The experienced Harshad Rawle is also a first class cricketer who has played for Mumbai and Railways smashed a wonderful ton on Sunday vs Evergreen Sports Club which helped his team win the match.
Amar CC after being made to bat first at the Parsee Gymkhana batted really well declaring their innings on 22/5 in 60 overs. Right handed Harshad Rawle who came at no.4 when team was 2/27 and 3/44 went on to stabilize his team’s innings scoring a fluent 128* (146 balls) which had 19 fours and 2 sixes. The 34 yr old brought his experience into the game as his knock brought Amar CC into a strong position.
Evergreen SC in reply were all out for 140 runs with the veteran Digvijay who has been of the most impressive bowlers so far again coming up with a match winning fifer taking 5/60 in 15 overs as Amar CC won the match on 1st innings lead.
Top Contributors for Amar CC this Season-
Harshad Rawle with 384 runs in 9 innings an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 74.13 is also the top scorer of D Div in Kanga League ’18
Left-arm Spinner Digvijay Singh with 36 wkts in 11 innings at an average of 12.00 and an econ of 3.43 becomes the 2nd highest wicket taker in the D Div.
There are some players whom you make them play in any format, they will just play their natural game i.e to hit the ball on merit and play aggressively. Sehwag, Warner, Gilchrist, Jayasuriya are all legendary examples of that brand of cricket. Pratik Patil seems to be one of those batsmen in the local level of Mumbai cricket where he keeps playing his natural game no matter what the format of the game is.
Pratik who had impressed one and all with a 24 ball 82* while chasing for Sony team in the Woods T20 Tournament ’18 this time came good in the Kanga. Star CC after being all out for 118 runs at Azad Maidan got a terrific fightback by New Hindu CC as Pratik Patil opening the innings thrashed the bowlers with a 68 ball 100. Right handed Patil smashed 12 fours and 3 sixes and was certainly a treat to watch. Pratik also stitched a 136 run opening stand with Rupesh Singh (57 runs) as New Hind SC declared their innings on 188/3 winning the match on 1st innings lead.
Parel SC after making DY Patil bat on their homeground were left with a big total to chase as DY patil batsman capitalized on the situation and notched up a huge total of 419/9 in 70 overs. Two of the most thoroughbred horses of DY-Shashank Singh and Yogesh Takawale came up with brilliant centuries to put their team on the top. Shashank opening the innings scored a sublime 133 (127 balls) with 15 fours and 4 sixes while Yogesh at the middle order smashed a timely 106 (106 balls) which had 8 fours and 2 sixes. From the bowlers, Sahil Phegade was the pick of the bowlers with an impressive spell of 5/82. Taking a fifer vs the powerful line up of DY on their own ground is something commendable.
Parel SC managed to score only 289/8 in 70 overs with opener Pranay Pawar fighting it out alone smashing an unbeaten 116* off 214 balls batting from start to end.
DY Patil won the match by 130 runs while tons by Shashank, Yogesh and Pranay remained the highlight performances of the match.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance faced-off against Wrong UNS in the first League Match of the prestigious Jolly Friends Sports Club T20 Cricket Tournament 2018 at Dadar Union, Matunga Gymkhana on the 17th of November.
In the closely fought contest, Wrong UNS Skipper Vikas Bhatt won the Toss and elected to field on a wet pitch. Despite his Team losing a wicket in the 1st over, Vice Captain Ramana Meesala ensured his team got to a flying start (44/1 in 5 Overs) by lacing 33 off 16 Balls that contained 3 fours & 2 big sixes. An economical Spell from off-spinner Prathamesh Raul (4-0-18-2) and 3 wickets from Right-arm Medium Pacer Kushal, along with some good catching and safe fielding put the brakes on the rampage though.
Useful contributions from Pushkar Sharma (28) with 2 boundaries and 1 six & Rupen Chaurasiya (20) kept the innings going. But it was the late Inning cameos from Sanket Teli (16 off 10) & Swaminathan GK ensured that their Team set a fighting Target of 150 off 20 Overs, which at one point seemed like touching a mere 130.
Starting the Chase, Wrong UNS got to a disastrous start with two unnecessary run outs in the backdrop of some hostile fast bowling by Right-arm Bowler Aaraf Shaikh. Thereafter, their innings was steadied by Avinash Shetty and Vikas. A Pulled six by Avinash against Aaraf was a treat to watch. At 100/2, with just 50 needed off 40 Balls and with 8 Wickets to spare, they seemed to be cruising. That was until Off-spinner Babli Sharma (who gave away his Wicket-keeping Gloves to Rupen before coming on to Bowl) got Vikas beautifully caught by Pushkar at the extra cover boundary and Aaraf got his revenge by getting Avinash’s prized Wicket (53 off 34; 3 Fours & 3 Sixes).
