After being put to bat first by CCI Skipper Paul Valthaty, the promising line up of Karnatak Sporting Association found it difficult to dominate on CCI’s own den as medium fast bowler Harshal Soni ran through their batting line up with a sensational spell of 8/37 in 13.3 overs and 2 maidens. With a best score of just 19* by Vaibhav Mali, Harshal certainly did not allow any batsman to open their arms freely coming up with wickets at crucial junctures.
CCI on the other hand surpassed the 1st innings trail of Karnatak team declaring their innings at 107/7 in 42 overs. Young off-spinner Tanush Kotian raised eyes taking big wickets of senior players like Sujit Nayak, Vinit Indulkar and Ajinkya Patil. Tanush was consistent as well as impressive with his spin coming up with 5/34 in 11 overs with 4 maidens.
CCI won the match on 1st innings while it was a bowler’s day with one bowler standing out from both the teams.
Harshal Soni speaking with Cricketgraph said “I bowled throughout the first session from one end, wicket was decent comparatively, had an even converting of grass, was a bit damp at the start but went on to be a good wicket and nice carry thru to keeper, other one odd ball staying low sometimes. I started off pretty well, I was on the mark from first ball itself, was able to swing the ball both way. I am usually an outswiing bowler but i was getting the ball to move in as well, so that helped in the spell using short balls in between. I was mostly trying to get the ball in the right areas and was try to get the move of the wicket and the grass on it help me as well for the same as I bowled throughout the first session. I also felt that was kind of my fitness being tested but i was just thinking one ball at a time & what I have to do the next ball & that’s how i was able to push myself throughout the spell”
Sind Sports Club after being put to bat first at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana dominated the Victory CC bowlers upfront notching up 280/6 dec in 65.4 overs. Left-handed batsman Jaideep Pardeshi coming at no.3 scored a brilliant 104 off 134 balls (14 fours, 2 sixes) while he got excellent support from Chinmay Sutar with whom he stitched a 139 run stand for the 4th wicket. Chinmay coming at no.5 scored an unbeaten 102* off 140 balls as both the batsman displayed some solid red ball cricket pushing the team towards a healthy total.
Victory CC just got 15 overs to bat before the match ended in a draw with Victory CC’s scoreboard reading 46/2 in 15 overs.
The match did not obtain any results but we got to see some really solid hundreds by the experienced Jaideep Pardeshi and the promising Chinmay Sutar.
Star CC after being put to bat first at Sydenham College, Oval Maidan did not have a single batsman being able to score in two digits. Such was the quality of attack by the Marwari CC bowlers, the batters found it really difficult to get going. Right arm medium fast bowler Nirbhay Kahar was simply sensationalin his spell of 7/21 where he single eliminated the entire top to middle order with his fiery line and length. It took only 8 overs for Nirbay to come up with a 7wkt haul while spinner Amaan Shaikh took 2wkts without conceding a single run in 1.4 overs.
Courtesy to left arm spinner Amit Kanaoujiya’s 5/35 in 10.1 overs, Marwari CC also received a tough fight by the Star CC bowlers but they crossed the 1st innings trail declaring their innings at 84/9 in 32.5 overs.
Star CC in 2nd innings were again bundled out for 67 runs with left arm spinner Soham Mewada picking up 5/21 in 7 overs. Marwari CC won the match on 1st innings lead while it was a match purely dominated by bowlers with as many as 3 bowlers coming up with 5wkt hauls.
A hundred in a kanga is a very special achievement for a batsman as it’s a known fact that it’s a tournament where bowlers dominate on hostile tracks & when you score a hundred that too vs a quality bowling attack, it certainly stamps your presence in the tournament. Payyade Sports Club after batting first on National CC, Cross Maidan lost their opener Hersh Tank on the very 1st ball however, the momentum did shift with opener Akhil Herwadkar (75 off 129) and Praful Waghela (28 off 76) steadying the ship again.
