Ronak shines bright in Harris Shield

MUMBAI: For someone who makes a living from vending aerated drinks at a recreational club, Dattaram Shinde always knew it would be impossible to enroll his Sachin Tendulkar-idolising child Ronak in some fancy cricket academy.
He did the next best thing - get him admitted to Shardashram, the school that Tendulkar attended, played for and of which he made a legacy.
Fifteen-year-old Ronak may be a long way from shaking the school cricket scene like his idol did decades ago, but his knock of 145 for Shardashram (Marathi) against Don Bosco (Matunga) on Day Two of their Harris Shield Elite Division fixture at the Cross Maidan on Wednesday is definitely the start of something he believes will be special.
The No.4 bat, who also skippers his team, racked up 145 in just 117 balls to help Shardashram to a second innings total of 247. He even rolled his arm over to snap up two Bosco wickets to leave them reeling at 74/4 , giving the Dadar school an upper hand when they take field on the final day. Bosco are chasing a target of 319.
Residing at Dockyard Road, Ronak attended primary school at a local institution before his parents saw his hunger for cricket and decided to send him to Shardashram in Dadar where he has now spent five years.
"This is my final year in school and there's no better tournament than the Harris Shield if I have to make an impact," he stressed.
In another game at Shivaji Park, Prithvi Shaw slammed 150 as defending champions Rizvi Springfield inched close to a win against Anjuman-I-Allana (English). After bowling out Anjuman for a paltry 112 in the first innings, Rizvi rode on Shaw's ton before being bowled out for 285. Spinner Sidak Singh snapped up three wickets to leave Anjuman reeling at 106-5 in the second essay.