Praful Meher steers Ambedkar XI to win over City Shoppe in Masters Cup T20 final

NAGPUR: A brilliant innings of 81 runs by Praful Meher helped Ambedkar XI trounce City Shopee by four wickets in the Masters Cup Twenty20 Cricket tournament at the City Gymkhana ground here on Sunday.
Batting first, City Shoppe posted a challenging total of 184 for three in their stipulated 20 overs. Former Vidarbha Ranji captain Paresh Sutane top-scored with 62.Adwait Manohar slammed 47, while Anup Fulper contributed 40. For Ambedkar XI, Shailesh Harbade claimed two wickets for 18 runs. Amit Deshpande took one for 38.
Chasing a daunting task, Ambedkar XI achieved the target with four wickets and five balls to spare. Meher led the charge with an attacking 81 with the help of nine boundaries and two sixes. Vikrant Deshpande (36) and P Vivek (20) provided a solid support. Medium-pacer Sandeep Singh bagged two wickets conceding 43 runs. Left-arm seamer Chandrashekhar Atram (1-27) and off-spinner Preetam Gandhhe (1-43) also bowled well but could not prevent defeat for their team.
For his sterling knock, Meher was declared man-of-the-match. Anup Fulper of City Shopee was adjudged as ‘player of the tournament’, while Lokesh Chikhale was named ‘best bowler of the tournament’. All-rounder Rupesh Bhaik was the captain of the Ambedkar XI.
BRIEF SCORES
City Shoppe 184-3 in 20 overs (Paresh Sutane 62, Adwait Manohar 47, Anup Fulper 40; Shailesh Harbade 2-18, Amit Deshpande 1-38) lost to Ambedkar XI 187-6 in 19.1 overs (Praful Meher 81, Vikrant Deshpande 36, P Vivek 20; Sandeep Singh 2-43, Chandrashekhar Atram 1-27, Preetam Gandhe 1-43) by 4 wickets.