Kranti Shanbhag has business experience of over two decades in various domains like Real Estate, Movies, Investments, Construction, banking and Cricket. Yes, you read it right. Cricket is one of the interest areas of Kranti and one which is very close to his heart. He has been active cricketer since his childhood days and even now he continues to play cricket.
Due to his undying passion in cricket, he along with few other partners decided to invest & buy one of the cricket teams of T20 Mumbai, Andheri Arcs.
“We (the partners of Arcs Andheri) love cricket, so this was a natural decision to invest in one of the teams of the T20 Mumbai. Apart from the love for cricket, we are business people, and see this as a fantastic networking & business opportunity. Last year I was the co-owner of Sobo Supersonics however now I am completely with Andheri Arcs. The main force of Arcs Andheri is Dr. PV Shetty, who is the main owner & driving the team right from its inception” quipped Kranti.
Kranti Shanbhag seems to be a hands-on person with cricket since he is quite active & opiniated about the players, auction & other aspects of Andheri Arcs.
“We were very keen to have Parag Khanapurkar in our team this year too however we lost him in the bidding process. This year we retained 2 players, Shubham Ranjane & pacer Tushar Deshpande. We have some new names this year who would could be promising like Iqball Abdulla (part of KKR team in IPL), speedster Vineet Sinha, Kevin Almeida, Gaurav Jathar. The franchise finished at the bottom last season of T20 Mumbai and to motivate our team, we have Sandeep Patil as the mentor to our team. Sandeep Patil is taking huge interest in in training & grooming, giving them tips & guiding them to perform their best. With this team & the support system, we are sure that we will be in finals“, asserted Kranti Shanbhag.
Kranti feels that next season onwards T20 Mumbai, could be held before the IPL auctions, coz that way the talented and deserving cricketers from T20 Mumbai can be considered in the IPL auctions.
Thane Marathas after opting to bat first failed to put up a big total reaching 118/6 in 20 overs. Opener landev S played a fighting knock of 80*in 55 balls hitting 6 fours and 5 sixes at a healthy strike rate of 145.4 when the rest of the team was struggling with the bat. From the bowlers, it was Shivam Malhotra with 3/18 being the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing a modest total of 119, opener Hardik Tamore pounced on the bowlers smashing a brutal 83* off mere 41 deliveries. Hardik took on the bowlers with 6 biggies and 8 boundaries as he silently signaled about his form just few days before the T20 Mumbai begins.
Bandra Heroes eventually chased it down in 12.5 overs on the back of Hardik’s swashbuckling knock winning the match by 6wkts and 7 overs to spare. Hardik for his unbeaten 83* was also declared ‘man of the match’
Rising Vision after opting to bat first at the RCF Chembur posted a decent total of 142/9 in 20 overs. Sagar Shah opening the innings top scored with a 38 ball 49 (4 fours) while the late cameos by the middle order ensured the team crossed the 140 run mark. From the bowlers, Yogesh Poojari with 2/25 in 4 overs was the pick of the lot.
Defending a total of 143, Warriors XI found it difficult to get going against the tight bowling of Rising Vision bowlers. Sajid Shaikh (1/5 in 3 overs), Visheshwar Singh (1/15 in 4 overs) & Vaibhav Patil 1/9 in 2 overs came up with match winning bowling spells keeping a leash on the batsman and not allowing them to score runs freely eventually restricting them to 118/6 in 20 overs.
Rising Vision won the finals by 24 runs while Sagar Shah was declared ‘Man of the match” for his 49 runs at the top of the order. With 365 runs in the series, Sagar Shah was also declared ‘Man of the Series”
Mumbai 9 May 2019 : – Mumbai Police Gymkhana ‘A’ defeated Navi Mumbai Police by 7 wickets in a semi-final match of the Inter-Corporation Cricket Tournament, organsied by Sahara Foundation and played at the Police Gymkhana ground, Marine Drive.
Deciding to bat first Mumbai Police could only manage to put on 120 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets in the curtailed 17 overs match. Dinesh Yadav top-scored for the Navi Mumbai cops making 47 runs while Yogesh Jadav picked up 2 wickets for 22 runs.
Mumbai Police comfortably chased down the winning target scoring 122 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets in 15 overs. Mayur Sanklap played a brilliant innings scoring an unbeaten 69 runs while Sunil Patil chipped in 26 runs to see the Mumbai cops easily cross the finish line with plenty to spare.
Brief scores: Navi Mumbai Police 120 for 9 wickets in 17 overs (Dinesh Mayde 47; Yogesh Jagtap 2 for 22) lost to Mumbai Police Gymkhana ‘A’ 122 for 3 wicket in 15 overs (Mayur Sanap 69*, Sunil Patil 26; Amit Wadkar 1 for 22). Result: Mumbai Police Gymkhana ‘A’ won by 7 wickets.
