The 2nd Edition of Mumbai’s Own Cricket Awards was conducted at Mithibai College, Vile Parle on 20th February. The event turned out to be quite successful with various personalities from cricketing ecosystem gracing the event. From BCCI umpires to coaches, from school principals to State as well as National level cricketers graced the awards function adding the silver lining to the event.
The Jury which consisted of Umesh Patwal (Nepal National Team Batting Consultant), Sangeeta Kamat (MCA Women’s Selector) and Ajay Kadam (Former MCA Selector and BCCI Level 1 Coach) who brainstormed their way to decide the winners across 6 categories.
Let’s take a look at the winners of the School Category –
BEST BATSMAN WINNER-SARFARAZ KHAN from Payyade Sports Club (Plays for RCB in IPL and now for Kings XI Punjab)
Sarfaraz with 520 runs in 8 innings this season made a comeback to Mumbai Cricket with a bang. With 284 runs in 5 matches including a hundred, Sarfaraz was also the highest scorer in Kanga League A Division while he scored consistently in other MCA Tournaments.
1st Runner Up- Srujan Athavale from Parel Sporting Club Team
Srujan with a total of 485 runs in 11 Innings (2 Centuries included one in Purshottam Shield and
one in Police Shield Cricket Tournament) grabbed the right attention while he was also the top run getter in Kanga League 2018-19 “B” Division with a total of 183 Runs in (5 Innings).
2nd Runner Up-Kevin Almeida from MIG Cricket Club
The MIG Skipper who has certainly changed the fortunes of MIG team in the last one year winning various matches and tournaments always led from the front scoring a total of 643 runs in 14 innings. Kevin was also the top run getter this year in Purshottam Shield amassing 289 runs in 3 innings while he scored a brilliant 122 in the finals of the Talim Shield leading from the front as a skipper.
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BEST BOWLER IN CLUB CATEGORY WINNER- ATIF ATTARWALA (31 wkts in 13 innings) from Payyade Sports Club Team
Atif has certainly been a force to reckon with, the left arm medium pacer has been spot on with his line and length picking up wickets under crunch situations. ATIF was on a rampage in Talim Shield too where he was the top-wicket taker this season.
1st Runner Up- Parikshit Valsangkar– (29 wkts in 9 innings) from New Hind Sporting Club Team
Apart from being a very consistent batsman who has consistently scored those 40’s and 50’s in whichever tournaments he has played his year, Parikshit has been impressive with the ball too. In the finals of the Purshottam Shield, Parikshit took 5wkt hauls in both the innings of the match and also came up with a crucial half century to steer his team towards the title win.
2nd Runner Up- Badrey Alam (29wkts in 9 innings from Payyade Sports Club Team)
One of the fastest bowlers at present in the Club Category of Mumbai Cricket, Badrey has always been the frontline bowler for his team. This season with 29 scalps in 9 innings made him the 2nd runner up while he was the winner last year.
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Most Popular Player in Club Category
Winner – Sagar Mishra from Parkophene Cricket Club
Votes – 651 Votes
All-rounder Sagar Mishra won the most popular award in the club category with quite a big margin amassing 651 votes to surpass his contemparies. In the Purshottam Shield, Sagar scored a fashionable 103 alongwith a 6 wkt haul vs PJ Hindu Gymkhana which brought gave him limelight overnight. Even in the Young Comrade Tournament, Sagar gave an impressive performance vs National CC scoring 70* and 4 wkts which had helped his team win the match with ease.
Nataraj pens Mumbai’s own cricket awards, corporate category felicitation
The 2nd Edition of Mumbai’s Own Cricket Awards was conducted at Mithibai College, Vile Parle on 20th February. The event turned out to be quite successful with various personalities from cricketing world attending the event. From experienced BCCI umpires to coaches, from School Principals to State as well as National level cricketers came to the awards function adding relevance & fun to the evening.
The Jury which consisted of Umesh Patwal (Nepal National Team Batting Consultant), Sangeeta Kamat (MCA Women’s Selector) and Ajay Kadam (Former MCA Selector and BCCI Level 1 Coach) who brainstormed their way to decide the winners across 6 categories.
Let’s take a look at the Winners of the Corporate Category –
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BEST BATSMAN WINNER – Anil Bhalala from Trafigura Global Team
Anil has been one destructive batsman and his form this season has been simply excellent. Anil Bhalala notched up 522 runs in 9 innings this season helping his team win on numerous occasions which helped him bag this coveted award in the Club Category.
1st Runner Up – Mandar Todankar from Star India Team
Mandar known for his aggressive batting scored 294 runs in 7 innings with a best score of 100 which came in mere 47 balls in the Masters Cup making him a very dangerous batsman in the T20 format.
2nd Runner Up – Ajay Singh Janu from Montage Team
Ajay is one player who shot into limelight this season by hitting two glorious back to back centuries in the T20 Format. Ajay scored 287 runs in 4 innings and probably a few more matches would have given Anil Bhalala a tough fight.
