Kulkarni hits unbeaten ton in Horspath 3rd win

Swapnil Kulkarni

SWAPNIL Kulkarni hit a superb unbeaten century to set Horspath 3rd on the way to a six-run win by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Dinton 2nd in Cherwell League Division 5.

The Indian all-rounder, whose only previous ton came in a T20 match in his homeland, made exactly 100 not out in Horspath's 225-7 after they had chosen to bat.

He survived three chances on the way to reaching the magical milestone with two runs down to long on off the final ball of the innings. His century came off 114 balls and included three sixes and 11 fours as he helped turn round Horspath's innings after they had been in trouble at 68-5.

Kulkarni, who claimed his first five-wicket haul for the club last week, then shared a sixth-wicket stand of 135 with Ceri Holmes (46) after Faizaan Abbas had made 32. Syed Bukhari (2-30), Muhaib Ur Rehamn (2-34) and Dominic O'Sullivan (2-57) picked up wickets for Dinton.

Horspath then bowled well to keep Dinton at bay with the hosts just short of their DLS target on 195-7 off 43 overs when rain stopped play. Elliot Ward led the way with 3-25, while Charlie Turner (2-24), Holmes (1-29) and Kulkarni (1-33) also produced good spells. Ali Khan (48) and Eliot Lloyd (39) shone for Dinton, while Bukhari was unbeaten on 38. The win moves Horspath up to fourth place.

Posted by: Russ