Akash Luthra's brilliant allround display helped Rizvi Springfield beat IES Raja Shivaji to successfully defend their Harris Shield title and clinch a hat-trick of trophies as they comfortably dismissed their Dadar counterparts to win by 225 runs.


Rizvi skipper Akash Luthra. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Apart from getting scores of 82 and 85 in each innings, the left-arm spinner claimed seven for 43 to wrap up the game before tea.

Chasing a target of 379, Raja Shivaji started on a positive note with opener Tanmay Wadkar offering stiff resistance from one end as his partner Laxman Manjrekar began aggressively. The duo shared a 73-run stand for the second wicket before left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil disturbed Wadkar's timber. He made 16, whereas Manjrekar was the only one from the Dadar School to cross the 50-mark. He scored 66.

But, it was Akash once again, who turned out to be Raja Shivaji's nemesis, this time with the ball. He single-handedly demolished their batting line-up with his seven-wicket show. The skipper finished the tournament with 21 wickets and 240 runs.

Playing for his school side for the last time, Akash claimed that the final was a very emotional outing for him.
"When I took the final wicket I realised that it was the last ball that I had bowled for my school... my last Harris Shield game. It is an emotional moment for me," Akash said.