Some fine Batting from Prathamesh (24 off 15 Balls) brought the equation down to just 16 off 17 balls with 6 Wickets to go. But an excellent Arm Ball from Babli got him Bowled, in an Over that saw just 1 run in the first 5 balls. A quicker final Ball beat the Keeper for 4 Byes, marking the end of an excellent Spell of 4-0-22-2.
With 13 required off 12 Balls with 5 Wickets remaining, Aaraf put his hands up and conceded just 3 Runs and took a wicket. An excellent diving save by Babli at the Long-off Boundary saved 2 crucial Runs.
Now it was all down to IndiaFirst Skipper Ajish Abdul Rehman, who had bowled 3 overs of good fast bowling till then, to defend 10 runs in the last over. A stupendous diving stop by Rupen that saved a definite 5 wides down the leg side, apart from getting a run-out at the non-striker’s end was one of the many turning points in this seesaw of a match. Overall, it was a good Fielding effort from the entire unit. One more run out later, with 4 required off the last ball, Ajish kept his cool to give away just one bye, ensuring that his Team IndiaFirst Won the Match by a narrow margin of 2 Runs.
Ramana was adjudged Man of the Match for his All-round performance. IndiaFirst plays its next League Match on the 24th.
Ajish Rehman
In a high scoring encounter that saw BD Royals and DAIS Aces locking horns against each other at Air India Sports Club, Santacruz, in the ongoing Zooters International Schools Dad’s Tournament, on Sunday, one could not have asked for a better end than a tie. Both the sides looked exceptional in all departments and finally the cliché “May the best team win” was put to rest as both, BD Royals and DAIS Aces were equally good. Batting first, BD Royals posted a challenging score of 166-3 in 20 overs, courtesy a mind blowing opening partnership of 118 runs in 91 balls between Vinay Jain (61 off 59) and Kumar Adnani (52 off 42). Both these batsmen were timing the ball well and smashing the bowlers all around the park. However the middle perished like a puff of dust and BD Royals had to settle for 166 in 20 overs. Rabindra Jhunjhunwala was the pick of the bowlers for DAIS Aces with 2-20 in his four overs.
Chasing a daunting target of 167, the openers Kalp Parikh (44 off 44) and Siddharth Gopalkrishnan (85 off 59) gave the perfect start to the innings. Gopalkrishnan would have loved to get a century but perished against the run of play. He smacked 10 boundaries and gave a tough time to the bowlers. Out of the nine dismissals, five were run outs, which amplify that DAIS Aces need to get their running between the wickets in place. Rajiv Hingoo and Niraj Dalal picked up two wickets each. DAIS Aces finished off with 166-9 in 20 overs, forcing a tie. B
Both the sides fought hard and in the end the result was justified. For his scintillating knock of 85 runs, Siddharth Gopalkrishnan was awarded as the Man of the Match. Siddharth elucidated, “It’s amazing to play cricket and feels like going back to your school days. The energy levels among the players are astounding and we had a blast playing the match today. My innings right at the top of the order was crucial and I knew I had to play a big one for my team to have an outside chance in the game. The big boundaries meant that we had to run hard between the wickets. My partnership with Kalpesh is what I will cherish a lot ”.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first against Route Mobile on Sunday at MIG Bandra, Mumbai, IDFC Bank had a horrendous day with the bat as they were done and dusted for a paltry 76 in 19 overs. Mayur Rathod was the lone warrior for IDFC who scored 25 off 29, getting no support from the other batsmen. With the ball, Hitesh Parmar wrecked havoc as he accounted for 3-23 in his four overs. Parmar was outstanding with his lines and lengths and gave no respite to the batsmen.
Chasing a small target of 77 was always going to be easy breezy. Opening bat Shrideep Mangela got off to a flyer and remained unbeaten on 58 off just 29 balls. Shreedip’s knock was laced with 11 boundaries and a six. Watching Mangela bat was a spectator’s delight as he made batting look so elegant. In the end, Route Mobile chased down the target in just seven overs, winning the match by nine wickets.
Kishore Hande was the lone wicket-taker for IDFC. The Man of the Match award was presented to Shrideep Mangela for his blistering innings. Shreedip averred, “Being an opening batsman, I enjoy facing the medium pacers. The wicket was good to bat on, and I was middling the ball really nice. I hope to take this form going into the next match as well”.
Click here for Route Mobile VS IDFC Bank Match Scorecard ….
