Srujan has been in good nick since the beginning of the season post rains and he has scored runs in all the MCA Tournaments so far including Kanga, Police Shield and now Purshottam Shield averaging 60.00+ in 9 innings so far which is quite impressive.
Fort Vijay after electing to bat first at MIG were all out for 229 runs as none of the batsman were able to convert their good starts. Captain Sahil Madgaonkar was the pick of the bowlers leading the pack with 4 wkts for 27 runs in 10 overs.
The chase of 230 just got easier as Srujan opening the innings carved out a classy 116* off 139 balls setting up the positive momentum for his team. Srujan smashed 16 fours and 2 sixes in a knock which can be described as elegant and solid while he also got good support from Karan Sonavale who scored a fluent 51* (81 balls) as both the boys finished off the chase with an unbeaten 138* run stand steering Parel SC to a 8 wkt win.
This year has been a revelation with so many 40+ players giving us inspiration goals. Be it former Indian Cricketer Abey Kuruvilla, former Goa Ranji player Digvijay Singh or Rajesh Pagdhare participating in Kanga. Another addition into the list is this 52 yr old left arm spinner James Godad single handedly helping his team win the match.
Achievers SC batting first at Dadkar Maidan declared their innings on 181/5 with opener Pratik Mayekar scoring a solid 56 off 68 balls (5 fours, 1 six) being the top scorer for his team. Apart from him, the batsman chipped in with 20’s and 30’s.
Shree Lad Club in reply were all out for 69 runs in what was a collapse with just two batsman managing to score in two digits. Left arm spinner James Godad won the hearts of many coming up with envious bowling figures of 6/13 in 9.4 overs running through Lad’s batting line up. Performing so nicely at an age of 50+ is nothing but an achievement in itself as he helped Achievers SC win the match on 1st innings lead.
Played at JNPT, Navi Mumbai, Thane D The Champions XI after winning the toss elected to bat first managing to score 151/9 in 19.4 overs. Skipper Mangesh Nalavade who opened the innings scored a very crucial 67 off just 44 balls hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes. Had he not scored a half century, chances were high of Thane D collapsing under 100 runs.
On the other hand, Navi Mumbai Advocates Team were all out for 100 runs on the back of some really tight bowling by Thane D bowlers. Sushil Bhalerao (3/22) and Sameer Surve (2/11) were the pick of the bowlers as Thane D Champions won the match by 51 runs in a commanding manner. Skipper Mangesh Nalavade was declared man of the match for his crucial contribution of 67 runs.
Young Mohmeddan CC after electing to bat first were all out for 221 runs in 52.5 overs on the back of middle order batsman Kadir Patel’s brilliant 113 off 93 balls. After 2 wkts down for just 5 runs and half of the team out for 89 runs, it was Kadir at no.5 changing the momentum in his team’s favor hitting the bowlers with confidence smashing 14 fours and 5 sixes. Opening batsman Jay Bista surprisingly was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wkts for just 3 runs.
Victory CC in return were off to a thumping start with Jay Bista (37) and Kaushik setting the tone for the chase. Opener Kaushik Chikhalikar anchored the chase with an unbeaten 89*off 118 balls (11 fours) while he got good support from Azhar Ansari who chipped in with a quick 34 ball 59 (6 fours, 4 sixes) as Victory CC successfully chased down the score and won the match by 6 wkts.
Parsee Gymkhana after being made to bat first on their home ground enjoyed their batting scoring a healthy total of 384/9 in 70 overs. Opener Akarshit Gomel scored a sturdy 88 (152 balls) despite a few early wickets. However, Suryakumar Yadav who came at no.4 not only stitched a 166 run stand with Gomel but also went on to score a blazing 152 off mere 124 balls. Suryakumar was in T20 mood smashing 22 fours and a six thrashing the bowlers with complete dominance.
