Played at the National CC, Cross Maidan, Mangrol CC batting first on a bowler friendly wicket were all out for 119 runs in 49.2 overs. Mangrol CC who were 3/7 at one stage somehow reached a respectable total thanks to a gritty 40 by Pravin Vagare. From the bowlers, Akshay Thakur (3/40) and Amith Rao (3/14) were the pick of the lot.
Chembur Gymkhana in reply received an equally fightback by the bowlers and especially by medium pacer Rohit Bhere who was looking dangerous to finish of the game for his team. Rohit came up with excellent bowling figures of 5/18 in 14 overs with 5 maidens which reduced Chembur Gymkhana to 71/7. However, at the end of the 32nd over, the match ended with a draw but it was a spell which certainly raised hopes for Mangrol team for a win on 1st innings lead!
Evergreen Sports Club opting to bat first at Shivaji Park, Dadar restricted Kandivali Cricket Association to 140 all out in 47.5 overs. Despite a solid half century by their opener Yogesh Poojary (56 off 86 balls), the middle order could not capitalize for a big total. Amongst the bowlers, it was spinner Dwij Adhwaryu being the pick of the lot taking 6/41 in 12.5 overs. Dwij was effective in providing breakthroughs especially at the middle order which kept a leash on Kandivali CA from reaching a total of 180 or a 200.
Evergreen SC in reply batted for 39 overs scoring 79 runs for the loss of 6 wkts with a clear intention of ensuring the match ends in a draw. With 5 wkts down for 49 runs, it was Neel Kadam’s resistance facing 73 deliveries for his unbeaten 14* alongwith Sanket Joshi (10* off 39 balls) which helped their team from getting all out and save the match.
The match between Shantibhai Seth Memorial Cricket Club and Sunder Cricket Club was played at Cross Maidan on Sunday 3rd November. Sunder Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field first.
The pitch was slow and sticky at the beginning and offered decent purchase for the bowlers. After losing a wicket in the very first over, Shantibhai Seth Memorial Cricket Club’s no.3 Raj Gohil played a sensible as well as solid innings of 73 of 109 balls. After a couple of hours from the start, the pitch conditions ameliorated and Shantibhai Seth Memorial Cricket Club posted a total of 193 runs on the board in 54 overs. The Sunder Cricket Club’s bowlers picked up all 10 wickets, the pick of them is right arm medium bowler Sandeep Bhandari, who claimed 3/19.
In response, the batting scorecard of Sunder Cricket Club indicated a clear intention of going for the draw right from the start. They were successful in doing so but the lost 6 wickets in the process. They had a few small but long partnerships in the middle. The Shantibhai Seth Memorial Cricket Club’s bowlers put forward a fighting performance and especially, slow left arm bowler picked up 3 wickets in 10 overs only conceding 28 runs. All the bowlers had very strict economies and it was an interesting competition between two teams which eventually resulted in a draw.
Union Cricket Club opting to bat first notched up a total of 148/10 at the Payyade SC ground. Opener Hritik Pandey looked confident hitting an impressive 52 off 99 balls laced with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Hritik kept his calm while dealt with the bad balls as wickets were tumbling from the other end. Spinner Satvik Tadepalli was excellent with the ball coming up with a marathon spell of 6/23 in 22.1 overs alongiwith 12 maidens. Satvik was bang on with the ball while equally consistent with his line and length which reaped rewards for his team.
John Bright CC in reply were all out for 139 runs with Dhruv Tanir at the middle order scoring 40 off 71 balls. Medium Pacer Harsh Gaikar bowled a match winning spell turning the tables for his team with a fiery spell of 5/21 in 15.2 overs with as many as 7 maidens. Harsh was nicely supported by Gautam Sathe who took 3/27 in 15 overs.
Union CC could have again faced a collapse with quick wickets falling from the other end but it was again their opener Hritik Pandey playing an impressive knock of 51* in 113 balls (8 fours) which pushed the team to 120/6 in 36.4 overs.
Result- Union Cricket Club win the match on 1st innings lead
Amar CC put to bat first at Oval Maidan were all out for 60 runs in 38.2 overs thanks to the Prabhu Jolly Spinners who completely wrecked havoc over the batsman. Ajit Yadav (off spinner) and Rohit Singh (Left arm spinner) took 9 wkts amongst themselves conceding mere 15 runs in 16.2 overs collectively. Mohit conceded the least number of runs to reach a 5wkt haul in D Div this year taking 5.7 in 8.2 overs while Ajit also came good taking 4/8 in 8 overs. This was also back to back 5 wkt hauls for the young Rohit Singh who is slowy stamping his presence as one spinner to watchout for.
Prabhu Jolly Cricketers in reply surpassed the 1st innings trail and declared their innings at 97/9 winning the match on 1st innings lead. Opener Om Keshkamat was impressive hitting 40 off 78 balls while it was Amar CC’s Digvijay Singh who continues to motivate the youngsters with his consistency and commitment to the game even at such a senior age. Left arm spinner Digvijay Singh was the pick of the lot taking 6/25 in 13 overs coupled with 5 maidens.
Borivali CC after being put to bat first at Shivaji Park Gymkhana had most of their batsman chipping in with starts but none of them were able to convert their start into something substantial. Opener Tushar Tiwary’s 36 and Imtiyaz Ahmed’s 32* were the highest scores while from the bowlers it was left arm spinner Prashant Patil being the pick of the lot. Prashant came up with impressive bowling figures of 5/33 in 10.4 overs as he took some important top order and middle order wickets.