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BEST BOWLER WINNER – UMESH PANCHAL from JP Morgan Team
Umesh with 15 wkts in 7 innings has been one consistent bowler for JP Morgan. He has also been very economical with impressive run rate making him a bowler to depend on in the T20 Format which helped him bag the best bowler award.
1st Runner Up – Mohammad Amir from Route Mobile
With 12 wkts in 5 innings, Mohamad Amir was tough contender for the winner’s spot but he eventually became the 1st runner up. He has been the frontline bowler for Route Mobile and has bowled some impressive spells this season.
2nd Runner Up– Manish Kumar from Star TV Team
Manish Kumar has bagged 16 wkts in 9 innings for Star TV this season making him a more than reliable bowler. He has delivered consistently for his team and struck wickets whenever the team required breakthroughs.
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Most Popular Player in Corporate Category
Winner – Kshitij Iyengar from Morgan Stanley Team
Vote – 465 votes
With 465 votes to his name, Kshitij not only became the most popular player in the Corporate Category but he is also the Mr. Consistent. Khsitij has smashed some quick half centuries as well as some brilliant hundreds for Morgan Stanley and he is certainly one of the batting mainstays of his team. His 54 ball 100* vs MTM Ship Management in the Dreamz Corporate Trophy still remains fresh to many of the opponents in the corporate category.
In the match between Avinash Salvi Foundation Vashi and Vasant Vihar High School at the SPCA ground I Kalyan, AVFS opted to bat first notching up 130/3 in 20 overs. Opening the innings Abhigyan Kondu who has been scoring runs consistently continued to impress with a yet another stellar knock smashing 107* off 87 balls. Abhigyan smashed 16 fours and 3 sixes staying unbeaten from start to end.
Vasant Vihar Thane in reply managed to score 109/6 despite a hard fought 56* by opener Kedar Ambre. Avinash Salvi Foundation Vashi won the match by 21 runs while Abhigyan was declared ‘man of the match”
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In the match between Titans Cricket Academy and Vasant Vihar High School Thane, VVHS opening the innings scored 115/4 in 20 overs where in Sharvil Ranade top scored with an impressive 64 runs off 65 balls. Titans Cricket Academy in reply were bundled out for 102 runs thanks to the tight bowling by the bowlers. VVHS won the match by 12 runs where in Sharvil Ranade was declared ‘man of the match’
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In the match between Hiranandani School and Shreyas Cricket Academy, Hiranandani School batting first managed to score only 98/8 in 20 overs. Shreyas Cricket Academy Dombivali chased down the score in mere 15.5 overs winning the match by 7 wkts. Gaurav Chandure who scored 40 runs while chasing was declared “man of the match”
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In the match between Vijay Indap Cricket Academy and Kalyan Sports Foundation, VICC batting first scored 108/9 in 20 overs. Kalyan Sports Foundation despite a low total failed to chase it down successfully managing only 98/9 in 20 overs. Harshal Madake’s spell of 3/13 in 4 overs with a maiden proved to be quite crucial which made him earn “man of the match” award.
Played between WNS Global and HPCL at the Central Maidan Thane, WNS after being made to bat first scored an impressive 239/4 in 30 overs. Ajinkya Patil opening the innings score a quickfire 112 off 94 balls laced with 6 fours and 5 sixes. His opening partner Dnyansagar Patil also gave good support scoring 62 off 67 balls as both the openers stitched a 170 run stand which set the tone for their innings.
HPCL in reply failed to keep up with the run rate managing only 146/8 in 20 overs. Spinner Ajinkya Dhumal with 3/30 was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the bowlers also bowled tight as WNS won the match by 93 runs.
Played between Utpal Sanghvi Global School and Rustomjee School at the Parsee Cyclists Ground, Rustomjee batting first scored a massive 490/2 in 36 overs out of which 135 runs were awarded in penalty. Openers Shrey (50 off 43b) and Akshat (80 off 68b) gave a flying start while it was Sanskar Panaskar at no.3 changing the script of the game with his aggressive 105* off mere 71 balls (12 fours).
Sanskar also stitched an unbeaten 158* run stand with Nihar Magre who scored an equally aggressive 72* off 41 balls (9 fours).
Utpal Sanghvi in reply were all out for 112 runs where in Shrey Shah with 4/29 and Sanskar with 3/30 proved to be too heavy for the opposition. Both the bowlers were spot on as Rustomjee won the match by a big margin of 378 runs.
Payyade Sports Club taking on the promising Somerset Cricket Club at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana were given a tough fight by the visitors.
Somerset CC opting to bat first notched up an impressive 269/6 in 40 overs. Young and Reed at the top order smashed crucial half centuries while the rest of the batsman also chipped in with starts taking the team to a respectable total.