CCI had a big task of chasing 385 runs against the quality bowlers of Parsee Gymkhana on their own ground. However, it was the experienced campaigner Vinit Indulkar taking hold of the situation anchoring the chase with a brilliant 107 (125 balls). Opener Vinit also got good support from Paul who scored a quick 42. Apart from them it was the middle order consisting of Sujit Nayak (62 off 66 balls) and Prashant Naik (85* off 92 balls) scoring crucial half centuries at no.4 and 5 which helped CCI cross the victory line and winning the match by 5 wkts and 4.1 overs to spare.
To fire under pressure in the all important finals requires a lot of temperament, a cool head and experience. It’s always believed that experienced cricketers play a huge role in cricket and Pardeep Sahu just proved what it means to have a campaigned bowler in the side as the skipper led from the front in the finals.
Parkophene Cricketers after being made to bat first at Police Gymkhana were off to a good start with their top order chipping in with runs. However, it was Adeeb Usmani at no.5 turning the script of the game with his match winning 134. Adeeb got his 134 in mere 114 deliveries giving the final blow to the opposition with 12 fours and 7 sixes displaying his big hitting abilities at such a crucial stage of the game. Quickster Badrey Alam was quite impressive taking 5/98 in 20.5 overs.
Payyade SC in reply were all out for 241 runs with Skipper Parag and Shubham hitting valiant half centuries. From the bowlers, it was Pardeep Sahu being the pick of the bowlers taking 5/54 in 12 overs. Parkophene Cricketer in 2nd innings declared their innings on 247/6 with Suved top scoring with 83 giving a target of 353 runs to Payyade team. Payyade did gave a tough fight but it was again Pardeep Sahu coming up with crucial 5 wkts in 2nd innings giving timely breakthroughs with his impressive leg breaks as Payyade were all out for 271 runs.
Parkophene Cricketers won the match by 96 runs and with that they also win the finals of the Police Shield lifting the title on the back of great team performance throughout the tournament.
Crucial Contributors from Parkophene Cricketers
Prasad Pawar-400 Runs in 6 innings at an average of 80.00 and Strike Rate of 92.00
Adeeb Usmani- 216 runs in 5 innings at an average of 43.50 and Strike Rate of 105.88
Pardeep Sahu- 16 wkts in 4 innings at an average of 18.00 and econ of 4.75
Atif Attarwala- 11 wkts in 6 innings at an average of 18.00 and econ of 3.92
National CC after electing to bat first were once again off to a flying start on the back of Jiniv (52 off 70 balls) and Shrideep. The opening combo of Jiniv and Shrideep seems to be working really well for National CC where in Shrideep went on to score a classy 172* off 194 balls. Just fresh from a match winning 95, Shrideep was all grace and calm while also dealt with the loose balls with authority smashing 17 fours and 3 sixes en-route his massive ton. Sachin Gill at no.8 scored a crucial 67 as team total was pushed to a very healthy score of 372/8 in 70 overs.
In reply, DPC Sports Club were restricted to only 194 runs in 54 overs with almost every bowlers of National CC chipping in with wickets.
National Cricket Club won by a margin of 178 on the back of solid batting by Shrideep and a collectively good bowling from the bowlers.
Sunrise SC after electing to bowl first at Cross Maidan received a strong performance from Parsee Cyclists team as they declared their 1st innings on 215/4 in mere 26 overs. Left-Handed Prasad Patil opening the innings went on to score a swashbuckling hundred reaching in mere 75 balls. Prasad scored exactly 100 off 75 deliveries smashing 10 fours and 4 sixes in what a completely stroke filled and an entertaining knock.
In reply, Sunrise SC were all out for 170 runs with left-arm spinner Mayur Deolekar bagging 4/54 being the pick of the bowlers while off-spinner Yogesh Patil bagging 3 wkts.
Parsee Cyclists won the match on 1st innings lead and lead the table at 2nd position with 15 points just a point behind Matunga Gymkhana (16 points) in E Division.