Coming in at no.4, 28yr old Prayag Bhati went all guns blazing as he took on bowlers with pure dominance. Prayag went on to score a brutal 129* coming in mere 93 balls with a strike of close to 140 which included 14 fours and 5 sixes.
National CC in reply batted for 27 overs with scoreboard reading 87/5 at the end of the game’s play where the match ended in a draw. From the bowlers, left arm pacer Royston Dias with 3/24 was the pick of the lot. The score of 129* by Prayag so far is the highest across all divisions in the Kanga League’19
Every year you come across some beautiful tales in Kanga Cricket where players come up with exceptional performances but what we unearthed yesterday was a next level dedication by a player who got injured in the match but still kept on playing.
Kandivali Cricket Association after being put to bat first at Dadkar Maidan, Matunga Gymkhana were all out for 106/10 in 34.3 overs but what unfolded in between their innings was something inspiring! Left-arm spinner Yogesh Dicholkar who was in a wonderful flow with the ball taking 4 of the top 5 top wickets fractured his right hand index finger while taking a sharp caught and bowled. That wicket was his 5th but he had to go to hospital during the lunch time. The X-ray revealed a half cm crack in his finger but his passion for cricket forced him to come back on the field after lunch and come up with another 4 wkts in what turned out to an awe-inspiring spell of 9/33 in 12.2 overs with 4 maidens. In the next 4 wickets he took, one of them was again a sharp caught and bowled which he took with his left hand!
Matunga Gymkhana in reply chased down the 1st innings trail and won the match on 1st innings lead. They declared their innings on 127/9 in 35 overs with most of the batsman chipping in with 10’s and 20’s.
It was a match which will probably go down as one of the inspiring matches in the years to come for Matunga Gymkhana where the experienced campaigner Yogesh fought with the odds to help his team dominate in the match. 9/33 by Yogesh are also the best bowling figures for far across all divisions while Yogesh has been a table topper amongst the highest wicket-takers in Kanga since many years.
After a tough opening game vs Chattisgarh where despite the Mumbai batters putting up a strong performance lost the match by 5 wkts, it was a match where they had to fightback vs Saurashtra.
Saurashtra after being put to bat first managed to muster a total of 245/9 in 50 overs. All-rounder Shams Mulani was the pick of the bowlers from Mumbai taking 3/49 in 10 overs. Shams continued his good form from the 1st match where he took 3/38 which were the best bowling figures from Mumbai bowlers.
Chasing a steep total of 246, Mumbai were off to a shaky start with opener Jay Bista & no.3 batsman Siddhesh Lad falling early. However, it was the experienced duo of Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav stitching a match winning 101 run stand for the 3rd wicket. Shreyas scored 73 off 82 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes) steadying the ship for Mumbai while Suryakumar made life difficult for the bowlers hitting a strokeful 85* off 71 balls laced with 9 boundaries & 3 sixes. Suryakumar toiled with the bowlers mindset playing some 360* shots while he was ably supported by Shubham Ranjane who remained unbeaten on 45* off 57 balls at no 7.
Mumbai team eventually chased down the score in 48 overs winning the match by 5 wkts on the back of some solid fifties by Suryakumar & Shreyas who scored back to back half centuries to begin the season on a positive note.
The match between Esplanade Liberals Cricket Club and Regent Cricket Club was played on 29th September in Cross maidan. Regent Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bowl first.
After a failed start, opener Sanyam and no.3 batman Ajit Pahalwan had a good partnership of 63 runs. After their partnership was broken, esplanades were not able to recover and build a solid innings. The middle order collapsed and the team was able to put up only 130 runs on their scorecard. The left arm spin twins of regent club, Shravan Ghodke and Shubro Dutta were the pick of the bowlers, sharing 9 wickets between them. Shubro dutta got a five wicket haul to his name.
In response to a score of 130, the Regent batsmen were expected to put up a good show but their performance was abysmal. Unable to avoid follow on, they were bowled out for 50 runs in the first inning and were 26/8 when the game ended. It was a fantastic outing for the esplanade bowlers, right-arm medium bowler Rammanohar singh came up sensational bowling figures of 7 for 18 and in the following innings, Shailesh Dubli picked up 8 wickets giving up mere 8 runs.