Over 350 runs were scored in the clash between Toyota and Kathiwada on Sunday at MIG Bandra, Mumbai. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Toyota ripped apart Kathiwada bowling as they amassed a humongous score of 200-3 in 20 overs. Dinesh Pawar (95 off 59) and Aziz Shaikh (87 off 58) came out all guns blazing as they partnered for a hefty 185-run partnership off just 98 balls. Both the batsmen could do nothing wrong as they belted the Kathiwada bowlers for 27 boundaries and three sixes. It was a pure blitzkrieg at MIG on Sunday morning. The Kathiwada bowlers had an ordinary day as they could not stop the two attacking players. Rajiv Mirwani, Harsh Dhadda, and Parth Tolia picked up one wicket each.
Kathiwada gave a tough fight when they came in to bat. Opening bat Vishal Shah set the momentum as he scored a quickfire 38 (29) and in the middle order Megh (53 off 39) contributed with a delightful half century. In the end, Kathiwada were restricted to 168-8 in 20 overs, falling short of 32 runs. Chinmay Madaye was the star performer with the ball as he scalped a fifer to see his team through. Madaye ended with figures of 5-31 in four overs in the high scoring game.
Dinesh Pawar was presented with the Man of the Match for his rollicking performance with the bat. Pawar stated, “The wicket was good to bat on. I enjoyed facing the medium pace bowlers. Having Aziz at the other end was of great help as he motivated me to play a long innings. I am looking forward to continue the same feat in the upcoming fixtures”.
Click here for Toyota VS Kathiwada Match Scorecard ….
Matunga Gymkhana has certainly been one team which has performed consistently in this season as well as since past few years. Into the virtual finals, Matunga Gymkhana elected to bowl first on their homeground being aware of the bowling conditions helping them have an edge over the opposition.
It was certainly a right decision to bowl first as they bundled out Parsee Cyclists for a mere 100 runs as the experienced left arm spinner Yogesh Dicholkar bagged a yet another fifer taking 6/38 in 12.4 overs. Yogesh has been one terrific bowler coming up with wickets every time whenever his team required him to fire.
In reply, Matunga Gymkhana declared their innings at 207/7 in 36.1 overs with the dangerous Ninad Borkar the middle order once again smashing a quick 64 ball 82 (11 fours, 2 sixes). The hard hitting batsman Ninad Borkar is now the highest scorer of E Div while Yogesh tops the bowlers charts at no.2 as Matunga Gymkhana won the match on 1st innings lead. With this win, they also won the E Div Kanga league 2018.
Some of the crucial contributors from Matunga Gymkhana-
Ninad Borkar- 381 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 147.10 and average of 54.43
Ishan Amin- 254runs in 9 innings at an average of 31.75 and strike rate of 74.00
Amit Patil- 209 runs in 8 innings at an average of 34.83 and strike rate of 105.86
Yogesh Dicholkar- 38 wkts in 10 innings at an econ of 3.20 and average of 10.00
There are players, there are outstanding players and then there are legends. 50 yr old Abey Kuruvilla, a veteran of 82 first class games and the man who has played alongside Tendulkar, Dravid and Azharuddin in the 90’s in Tests and ODI’s is giving inspiration goals to many youngsters by still playing cricket with full passion.
Abey who was in the news earlier for scoring 84 and taking 4 wkts a few weeks ago in the Kanga is now again making the headlines smashing the 2nd fastest ton for this year’s Kanga across all divisions. Kandivali CA after being all out for 107 runs received a solid reply from Pandurangwadi team as openers Yogesh Pawar (78 runs) and Abey Kurivilla stitched a massive 160 run stand in mere 16.1 overs. Abey on the other hand went on to score a brilliant 103 in just 54 balls laced with 11 fours and 6 sixes. For Abey- the humble giant, no ground seems to be big enough as he thrashed the bowlers with ease as Pandurangwadi reached a score of 231/5 dec winning the match on 1st innings lead.
Muslim United after being made to bat first at Dadkar Maidan were all out for 192 runs thanks to Atif Attarwala who displayed a tearaway spell of fast bowling bagging 5/33 in 11 overs. Atif has been on song this season bowling accurately and has managed to give consistent breakthroughs to his team becoming the pace spearhead of Parkophene team.
In reply, it was a mere formality for Parkophene Cricketers to chase the score as they won the match by 6 wkts with the in-form Prasad Pawar once again coming good while chasing with a solid 56*.
It was a match dominated by Parkophene with Atif being the highlight performer of the match. His coach Mr. Dinesh Lad has guided him through many ways since his cricketing days and his hardwork is certainly paying off.