Bluestar CC in reply were bundled out for 61 runs thanks to Borivali CC’s experienced duo of Rakesh Naik and Prathamesh Golatkar. Both the left arm spinners who have been playing club cricket since many years together brought in all their experience taking all 10 wkts amongst themselves. Rakesh came up with excellent match winning bowling figures of 6/18 in 11 overs with 3 maidens while Prathamesh took 4/22 in 10.5 overs with 4 maidens handing over win to Borivali CC on the basis of 1st innings lead.
The match between Maharashtra Young Cricketers and Dadar Parsi Zoroastrian Cricket Club was played at Dadar Parsi Zoroastrian C.C, Dadkar maidan on Sunday, 3rd November. Dadar parsi C.C won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Put to bat first, Maharashtra Young Cricketers ‘right handed opener Shivram Krishna Yadav scored a magnificent 77 runs off 91 balls with 9 4’s and 1 six. Along with his contribution and few inputs from the lower order, Maharashtra young cricketers declared their innings at 177 for 8 wickets. For Dadar Parsi Zoroastrian cricket club, right arm medium bowler Ganesh B picked up 3 wickets giving 37 runs.
After a disastrous start for the Maharashtra young cricketers, the team hoped to fetch a draw from the jaws of a certain loss, Lower order batsman Tushar shringare scored 21 off 67 balls and Amol Bhalekar scored only 5 runs but he consumed 59 balls comprehensively. They were able to save the team from a defeat and at the end, the team stood at 95 runs losing 7 wickets. For Dadar Parsi Zoroastrian cricket club, Left arm medium Mahesh jadhav and Slow left arm bowler Sushil Kumar Kamble got 2 wickets each under their belt.
Match result- Match ended in a draw.
The match between Young Parsee Cricket Club and Sunrise Sports Club was held at Goregaon Sports Club on 3rd November. Sunrise cricket club won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Opening for Young Parsee C.C, right handed batsman Omkar Rilkar played a patient knock of 56 runs off 102 balls. In the lower order, right handed batsman Harshal Padwal and left handed batsman Nimit Mithawala scored 42 and 39 runs respectively. Those runs were very crucial and it led the team total to 172 runs in 47 overs and then declared. Sunrise cricket club were able to pick up 5 wickets.
For Sunrise Sports Club, it was a flop opening show but middle order batsman Sumit Shinde and Rajeev Kamath were able to safely negotiate a certain draw. For the Young Parsee Cricket Club, Right arm medium bowler Rajesh Pagdhare picked up couple of wickets. At the end, Sunrise Sports Club stood at 47 losing 3 wickets.
Result- match drawn.
In the match between Payyade Sports Club and Gay Cavaliers, Payyade Sports Club opting to bat first posted a total of 117/7 in 20 overs. Radhika Thakkar opening the innings laid the foundation for her team hitting a fluent 53 off 61 balls (5 fours). Radhika kept on building her innings despite lacking support from the other end. From the bowlers, Jahnavi Kate with 3/25 was the pick of the bowlers. Jahnavi has been a revelation in this tournament as she has been amongst the wickets whenever the ball is being handed over to her.
Gay Cavaliers in reply were all out for 71 runs in 17 overs as Payyade SC bowlers were bang on with their bowling. Amruta Parab was the pick of the lot with 3/16 while Nilofer and Mahi bagged 2 wkts a piece handing over a commanding win to Payyade SC.
Man of the Match- Radhika Thakkar (53 runs)
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In the other match which took place between Sporting Union Club and Mumbai Police Gymkhana, Mumbai Police Gymkhana batting first posted a total of 136/4 in 20 overs. Opener Sarika Koli (35) and Darshana Pawar (43) stitched a crucial partnership of 70 runs for the 2nd wicket which was probably the turning point of the game. Nidhi Gharat’s quick cameo of 29* (17 balls) was equally handy for Mumbai Police Gymkhana.
Sporting Union Club in reply managed to post only 80/7 in 20 overs thanks to all-rounder Darshana Pawar who came up with 3/6 in 3 overs alongwith a maiden. She was nicely supported by the other bowlers too as Mumbai Police Gymkhana went on to win the semi finals by 56 runs.
Man of the Match-Darshana Pawar 43 runs and 3/6
Bohra Cricketers batting first at Dadkar Maidan, Matunga Gymkhana were all out for 82 runs in 38.1 overs. Most of the batsman struggled against the home bowlers as veteran spinner Yogesh Dicholkar ensured they were not allowed to score runs freely. In a yet another effective spell, Yogesh took 6 wkts for 35 runs in 17 overs which had 5 maidens to clean up the entire top and middle order. Satish Shinde also gave good support taking 3/7 in 6.1 overs which had 4 maidens.
Matunga Gymkhana in reply notched up 177/7 in 44 overs with opener Abhijit Shetye (43), Ninad Borkar (44) and Divakar Shetty (34*) being the top scorers. Matunga Gymkhana won the match on 1st innings lead and it was indeed a dominating win!
You talk about times shield or Kanga league, if there is one man who has been consistently taking wickets at the club level, Yogesh Dicholkar’s name would quickly run through your mind and without a doubt he has been dominating the wicket takers charts since many years thanks to his consistency and passion for the game even at this age.