DIV-D
MB Union CC after being put to bat first on their home ground registered a total of 175/10 in 46.3 overs. MB Union who were off to a poor start with scoreboard reading 32/5 at one stage came back into the game thanks to a match saving 71 runs off 107 balls by Amol Patil(6 fours, 3 sixes) at no.6. Amol was supported well by Hitesh Chorghe (42) and Ninad Raut (20*) as MB Union from 32/5 reached a respectable total of 175 runs for their 1st innings. Left arm spinner Yogesh Dicholkar was the pick of the bowlers coming with excellent bowling figures of 6/29 in 14.1 overs. Yogesh is a experienced veteran of sorts at the club level while he was amongst the top wicket takers last year too as he continues to impress with the ball.
Matunga Gymkhana batted for 41 overs scoring 105/9 surviving a narrow defeat from the hands of MB Union CC. With just one wicket in hand, Divakar Shetty (12* off 87 balls) at no.8 and Saif Abbas (2* off 24) somehow did not threw away their wickets fighting it out till the end of the game’s play in what was a memorable and courageous effort put by Matunga Gymkhana.
The match ended in a draw with no 1st innings results being obtained while we got to witness some proper red ball test cricket at its best.
DIV-C
United Cricketers after being put to bat first at Cross Maidan declared their innings at 188/6 in 51.1 overs. Opener Lalitkumar Sharma scored 34 runs while it was Darshan Kamthe at the middle order top scoring with an impressive 62 runs off 69 balls (7 fours, 1 six)
Young Maharashtra CC in reply were all out for 92 runs in 28.3 overs with only two batsman i.e opener Harmesh Somaiya (20) and Kishan Ghosh (21) managing to score in two digits. Leading from the front, captain & left arm spinner Sandeep Pawar was the pick of the bowlers coming up with excellent bowling figures of 7/20 in 11.3 overs. Sandeep was spot on with the ball taking one wicket after another as they crushed the opposition under 100 runs and went on to win the match by an innings lead.
Parsee Gymkhana after being made to bat first by the Dadar Parsee Colony Sports Club on their homeground did a fairly good job with the bat declaring their innings at 134/5 in 20.4 overs. Right-handed opener Aakarshit Gomel scored more than half of the team runs displaying an aggressive brand of cricket. Aakarshit who is known for his solid batting showed that he has two dimensions to his batting and he can change gears at will quite evident from his fluent 96 coming in mere 65 balls which had 7 fours and 6 sixes. Aaakarshit fell mere 4 runs short of what could have been the fastest ton of this year’s Kanga.
DPC Sports Club in reply were all out for 54 runs thanks to some really tight bowling by the Parsee Gymkhana bowlers. Left arm spinner Aditya Dhumal was the pick of the lot taking 4/20 while Aavishkar Salvi (2/7) and Shivam Malhotra (2/9) also chipped in nicely.
Parsee Gymkhana won the match on 1st innings lead on the back of Aakarshit’s fiery 96 while it was an impressive all-round show by their bowlers too.
Div-C
Koli Combined XI after being put to bat first at the Oval Maidan ground were restricted to 117/10 in 43.5 overs. Opener Aditya Koli showed promise top scoring with 45 runs while there was nothing much to say for the rest of the batting line up. The bowler who proved too difficult to handle was young left arm spinner Brijesh Gharat who took 7/45 in 15.5 overs. Extracting the best out of the oval wicket, Brijest single handedly took all the middle & lower order wickets providing timely breakthroughs to his team.
Despite a promising performance with the ball, Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association (PDTSA) struggled with the bat with their scoreboard at one point reading 7/25 and 8/31. Eventually they were all out for 75 runs as Koli Combined XI won the match on 1st innings lead.
Div-A
Just fresh from a tearaway spell of 5/16 vs the powerful MIG, Mohit Avasthi seems like not leaving any stones unturned this season as he continues to spit fire in the ongoing Kanga League’19. PJ Hindu Gymkhana batting first on their home ground declared their innings on 153/8 in 36.2 overs. No.3 batsman Rahul Lad scored a solid looking 58 off 102 balls while he got good support from the aggressive Sachin Wagh who scored 43 off 34 balls at no.4.
Victory CC in reply were all out for 89 runs in 29.1 overs thanks to a fiery spell of fast bowling by Mohit Avasthi. Mohit returned with bowling figures of 7/35 in 10.1 overs with 2 maidens as he single handedly destroyed the entire top to middle order line up of Victory CC with timely breakthroughs.
PJ Hindu Gymkana won the match on 1st innings lead while Mohit is one bowler the opposition team certainly needs to prepare for as he looks in really good shape with the ball.