Chasing 270 runs, Payyade SC were struggling with scoreboard reading 43/6 at one stage. The stage was all set for Somerset to upset the opposition on their home ground before Om Jadhav and Bhavay Taneja stitched a partnership of 179 runs which almost changed the script of the game. Om at no.6 remained unbeaten scoring 91* off 65 balls (15fours, 1 six) while he got excellent support from Bhavay Taneja who scored 81 runs off 68 balls (14 fours) at no.8. It was Om and Tanay’s partnership which won the hearts of many despite a stellar bowling performance by Leonard from Somerset who took 7/44 in 8 overs.
Payyade fell short of 36 runs but they were certainly saved from an embarrassing defeat from the hands of the visitors.
The extravagant Zooter International School Dad’s Cricket Tournament concluded on February 24 on a high note. The Championship Final was clinched by JNS Jaguars and the Challenger Final was won by Camp Rangers. The runners up were Fazlani United and BD Smashers respectively.
At the end of the competition, the organizers declared the Player of the Tournament and the Best Bowler of the Tournament. Atul Ganeriwal of JNS Jaguars was presented with the Player of the Tournament award and Shams Lakhani of Fazlani United bagged the Best Bowler prize.
The opening batsman Atul Ganeriwal was a vital cog in the batting wheel of JNS Jaguars. Having featured in six games, Ganeriwal scored 181 runs, including a half century. The right handed batsman scored at a healthy average of 36.2 and a solid strike rate of 112. 42. Atul had a lion’s share in taking his side JNS Jaguars to the Championship Final, and ultimately winning the coveted title.
Shams Lakhani had a wonderful outing with the ball in the recently concluded Zooter International School Dad’s Tournament. The right arm off-spinner bowled 19 overs in five matches giving away 114 runs and picking up 13 wickets at an average of 8.77. Lakhani played a pivotal role in his team’s success and contributed immensely to take his team Fazlani United to the runner-up position in the Championship division.
University of Mumbai Employees Gymkhana opting to bat first at the Navroz Sports Club Ground were all out for 162 runs in 39.4 overs. Mumbai University batsman lacked batsman who could score big while the Godrej bowlers bowled at really tight length with Santosh Bandarkar (3/19) being the pick of the bowlers.
Godrej Staff in reply chased down the score in just 28.4 overs winning the match by 5 wkts. Opener Ajinkya Kotta scored 41 runs while Gautam Das scored an unbeaten 30*as Godrej won the quarters in of the F Div Times Shield.
Mumbai Indians has planned a wonderful initiative of promoting cricket at its grassroot level for the young and aspiring cricketers of our beloved city. The city which has given some of the finest players in the history of Indian Cricket ranging from Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Rohit, Kambli to youngsters like Shaw and so many more.
A city like this certainly deserves to be tapped and that’s where Mumbai Indians has come to the core. The inter-school tournament begins from February 27. 2019 and it will be divided across two categories namely- Under 14 Boys & Under 16 Girls.
There are as many as 64 teams from various corners of Mumbai participating in the tournament and the contest will be played on knockout basis. The top 8 teams will then be divided into two groups of four each while the winner of each group will advance to the finals. The U14 category will be playing 40 over matches while the Under 16 Girls will be playing in the T20 format. For the U16 Category-the tournament will be conducted in league format.
The winners of the tournament will get a golden chance to get trained under the guidance of the Mumbai Indians Support Staff which includes the likes of Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene, batting coach Robin Singh, bowling coach Shane Bond and fielding coach James Pamment among a few prominent names. And these names certainly don’t require any introduction as they are the legends of the game.
In what seems to be a great move by the Mumbai Indians-Over 50+ schools from Mumbai with over one thousand players alongwith a total of 72 teams will be playing in the inaugural MI Inter-School Tournament.
Mumbai Indians aims to give budding cricketers the deserved exposure and experience of playing competitive cricket launching a great platform for them to perform. This initiative by Mumbai Indians also aims to become the most sought after Inter-School Cricket Tournament for the young promising cricketers across the nation.
Experience is always above everything and Vinit Indulkar at the age of 34 certainly proves it with some ravishing performances in the last 2 seasons. Just fresh from a brilliant hundred last week, Vinit continues to impress with a yet another match winning century.
CCI putting Mumbai Police Gymkhana to bat first scored 312/9 in 90 overs with three batsman-Sunil Patil (57), Mayur Sanap (54) and Shrikant Limbole (55) registering half centuries. Left arm spinners Hitesh Parmar and Sujit Nayak with 4 wkts each were the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing 313, it was a partnership of 241 runs for the 2nd wicket which changed the game. Ajinkya opening the innings scored an anchoring knock of 136 runs off 188 while Vinit coming at no.3 scored an effervescent 137 off 149 balls which was enough to steer their team into the semis as CCI chased down the score in 62.4 overs winning the match by 7wkts.