Played at the Somaiya Cricket Ground, Wicketing Wizards batting first could only muster a total of 75 runs as they were bundled out in 13.4 overs on the back of some tight bowling by the ACE Bowlers. Most of the bowlers were spot on but it was Tripoorraj Dhavale who was bang on right on the money coming up with a crucial spell of 4/12 in 3.4 overs alongwith a maiden.
Chasing 76 looked like a mere formality for the ACE XI as opener Jitin Manji (16* off 17) and no.3 batsman Niraj Bajaj finished off things in style with 9 wkts in hand alongwith 11.1 overs to spare. Niraj Bajaj played a fearless knock of 40* in mere 30 deliveries (5 fours. 1 six) as he was in no mood to take the game till the fag end.
Result- ACE XI won the game by 9 wkts, Tripoorraj Dhavale was declared man of the match’
Mohan CC after being put to bat first were off to a brilliant start with openers Prashant Yadav (49) and Nirdosh Yadav putting on 127 runs for the 1st wicket. The positive momentum was further carried on by Ameya Dighe as Nirdosh and him stitched another 59 runs for the 2nd wicket. Opener Nirdosh went on to score a blazing 103 off 70 balls laced with 14 boundaries while Ameya Dighe batted till the end remaining unbeaten on 100*off just 98 balls (8 fours). While Nirdosh was all about taking on the bowlers with confidence, Ameya on the other hand played the role of anchor guiding his team towards a strong total on the board.
MG Vartak Sports Club in reply were cleaned up for just 49 runs thanks to their experienced campaigner Sagar Khatri who proved to be too heavy for the opposition. The left arm spinner wrecked havoc over Vartak players as he came up with envious bowling figures of 5/17 in 4 overs resulting in Mohan CC winning the match by 301 runs.
MIG CC batting first on their homeground did lose a few quick wickets in between but it was their skipper and opener Kevin Almeida stamping a strong presence with a knock of 140 runs. Playing his natural game, the left hander scored 140 off mere 135 balls laced with 22 fours and 4 sixes while the rest of the batters batted around him with cameos as MIG reached a total of 295 runs in 60.5 overs. From the Parsee Gymkhana bowlers, Shivam Malhotra and Aditya Dhumal bagged 3 wkts each.
Parsee Gymkhana who boast of an equally strong batting line up found it difficult to get going thanks to fiery spell by Nikhil Date who came up with excellent bowling spell of 6/54 in 16.5 overs (3 maidens). Date alongwith Harsh Tanna ran through Parsee Gymkhana’s top order while Date’s onslaught continued till Parsee Gymkhana were all out for a low total of 148 runs.
Result-MIG Club won by 147 runs
TIMES SHIELD 2019-20 – F DIVISON: Abhyudaya bank VS LIC, date- 1st Feb 2020,Venue- M.B. Union, LIC won the toss and elected to BAT first. The pitch was wet and suitable for the bowlers.
Each of the openers scored 20 each and no.4 batsman Atul Kerkar played a vital innings of 47 runs, he laid a good base and also built partnerships with the middle and lower middle order batsmen here and there. In the lower order, Prashant Bhabal and Abhijit Durafe played brilliantly and stuffed up the score to a decent climb. Durafe scored 38 and Bhabal scored 37 and remained not out. With a combined effort, they reached a total of 227 in 43 overs losing 7 wickets. Abhyudaya bank’spacer Prashant. Kuperkar picked up an impressive figure of 3 for 30 in 9 overs. He was very lethal and extremely economical.Medium pacer Atul Rane also picked up 2 wickets in 6 overs.
Abhyudaya bank lost the first wicket in the very first over then, opener Akshay Pujari had a brief partnership with Pradeep Kachan who scored 23 runs. Pradeep had a small partnership with Sanjay Raut in the middle. Sanjay scored a brilliant 72 and Pujare scored a commendable 40 in the top. The Sanjay-Rajesh partnership was the game changer, it was more than 100 runs and it sealed the match for them. Sanjay played aggressively in the initial period but later played sensible due to the loss of wickets in the middle. To complete the job, Rajesh Vichare scored 60 runs in the middle and fetched the win for the team. They chased down the score in 34.3 overs.
Result- Abhyudaya won the match by 6 wickets.
25TH JANUARY 2020 IN MUMBAI, JOLLY FRIENDS SPORTS SHIVAJI PARK PREMIER LEAGUE 2019-20 : The match between Arero Rocks and SS Travels was played at Dadar Union cricket club, Matunga on 25th January 2020. SS travels won the toss and elected to BAT first. The pitch was akin a medium turner.
SST had a wonderful start and were 65 for 1 at 6.5 overs. Rohit Shirgaonkar scored 26 runs off 20 balls. Opener Rahul Gavit scored a impressive 53 runs off 39 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Amogh Bodas also scored 35 off 35 balls. With continuous and comprehensive endeavors of all the batsmen, they scored a total of 175 runs in 20 overs losing 4 wickets. ARERO bowlers’ star performer was off spinner Rutvik Rajpara who picked up 3 wickets foe 31 runs in 4 overs.
ARERO were off to a flying start with a opening of 82 runs in 6 overs. Manan Zatakia palyed with a comprehensive outlook and scored a gritty 69 runs off 39 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes. He laid a base for a formidable chase and ultimately it did pay off. Jigar Soni played the hand of the second fiddle and gave the maximum strike to Manan. He scored 21 runs off 20 overs. After the dismal of the openers, the team looked to be in a slump due to loss of quick wickets and low scorers. They lost 8 wickets in the course of 73 runs. Ultimately, Krish Trivedi scored 16 off 14 balls at the end to clutch the win at the end moments and the match was dramatically won in the penultimate ball of the match by hitting a boundary. SST’s Ranjit Patki bowled an incredible spell of 6 for 31 runs in 4 overs. Despite his brave efforts, the team fell short of the win.