After a match winning spell of 5/25 in his previous game vs Parel Sporting Club, Sagar seems to be on a rampage as he seems hungry to make a comeback into the Mumbai Ranji team. The 25yr old all-rounder who once smashed 6 sixes in an over in his teens restricted Regal CC to just 79 runs all out in 42.3 overs as he came up with impressive bowling figures of 4/29 in 15.3 overs.
Parkophene Cricketers in reply declared their innings at 100/4 in 25 overs with Sagar Mishra topping the team’s scoresheet with the bat too hitting an unbeaten 50* off 62 balls at no.5 at a time when his team had lost a few quick top order wickets. It was on the back of his promising performance both with the bat as well as with the ball, Parkophene Cricketers won the match on 1st innings lead.
Speaking with Cricketgraph, Sagar shared- “Hope my performances will put an impact and help me play again for the Mumbai Ranji team”
DIV-D
New Amrit CC after being put to bat first at Oval Maidan (Sydenham College Ground) were all out for 87 runs in 41.2 overs. From Amar CC, the 47yr old experienced spinner Digvijay Singh who has formerly represented the State of Goa brought in all his experience coming up with an unbelievable spell of 5wkts/6 runs in 9.2 overs.
Left-arm spinner Digvijay was also in the news last year when he took 9wkts in a single innings for Amar CC just falling short of the coveted record of all 10wkts in an innings where only two other players in the world have managed to achieve that feat. (Kumble in Tests and Pardeep Sahu in Mumbai Cricket)
Amar CC in reply declared their innings at 90/4 in 28.5 overs winning the match on 1st innings lead.
Div-A
New Hind Sporting Club after being put to bat first at Dadkar Maidan reached a respectable total of 164/8 dec in 43.3 overs. Aggressive opener Karan Shah scored a quickfire 41 off 23 balls while the experienced Siddhant Adhatrao remained unbeaten on 50* off 67 balls as always showing his rock solid reliability at the middle order.
From the bowlers, it was none other than spinner Vinayak Bhoir troubling the batsman to the core. Vinayak who made his List A Debut in Vijay Hazare in 2016-17 seems to be in terrific form as he bagged 7 of the 8 New Hind Wickets coming up with exceptional bowling figures of 7/51 in 15 overs. This performance was followed by a brilliant 6/30 he took last weekend vs National Cricket Club.
Karnatak Sporting Association batted for 28 overs with scoreboard reading 60/7 at the end of the game’s play which resulted in a draw.
Div-A
In a brave move, Parag Khanapurkar the skipper of Payyade Sports Club opted to bat first (the 1st time so far in the Kanga League’19) which is one of the least decisions any team would opt for when it comes to Kanga Tournaments. Parag’s decision was certainly backed by a solid performance as he top scored with an impressive 61 off 63 balls (4 fours, 2 sixes) coming at no.5. Praful Waghela (31) and Sarfaraz Khan (34) also chipped in as Payyade declared their innings on 171/7 in 37.1 overs
In a game full of surprises starting with Payyade opting to bat first, it was just the beginning as there was one more surprise package unveiled in the form of Akhil Herwadkar. The solid left handed opener of Mumbai known for his batting bamboozled the Muslim United SC with a great spell of 6/10 in 8 overs uprooting the middle order. Quickster Badrey Alam also looked in his elements as he took 3/23 in 9.2 overs.
Payyade Sports Club won the match on 1st innings lead while it was an all-round dominating performance by their playing XI.
Div-C
Just a few months ago, Dinesh Salunkhe had a conversation with one of our CG Journalists. The 36yr old who has played county cricket, has represented Mumbai while was also part of the IPL Winning team Rajasthan Royals in 2008 had a light hearted discussion with us where he shared that “why are not experienced players picked up in T20 Mumbai? He gave many examples of many players who have been playing Mumbai cricket consistently since years but missed out on having a place in T20 Mumbai.
Well, the 36yr old experienced leg break bowler has certainly proved a point with a stellar performance in the ongoing Kanga league! Rajasthan Sports Club after being put to bat first at Cross Maidan were all out for 80 runs in 29 overs and the tormentor in chief was none other than spinner Dinesh taking 5/24 in his spell of 8 overs. Dinesh took some crucial top and middle wickets providing a positive momentum to the side.
Pandurangwadi CC in reply managed to surpass the trail score declaring at 89/7 in 29 overs winning the match on 1st innings lead thanks to a gritty 33* by Himanshu Waigankar at no.5.
Pandurangwadi CC which had some of the most experienced faces from the cricketing circles in the team won the match on 1st innings lead while it was Dinesh Salunkhe silently proving the critics with an impressive spell of spin bowling.