Off-season has began and most of the players find a way to ensure they don’t lose touch with cricket. Some opt for indoor nets to practice, some opt for county stints abroad or some opt for paid cricket tours. In an initiative by Omtex Sports which is a leading sports manufacturing company in India, they have arranged a tour to Bangalore for the Under 19 Boys.
The 12 boys which have been selected will get a chance to play high-quality professional level matches at the Padukone-Dravid Center for sports excellence. It’s a 7 days all inclusive tour with flights, hotel accommodation and meals for the selected U19 players.
On day 1 there will be a practice session at the “6 Academy” followed by two 50 over matches on Day 2 and Day 3. The 4th day will be saved for sightseeing, swimming sessions and practice while a 2 day Test match will be conducted on the 5th and the 6th day.
The opposition team would be highly trained players of the Dravid-Padukone academy and it will certainly be a memorable and enriching experience for all the young cricketers.
After opting to bat first, Roop Nagar Cricket Club notched up a decent total of 192/8 in 30 overs at the Shastri Park Cricket Ground. The openers gave a flying start putting on 59 runs while Ajay at no.3 top scored with an impressive knock of 76 runs. Ajay took mere 60 balls which included 9 fours and a six while he also stitched a crucial partnership of 94 runs which pushed the team to a healthy total.
Vasundhara Rangers chasing 193 were bundled out for 76 runs in just 18 overs on the back of some fine bowling spells by Roop Nagar CC bowlers. Shashank Gupta bowled a match winning spell of 4/14 in just 3 overs which played a crucial role in changing the game towards his team’s favor.
Roop Nagar Cricket Club won the match by 114 runs while Shashank Gupta was declared ‘man of the match’. Jehan Rawal who scored 20 runs and took a wicket too was declared “Choice of the players award”
Mayank Rawat who came into the news for scoring the fastest triple century has now again entered the record books with a brilliant display of power hitting. Over the years across various tournaments, Mayank has played very aggressively which has helped him rise up the ranks very quickly. In the match between Rajpoot Club Dehradun and Bathinda Spartans, little did the Bathinda players knew on the storm which was about to hit them.
Mayank Rawat set the Mansa Cricket Ground on fire going on to smash a breath-taking 201* off 67 balls. His innings included a record 18 sixes and 18 boundaries at a strike rate of exact 300.00 making it the fastest T20 hundred in Punjab and one of the fastest in India too. Opener Aman (61 off 28) and Gurtej Bhura (45) batted well around him as Rajpoot Club Dehradun reached a massive total of 317/2 in 20 overs.
Bathinda Spartans in reply were all out for 102 runs on the back of some tight bowling by the Rajpoot Club bowlers. Bhagvinder Lathar with 3/6 and Yogesh Kumar (2/13) were the pick of the bowlers as Rajpoot Club Dehradun won by a massive margin of 215 runs. Mayank Rawat who scored a massive double ton was declared ‘man of the match’
Few Glimpses of Mayank Rawat’s batting
Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy after opting to bat first registered a moderated total of 171/8 in 30 overs. Though good to defend but can’t be termed as a threatening total. Opener Akshay Bisht scored a solid 45 while middle order batsman Agrim Sharma scoring 38 runs.
Chasing 172, Players Cricket Academy chased it down with ease winning the match by 8 wkts. Opener Raaghav Murada scored 35 while it was Sambhav Jain being the tormentor in chief hitting a match winning 101* off 87 balls. Sambhav smashed 12 fours and 4 sixes keeping the scoreboard ticking and making the chase look easy.
It was a commanding win for Players Cricket Academy where in Sambhav Jain was declared ‘man of the match’
Held at Maharaja Umaid Singh Cricket Academy, Sector-78 in Greater Faridabad, Ravinder Phagna Cricket Academy after opting to bat first posted a very healthy total of 265/6 in 40 overs. Krishan Badana was the top scorer from their team hitting an aggressive 101 runs in 71 balls. His innings included 15 fours and 2 sixes which kept the scoreboard ticking. The rest of the batsman batted around him with 20’s and 30’s as they reached a competitive total.
Fervent Sports in reply struggled to bat against the tight bowling of Phagna Academy bowlers getting all out for a low total of 70 runs in 21.2 overs. The bowlers did a commendable job of providing breakthroughs at regular intervals with Sameer Khan and Chandra Shekhar bagging 2wkts each.
Ravinder Phagna Cricket Academy won by 195 Runs while “Man of the match” was awarded to Krishna Bhadana.
Opting to bat first at the St.Stephen’s Ground, it was certainly going to be difficult to defeat the St.Stephen Boys to defeat on their own den. However, Ravinder Phagna Cricket Academy posted a healthy total of 255/10 in 39.5 overs. Opening the innings, Ankit Phagna scored a swashbuckling knock of 105 runs in mere 73 balls laid the foundation for a healthy total on the board. Ankit smashed 13 fours and 4 sixes while the rest of the batsman chipped in with cameos.
No one had expected St.Stephen’s Cricket Academy to give such a tough fight after losing their top 3 batters for ducks. However, wicket keeper batsman Raunak scored a fighting knock of 82 runs including an almost match winning stand by Praveen who scored 62 runs off 77 balls. Even the tail chipped in with 10’s and 20’s making it a last over thriller. Luckily, Ravinder Phagna C.A got the better of them in the penultimate delivery winning the match by 2 runs. Manik Sirohi was simply sensational with the ball coming up with envious bowling figures of 5/34 in 8 overs.