RESULT- ARERO won by 2 wickets.
Manan Zatatkia was awarded the MAN OF THE MATCH.
Click here for Arero Rocks VS SST Travels Match Scorecard ….
Dadar Union Sporting Club opting to bat first posted a total of 296 runs in 69.1 overs and more than half of the runs were scored by the talented Siddarth Akre. Opener Sagar Chabbaria with 75 runs and no.4 batsman Siddarth Akre stitched a massive partnership to take their team towards a strong position. Akre on the other hand went on to score a fluent 153 off 156 balls laced with 9 fours and 12 sixes. Yes you heard that right! Siddarth took on the bowlers with absolute ease displaying his stroking cavalery despite losing wickets from the other end.
Regal CC on the other hand were cleaned up for 65 runs thanks to a tearaway spell by fast bowler Siddarth Raut who came up with exceptional bowling figures of 7/32 in 8.4 overs. Raut who is eager to make a comeback into higher levels of cricket has made a strong case for himself with such match winning spell which helped his team Dadar Union win the game by a massive margin of 231 runs.
Played between DMCC and DTDC at the scenic BKC Ground, DTDC after being put to bat first were all out for 187 runs in 44.2 overs. Rakesh Naik at the middle order top scored with 45 runs while Siddhesh at no.3 scored 34 runs. From DMCC, Prathamesh and Asjad bagged 2 wkts each while the rest of the bowlers also did a fairly decent job.
DMCC in reply chased down the score in 40.4 overs winning the match by 6 wkts. Opener Lalit S (44) and no.3 batsman Vaibhav Patil (65*) laid the foundation for a successful chase while Vaibhav was well supported by Rahul C who remained unbeaten on 31*as DMCC crossed the victory line winning the finals of the D Div Times Shield and emerging as the Champions.
Into the all important finals between WNS Global Services and Mumbai Fire Brigade at the Dadaji Konddev Stadium Thane. Mumbai Fire Brigade after opting to bat first posted a more than decent total of 225/7 in 35 overs. Opener Sandesh Paralkar (54) and no.5 batsman Milind Arekar (52) top scored for MCGM while experienced spinner Ketan Kharat with 3/51 in 7 overs was the pick of the lot.
Chasing 226, WNS Global chased it down in just 32.4 overs winning the finals by 7 wkts. After a brilliant opening start with Aditya Nikam scoring a whirlwind 58 ball 80 (10 fours, 2 sixes), the positive momentum was further carried on by Shardul Bhave (52*) and Ashutosh Ghagre (32*) who sealed off the chase in style.
Aditya Nikam for his consistent batting certainly emerged out as the star of the tournament while Ketan Kharat and Kiran Desai with 7 wkts each were the highest wicket takers. With the bat, Aditya Nikam and Dnyansagar Patil were the highest scorers while the entire troop performed well under the captaincy of Kiran Desai.
Arch Mavericks opting to bat first at Chereshwar Club, Trombay posted a total of 167/8 in 20 overs. Well amidst that healthy total were quite some ups and down but they eventually stood themselves up in no time. After a decent opening start, Arch Mavericks did lose a few quick wickets at the middle order with half of the team back to pavilion with just 80 runs on the board. However, Nikhil Jain at no.7 changed the course of the game as he went on to score a blazing 54 off just 32 balls (6 fours, 1 six) as he batted almost till the very end getting dismissed on the 2nd last ball of the innings taking his team’s total from 80/5 to 167/8 in 20 overs.
RIAMS XI at one stage looked good with Sarosh Mishra and Sajid Shaikh smashing some hard hitting shots but it was Shamal Palod’s wicket on the very 1st ball and a spell of 3/27 in 4 overs which proved to be the turning point in the game. Apart from him, Vimal Hansraj (2/16 in 4 overs) & Sunil Jadhav (2/4 in 1 over)also chipped in with timely wickets restricting RIAMS XI to 90 runs all out in 14.3 overs.
Result- Arch Mavericks won by 77 runs, Nikhil Jain declared man of the match
Nikhil Jain speaking with Cricketgraph shared “ The wicket was damp initially and we were aiming to first bat out the initial 6-8 overs till it becomes dry. After a good opening start, we lost quick wickets in the middle, also Vimal Hansraj’s run out was quite a dent to our innings. As we always say when runs are flowing and batsman is going good, the only thing through which you can shake the team is with a run out and Vimal’s wicket was quite an ideal example” From the bowlers, Shamal took a wicket on the very 1st ball which created a positive momentum, Sarosh and Sajid were hitting the ball very hard but our bowlers did a fantastic job as we restricted RIAMS XI to just 90 runs all out”
Played at the Chereshwar Club, Trombay, Royal Falcons opting to bat first posted a total of just 100/8 in 20 overs which in most of the cases is difficult to defend. Royal Falcons at one stage were not looking good even for a 3 digit total but it was Prasad Roge (32) and Harsh Visaria (25*) down the order stitching 59 runs for the 8th wicket. From SSA Strikers, Dasrath Redij and Gaurav Koli bagged 3 wkts each.
Royal Falcons who have been one of the strong teams this season ensured that they did not gave up looking at their low total. The bowlers did a fab job restricting SSA Strikers to mere 76 runs all out in 16 overs. Nitesh Pradhan was the star bowler coming up with a crucial spell of 4/15 in 4 overs coupled with a maiden while Paresh Ghanekar with 3/15 in 4 overs was equally effective.
Result-Royal Falcons won the match by 24 runs, Nitesh Pradhan declared ‘Man of the Match”