Skipper Khizar to Anjuman's rescue in Giles Shield tourney

MUMBAI: It all started as planned for Anjuman-I-Islam (CST), who chose to bat after winning the toss of the Giles Shield inter-school cricket tournament at the Vengsarkar Academy grounds, Oval maidan, on Tuesday.
But Rizvi Springfield (Bandra) had some disciplined bowling and tight fielding to offer, as they restricted their opponents to 138 for five on Day One of the four-day final.
When opener Hashir Dafedar failed to click, brother Khizar stood up to the task of getting the runs. The skipper provided the much-needed stability to Anjuman's innings, first combining with Mohammed Aman (23) for 51 runs for the second wicket and then holding guard for another 54 runs with Mehboob Farooqui (23) for the third.
Had Khizar been caught by Prithvi Shaw at 40, things could have been different. But there on, the Vengsarkar Academy player used the 'home ground' experience to his advantage to remain unbeaten at 68 (9x4, 216b), handing his school a lifeline for Wednesday.
Left arm spinner Sidak Singh (2-30) was rewarded for his persistence with a couple of wickets that took his tournament tally to 27, while Arman Jaffer (2-36), who usually lets his bat do the talking, had his off spin work for him for a change.
Brief scores:Anjuman-I-Islam, CST 138-5 (Khizar Dafedar 68*, Mohammed Aman 23, Mehboob Farooqui 23; Sidak Singh 2-37, Arman Jaffer 2-36, Siddharth Singh 1-26) vs Rizvi Springfield, Bandra.