After scoring runs at the local level in the Inter Collegiate and Summer Shield, Maxwell Swaminathan getting an opportunity to play in Madhav Mantri tournament has certainly excelled to be a promising all-rounder. Ghatkoper Jolly Gymkhana after opting to bat first could have been all out for under 200 runs had it not been a brilliant ton by Maxwell. After a solid top order start by Rohan Tambe (59) and Kunal Chalke (48), Maxwell Swaminathan coming at no.4 went on to score a brilliant 149* off 197 balls. A knock full of impressive shots consisted 20 boundaries and a six as he kept on ticking the scoreboard despite the lack of support from the batsman below him. Eventuallly, Ghatkopar Jolly Gymkhana reached a total of 317/10 in 96.1 overs.
DY Patil Nerul Center in reply were bundled out for 124 runs thanks to a brilliant spell of fast bowling by Wasim Shaikh. Wasim returned with excellent bowling figures of 6/44 in 13 overs sending batsman back to the pavilion at regular intervals. Receiving a follow on, DY Patil were all out for 214 runs and this time it was Maxwell with the ball taking 5/75 in 15.1 overs. Maxwell with his accurate line and length reaped rewards as DY Patil could only give a target of 24 runs which Ghatkoper Jolly Gymkhana chased it down with ease winning the match by 10 wkts!
IndiaFirst Life Insurance faced the uphill task of being pitted against one of the strongest teams in the Tournament – OSM, who have been steamrolling it’s opponents till this Semi-finals.
After winning the Toss, OSM chose to bat on what seemed to be a very flat wicket devoid of any grass at Dadar Union, Matunga Gymkhana. They got to a good start, with an opening partnership of 39 in the first 4 overs, before losing their first Wicket. Santosh Palve’s 55 (42 Balls; 3 4s & 3 6s) held up the middle order. But it was a blazing 66 off 30 Balls (5 fours & 5 sixes) from Amit Patil, before Dharmendra Gupta got his Wicket in the penultimate Over of the Innings, that provided the required impetus to the Innings, helping them post a good Total of 181/6 in the stipulated 20 Overs.
For IndiaFirst Life, Anand Kumbhar (4-0-24-2) and Pushkar Sharma (3-0-25-2) were the pick of the Bowlers. Swaminathan GK (2-0-16-0) was unlucky to concede 4 Overthrows in his otherwise tight spell of accurate Seam Bowling. Wicket-keeper Rupen Chaurasiya was brilliant behind the wickets with some great saves and a lightning Stumping off Kabir Ahmad who also bowled two good overs. Pushkar, in the last over of the innings, conceded just 4 Rruns taking 2 wickets to peg OSM back a little.
Chasing a fairly big Target, an aggressive 89 Run partnership off 7.1 overs between Pushkar Sharma and Kabir ahmad for the second Wicket laid a great foundation for their Team before the latter got out for an excellent 46 off 24 Balls that consisted 3 Fours and 3 Sixes. By the time Pushkar got out for a magnificent 65 off 38 Balls (8 fours & 2 sixes), IndiaFirst were almost cruising. Kunal Bambardekar played a sensible yet aggressive cameo, and remained unbeaten on 37 (23 Balls; 4 fours & 3 sixes) along with Babli Sharma (20 n.o. in 10 Balls; 3 fours & 1 six).
At the end, IndiaFirst Life Insurance amassed the challenging Total with utmost ease, with 7 Wickets in hand and almost 4 Overs to spare. Pushkar Sharma was adjudged the Man of the Match for his superb all-round performance.
Earlier, Skipper Ajish Abdul Rehman’s superb all-round display had helped his team top their league after beating JP Corporation in a thriller. After top-scoring with 26 in a low Total of 122, it was an excellent display of quick, fast bowling from the All-rounder. Giving away just 2 Runs off 18 Balls (14 of them beating the Batsmen completely) after a shaky start, Ajish finished with magnificent figures of 3-0-8-1 at 2.67 per Over, helping his team win the match from a seemingly improbable situation.
One more great spell of fast bowling from Ajish, along-with a hat-trick (3-0-19-4) from his deputy Ramana Meesala had helped them secure the semi-finals berth in another thriller in the Quarter-finals against VPS, where they defended a Target of 104 in 20 Overs.
It needs to be remembered that the magnificent 98 off 60 Balls against Tata International and a tight Bowling spell against Wrong UNS from Ajish were largely instrumental in this winning streak of IndiaFirst Life Insurance team.
After Ajish taking the team to the semis, it was Pushkar steering team to the finals. Ajish & Pushkar are also currently among the top Run Scorers in the Tournament, with Wasim Sayyed leading the Wickets Tables. Their Team is now slated to play the Finals at Fatima Ground, Ghatkopar next Sunday, 19 May, 2019.