It was an incredible performance with the ball by the esplanade bowlers.
Result:The match ended in a draw.
The match between Islam Gymkhana and Khar Gymkhana was held on 29 the September in Khar Gymkhana. Islam gymkhana won the toss and elected to field first. The wicket was good for cricket and offered help for both batsmen and bowlers.
After a failed opening partnership, Khar Gymkhana was 35 for 3 at 15 over mark but small partnerships in the middle order took their game forward. Right handed middle order batsman Dinar Gaonkar scored a decent knock of 57 of just 65 deliveries. For Islam gymkhana, both javed khan and Danish rainey had 3 wickets to their name. Khar Gymkhana were bowled out for 179.
For Islam Gymkhana, openers Manan Khakhar and Shoeb Khan laid a solid foundation, they were 60-1 at a stage but due to the failuire of the middle and lower order in a short span of time, they lost all their wicket in the next 51 runs. Right –arm off spinner Aatif Shaikh destroyed the batting line up and picked 5 wickets.
The match had a dramatic ending , with only 1 wicket needed of the last over, any result was possible but atif sheikh claimed the last wicket and Khar gymkhana won the match.
The match between Mohan Cricket Club and Chembur Gymkhana was held on 29th September in Matunga Gymkhana. Chembur Gymkhana won the toss and decided to bowl first and Mohan Cricket Club were put to bat first.
In the first innings, the pitch was damp and there was decent purchase for the bowlers. The opening pair of Mohan Cricket Club couldn’t last long, losing 2 wickets in first 32 runs. No.3 right-handed batsman, Ameya Dighe played a formidable and fighting knock of 75 runs facing 123 balls, hitting 4 maximums and 2 boundaries.
Courtesy of few strong but small partnership of Ameya with the middle order, the team declared at 158/6 to give them a decent chance of fetching a win. Slow left arm bowler, Ronak daftary was the pick of the bowlers, having 4 wickets to his name with an economy of 3.5.
The pitch eased up in the later part of the day, giving some relief to the batsmen. The batting scorecard of Chembur Gymkhana didn’t have a lot to boast of, the highest scorer for Chembur Gymkhana was Raine parikh, 18 off 40. The whole team was bowled out a minimal score of 72. They were 40-3 at one stage and only one and a half hour of play was left. A draw was most likely, Fazil Mukadam, who claimed a wicket in the very first over, came in with a fiery spell and took 4 wickets in the last hour with the ball reversing. He ended up with impressive bowling figures of 6-11.
Mohan Cricket Club claimed almost 7 wickets in the last hour.
Result-Mohan Cricket Club won the match.
Div E
The match between Ours Cricket Club and Parsee Cyclists Sports Club on the 29th September was held in L.I.C cross maidan. Farhad Daruwala, the captain of the later won the toss and the Ours Cricket Club was put to bat first on a low and turning track.
Despite showing promise, the Ours CC openers got out cheaply, even the solid middle order was not able to tackle the opposition bowlers and the odd pitch, but no.3 batsman Roopkumar yadav displayed a splendid and gritty knock of 62 off 127 balls.
Despite the brilliance of Roopkumar, ours cricket club only managed to score just 127 runs in 50.5 overs. Parsee club’s bowlers made full use out of the slow and dead track, all the bowlers were impressive but right arm off spinner Yogesh Patel was the pick of the bowlers, claiming a figure of 5 for 48 out of which 4 were bowled and also affected a runout on the field.
The Parsee first innings showed solidarity until opener Tanmay Burman got out, but opener Shahen Mistry and middle order batsman, Rustom Shetna steadied the ship. In course of play, they lost couple of wickets in last hour of play and the team stood at 83 for 5. Left-arm spin duo Durvesh Pitale and the experienced Atish walinjkar ran the show for ours club, the former claiming 3 and the later claiming 2 wickets.
The match ended in a draw