SINGAPORE, 25 April 2023 ― The 10th annual bankers vs. lawyers charity cricket match was held in Mumbai last month, with the lawyers winning by 22 runs. The lawyers scored 160 runs all out in their 20 overs and the bankers scored 133-8 off their 20 overs.
The match had bankers from IndusInd, Avendus, ICICI Securities, JM Financial, Morgan Stanley, SBI Capital Markets, Jefferies, Nomura, Edelweiss, and IIFL competing against lawyers from Duane Morris & Selvam, Khaitan & Co., Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, JSA, Crawford Bayley, Desai & Diwanji, AZB, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Saraf and Partners, and Vertices Partners.
The lawyers batted first on the turf wicket at the Somaiya Cricket Ground in Mumbai. The bankers looked firmly in control of the match in the 10th over with the lawyers on 62-7. However, the 8th wicket partnership between Amitpal Singh (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas) and Jamie Benson (Duane Morris & Selvam LLP) turned out to be the difference between the teams. Singh flayed the bowling to all parts of the ground, hitting four 6s in his 53 runs retired off only 24 balls. Singh was ably supported by Benson, the captain of the lawyers’ team, who scored 24 runs off 20 balls. Gaurav Sood (Avendus) was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets for 21 runs off 4 overs. Shewtabh Chandra (Edelweiss) also bowled well for his 3 wickets for 24 runs off 3 overs. Harsh Kedia (ICICI Securities) bowled with good pace to pick up 3 wickets for 25 runs off 3 overs.
The bankers got off to a good start, losing their first wicket for 26 runs in the 4th over, when Naresh Nayak (Nomura) was LBW off the bowling of Siddhartha Desai (JSA) for 11 runs. The big hitting Javeed Siddiqui (IndusInd), the captain of the bankers, was next out for 28 runs off 22 balls, well caught on the boundary rope by Vijay Parthasarthi (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas) off the bowling of Rabindra Jhunjunwala (Khaitan & Co.). After the end of the 10th over the bankers were 68-3 and were slight favourites, especially with Humaid Shaikh (Jefferies) looking in good form. However, some tight bowling from the lawyers, in particular from Amit Manubarwala (Vertices Partners), who took 2 wickets for 13 runs off 3 overs, saw the bankers needing 39 off the last 2 overs with 4 wickets in hand. Shaikh (38 runs off 34 balls) was brilliantly caught by Desai off the bowling of Jhunjhunwala off the first ball of the 19th over, which effectively sealed the win for the lawyers.
With this win, the lawyers lead the series with seven wins to three win to the bankers.
The match raised over Rs. 280,000 for the Bal Asha Trust, with Duane Morris & Selvam donating Rs. 120,000, Khaitan & Co. donating Rs. 75,000 and various players also donating. The Bal Asha Trust is an awarded charitable organization that helps abandoned and marginalized children in the city of Mumbai. For more details, please see: https://balashatrust.org/.
The bankers vs lawyers charity cricket games are the initiative of Jamie Benson, the head of Duane Morris & Selvam’s capital markets and India practices. Commenting on the match, Benson said “I thought we were out of the match when we were 62-7. Amitpal Singh probably played the best ever innings in the series so far and we managed to post a competitive total, which proved to be enough on the day. I am already looking forward to next year’s match.”
Result: Lawyers – 160 runs all out from 20 overs (Amitpal Singh 53 runs retired and Jamie Benson 24 runs; Gaurav Sood 21-3 off 4 overs, Shewtabh Chandra 23-3 off 3 overs and Harsh Kedia 25-3 off 3 overs) beat the bankers – 133-8 off 20 overs (Humaid Shaikh 38 runs and Javeed Siddiqui 28 runs; Amit Manubarwala 13-2 off 3 overs and Rabindra Jhunjunwala 20-2 off 3 overs).
Player of the match: Gaurav Sood; best batsman: Amitpal Singh; best bowler: Rabindra Jhunjunwala; and best fielder: Kairav Parikh.
Bankers’ team (in no particular order): Javeed Siddiqui (c) (IndusInd); Gaurav Sood (Avendus); Harsh Kedia (ICICI Securities); Ronak Shah (JM Financial); Sachin Wagle (Morgan Stanley); Karan Savardekar (SBI Capital Markets); Humaid Shaikh (Jefferies); Pradeep Tewani (Nomura); Naresh Nayak (Nomura); Shwetabh Chandra (Edelweiss); and Harshvardhan Jain (IIFL).
Lawyers’ team (in no particular order): Jamie Benson (c) (Duane Morris & Selvam); Rabindra Jhunjhunwala (Khaitan & Co.); Vijay Parthasarathi (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas); Amitpal Singh (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas); Siddhartha Desai (J. Sagar & Associates); Nikhil Kaul (Crawford Bayley), Sanjay Israni (Desai & Diwanji); Kairav Parikh (AZB); Tarun Srikanth (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas); Murtaza Zoomkawala (Saraf and Partners); and Amit Manubarwala (Vertices Partners).
The match is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/bP_tZq3q8-U?feature=share
Above: Sunil Arora, Executive Director of Bal Asha Trust, presents the Capital Markets Cup to Jamie Benson.
About Duane Morris & Selvam LLP
Duane Morris & Selvam LLP is the joint law venture between Duane Morris LLP and Selvam LLC, with its headquarters in Singapore. By way of its global platform and extensive range of legal services, the firm helps companies conduct business in and out of Asia, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom and beyond. In addition to the excellent skills of its lawyers, clients benefit from the cultural fluency and key relationships that the firm has developed over many years of practicing law throughout the region. The firm has a presence in the key markets of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, as well as offices in Shanghai and Yangon. Supporting these regional offices, the firm operates a series of country desks for India, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. It is regularly ranked among the region’s leading law firms by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500 and IFLR1000.
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