Thanks to skipper Jitesh Purabia’s all-round performance ( 25 balls 39, 2 for 18 in 4 overs and 3 catches) well supported by Suraj Lalvani (32 balls 53) and left arm spinner Bhavik Patel (2 for 20 in 4 overs ) ICICI Bank beat formidable RBI by 10 runs in the nail biting final of Inter -Bank tournament played at National pitch cross maidan.
Jitesh Purabia of ICICI was adjudged man of the final and also Man of the tournament. Sumit Ghadigaonkar and Jai Naik both from RBI got Best batsman and Best bowler of the tournament award.
Former captain of India Mr. Dilip Vengsarkar was Guest of Honour and Executive director of RBI Mr. Deepak Mohanti were Chief guest for the well attended prize distribution function.
ICICI Bank defeated IdbI, Bank of India, kotak bank in league matches and Central Bank of India in semi finals and RBI in the finals to lift the 60 th sir Benegal Ramarau trophy for the first time.
Brief score: ICICI 171 for 7 in 20 overs ( Jitesh Purabia 39 ,Suraj Lalvani 53 ,Jai Nayak 2 for 39 ,Abu Bukar siddiqi 2 for 34) beat RBI 161 all out in 20 overs ( Tejas Kalyankar 36*, Raju More 30, Jitu Purbia 2 for 18 ,Bhavik Patel 2 for 20)
SPW batting first at the Police Gymkhana Ground posted a total of 169/9 in 20 overs which is surely a defendable one. Kushal Davane from Shivaji Park Warriors top scored hitting a fluent 65 off 41 ball (3 fours, 5 sixes) while late cameo by Ravindra Jadhav (38 off 19) ensured the team crossed the 160 run mark. Yogesh Jagtap (3/27) and Anirudh Mainkar (3/27) were the pick of the bowlers from Mumbai Police City Riders.
Chasing a steep target of 170 at almost 8 runs per over, Mumbai Police City Riders were 41/4 and 71/6 at one stage however a brilliant innings by Swapnil Kulaye at no.5 raised hopes for sometime.
Swapnil despite lacking support from the other end took on the bowlers hitting a blazing 66 off 27 balls which had 5 fours and 5 sixes in it. Jayesh Pawar (2/27), Ravindra Jadhav (2/24) and Mayur Shirsagar (2/28) were excellent with the ball not only taking wickets but also bowling at an economical rate.
Shivaji Park Warriors won the Qualifyer II match by 19 runs while all-rounder Ravindra Jadhav was declared ‘man of the match’
A solid 118 by opener Bhupen Lalwani alongwith some middle-order cameos by Pranav Kela (53) and Viraj Jadhav (44) ensured that Dilip Vengsarkar were sitting in a strong position after reaching 341/10 in 101.5 overs. Off-spinner Tanvish Vaze with 4/71 in 25 overs was the pick of the bowlers from PDTSA Team.
Trailing 342 runs and openers losing wicket early, Dilip Vengsarkar Center were looking clear favorites until no.3 batsman Utkarsh Raut came in and change the whole game. Utkarsh went on to score a marathon innings of 220* in 309 balls laced with 27 boundaries and 2 sixes. Utkarsh toiled with the bowlers not only changing the momentum but also keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Utkarsh also received support from the middle order consisting of all-rounder Tanvish Vaze (54), Sagar Vishwas (47) and Siddhesh (33) as PDTSA Boisar center reached a mammoth 1st innings total of 470/9 dec in 118.5 overs.
Dilip Vengsarkar Boys were looking solid in their 2nd innings with Saurabh Tendulkar (82*) and Bhupen (32*) remaining unbeaten before the end of the game’s play where PDTSA Boisar center won the match on 1st innings lead.
Welspun after batting first at the Vengsarkar Academy, Mahul posted a very healthy total of 174/6 in 20 overs. Manish Ambavane opening the innings top scored with a gritty 65 off 38 balls (12 fours) while W Swapnil with a 33 ball 46 was the 2nd highest scorer for Welspun. Manish who top scored for Welspun kept the scoreboard ticking with his impressive strokeplay. From the bowlers, T Sharwan (2/26) & Anil Bhalala (2/29) were the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing 175, the entire Trafigura team struggled with only opener Anil Bhalala managing to give some jitters to the bowlers. Anil went on to score a blazing 44 ball 101 despite lacking support from the other end where in the 2nd highest score in Trafigura was 18 runs. It was a herculean knock which consisted as many as 8 sixes and 11 boundaries as he was looking dangerous to finish the game alone. Welspun bowlers did an excellent job with Vishal Shinde (3/27), Rohit (2/17) and Mukesh (2/21) being the pick of the bowlers.
However, Trafigura were all out 164 runs in 19.4 overs falling short of 11 runs. Welspun win the Quarterfinals of the tournament while Anil Bhalala for his brilliant and well fought knock was declared “Man of the Match”