Worli SC 221 (Kunal Mathure 56, Akash Anand 32, Ajinkya Parte 30, Arun Yadav 4-60, Tushar Armarkar 3-40) & 5-0 beat Sunrise SC 170 (Sangram Bagul 54, Bhavesh Patel 4-53, Ranjit Rane 3-34), Sainath SC 140 & 60-4 (Manager Gupta 56, Navin Patil 3-19, Vijendra Yadav 3-24, Sachin Katkar 3-33) lost to Young Mohammedan CC 187-8 decl (Altaf Shaikh 32, Navin Patil 31, Zameer Mulla 30, Mandar Garude 30, Yash Chavan 5-72), Palghar Dahanu Taluka SA 279 (Swapnil Bhoir 93, Pranay Gharat 52, Tushar Gharat 43, Pranay Patil 30, Raunaq Sharma 5-48) drew with Parsee Gymkhana 223-6 (Raunaq Sharma 81, Vidyadhar Kamat 70*, Rahul Vengsarkar 43).