Opener Ankit Phagna was declared ‘man of the match’ while it was a good neck to neck match where St.Stephens gave a tough fight despite losing by 2 runs while Manik Sirohi also played a crucial role in the team’s win bagging an impressive 5wkt haul.
Played at the Barwansi Ground, Sanipat, Cosmos CC opting to bat first posted a decent total of 274/6 in 40 overs. With a decent top order start with captain Pankaj Kumar scoring 42 runs opening the innings and Pankaj Dabbas scoring 42 at no.3. The finishing touch was given by Mayank at no.5 who scored a brilliant 69 runs in 56 balls (7 fours, 3sixes) and Vedansh Nigania at no.8 playing a blazing knock of 44* in mere 18 deliveries (4 fours, 3 sixes) pushing the team towards a healthy total.
Greenfield Cricket Academy Sonipat in reply were bundled out for 224 runs in 38.1 overs despite a good effort from their opener Deepak Bharadwaj who scored 78 runs in 73 balls. Deepak has been consistent with the bat though he lacked support from the other end. Deepesh Kumar (4/32 in 6.1 overs) and Vedansh Nigania (4/49 in 7 overs) were the pick of the bowlers helping Cosmos CC win the match by 50 runs.
Vedansh Nigania who scored a quick 18 ball 44 and 4 wkts was declared ‘man of the match’
When you talk about first class cricket, not many kids or young players of this generation know the names of players who have been playing since years with excellent domestic records. India is one of the very few countries where only once you reach International Cricket or IPL can you be recognized and we tend to forget there is a whole world of First Class Cricket which is ideally the breeding ground for the players to reach into the National team going unnoticed. The amount of hardwork, passion and time first class cricketers dedicate if not more is equivalent to any International cricketer.
Rakesh Shukla is one such domestic great who left for heavenly abode on 29th of June 2019 at the age of 72 yrs. Rakeshji in his playing days was considered to be the backbone of the Delhi’s team and why not when he had the ability to bamboozle the batsman with his spin while chip in with the bat with crucial cameos at the middle and lower middle order.
In a career spanning almost 17yrs, Rakeshji played 121 first class games where he scalped 295 wkts (7 5wkt hauls & One 10wkt haul) at a stunning bowling average of 24.53 and a miserly economy rate of 2.53 with his effective leg break googlies. What’s more he was a perfect utility player averaging close to 32.00 with the bat alongwith 17 half centuries, 6 hundreds and 3798 runs with the bat.
Rakesh Shukla made his first class debut in 1969/70 while he played his last first class match in 1985/86 season. He has also represented India in Tests where he took 2wkts in the only game he got to play vs Sri Lanka at Chennai in 1982. With the bat his finest moment came in the 1981-82 final against Karnataka when he and Rajesh Peter added an unbeaten 118 runs for the ninth wicket to steer Delhi past Karnataka’s first innings of 705 for a memorable triumph.
Tamil Nadu Blues after opting to bat first could not muster up a threatening total reaching only 136/6 in 20 overs. A poor top order start coupled with tight bowling ensured that none of the batsman could make much of an impact apart from Senthil B’s unbeaten 40* off 31 balls at no.6. From the bowlers, Amol Bharadwaj with 2/10 and Yash Nagar with 2/22 were the pick of the lot.
Chasing 137 seemed like a mere formality for Uttarakhand boys as openers Rajat Parmar and Kunal Singh (43* off 31) gave a stunning 126 run stand for the 1st wicket in just 10.4 overs. Skipper Rajat went all guns loose hitting bowlers in every corner of the ground as he smashed 74 runs coming in mere 35 balls. The powerful left hander smacked 11 boundaries and 3 sixes at a strike rate of 211.43 as Uttarakhand team won the finals by 9 wkts and 8.3 overs to spare.
Opener Rajat Parmar was declared “Man of the Match” for his swashbuckling innings. Atik Khan was declared “Best Bowler” in the tournament, Kunal Singh was declared the “Best Batsman” of the tournament while Yogandurain was declared ‘Man of the Series’
After opting to bat first at Pushers Den, Gurugra, Passionate XI registered a good total of 239/6 in 20 overs which is always a big total to chase in the T20 format. Rishank Sharma opening the innings gave a flying start hitting a brilliant 71 runs of 45 balls. His innings included 9 fours and a six while Vikram Tomar who came at no.4 played a destructing knock of 62 runs in 32 balls (8 fours, 3 sixes). The rest of the batters gave starts as Passionate XI reached a respectable total.
Stalwarts XI who were off to a poor top order start did gave a tough fight with some quick cameos by the middle order consisting of Anupam (44 off 22), Supratim (33 off 19) and Jai (38 off 21). However, Stalwarts XI fell short by 57 runs getting all out for 182/10 in 18.2 overs. Gagan with 2/5 in just the one over he bowled and Ashish Dudi (2/33 in 4 overs) were the pick of the bowlers as Passionate XI won the match by 57 runs.
Vikram Tomar for his aggressive knock of 62 runs was declared “man of the match” while Rishank was equally impressive at the top of the order.