Into the final leg of the Kanga League, Islam Gymkhana locked horns with Rajasthan SC in a virtual finals at the Islam Gymkhana Ground, skipper Hashir put the opposition to bat first with the home advantage of troubling the batsman with their experienced bowlers.
Rajasthan SC were bundled out for 138 runs in 41.5 overs as off spinner Salman Khan was the pick of taking 4/24 in 13.5 overs. Experienced Hitesh Kadam who has been on song this season continued to impress with his left arm spin taking 4/76 in 17 overs.
Islam Gymkhana in return batted really well taking their score to 201/4dec in 38 overs. Aryan Bangar continued his good nick from last match scoring 58* making it back to back half centuries. Islam Gymkhana won the match on 1st innings lead and also become the C Div winners with 21 points in 9 games.
Even though the entire team performed well throughout the tournament, it was these 3 being the crucial contributors for Islam Gymkhana led by Hashir Dafedar-
- Hitesh Kadam-32 wkts in 10 innings at an average of 13.00 with 3 Five-wkt hauls.
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- Salman Khan-23 wkts in 9 innings at an average of 9.00
- Prem Salvi-233 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 113.00
Let’s take a look at those 5 bowlers who stood out from more than a hundred performances in the month of October to make it into the top 5 for the month of October.
5. Digvijay Singh (Left Arm Spinner)-9/46-Kanga League ‘18
46 yr Old Digvijay Singh who is also an ex-Goa Ranji Cricketer came up with the best bowling figures in Kanga League 2018 and is certainly an inspiration at the age of 40+.
DPZ CC batting first at Dadkar Maidan were all out for 156 runs as left-arm spinner Digvijay Singh fell just one wkt short of the coveted record which every bowler dreams to achieve. Digvijay came up with envious bowling figures of 9/46 in 16.3 overs as he troubled each and every batsman with his spin not allowing anyone to settle while giving timely breakthroughs.
His team Amar CC was all out for 97 runs and they did lost the match on 1st innings but Digvijay won the hearts of many. Digvjay Singh also achieved the best bowling figures across all divisions for this year’s Kanga breaking the record of Navi Mumbai SC quickster Bharat Shinde who took 8/10 vs Bluestar CC.
4. Tushar Pendeshwar(RHB)-5/6 in Dreamz T20 Tournament ‘18
All-Rounders are always an asset to the game and especially in its shortest format-the T20 where they play a big role. A quality all-rounder in the playing XI can make a world of a difference and Tushar just gave that quality all-round performance helping his team win the match almost single handedly.
GEP Solutions batting first were restricted to 96/9 in 20overs as most of the batsman failed to convert their starts. Tushar from FSS bowled one of the best T20 spells giving away only 6runs in 4overs of a T20 game while scalping 5wkts.
Chasing 97, FSS chased it down very easily in 13.2overs while Tushar finished the game with a quick cameo of 25* off 18 balls (3fours, 1six) as FSS won the match by 6 wkts.
3. Shreyans Bogar(Left-arm Fast)-8/21 in Kanga League ‘18
It was a match dominated by bowlers at Azad Maidan as one bowler from each team managed to change the game making it an interesting competition to watch.
Superstar SC batting first were reduced to mere 63runs all out in 34.4overs with only two batsman managing to score in two digits.
An easy win was on the cards for Juhu Vile Parle Team but Shreyans Bogar from Superstar changed the script in a matter of few overs. Left-arm medium pacer Shreyansh bowled one of the tearaway spells of this year’s kanga running through the batting line up of the opposition taking 8/21 in 7.5overs. His accurate spell of fast bowling also included 4batsman getting out clean bowled as Superstar SC from nowhere won the match on 1st innings lead.
2. Pratik Sargade (Spinner)- 12/64 in Kanga League ‘18
Played at the United Cricketers Cross Maidan, United Cricketers were made to bat first by Apollo CC team on their home turf. Their decision to bowl first was spot on as they reduced United Cricketers to mere 67runs all out in the 1st innings. The bowler who turned the game for Apollo team was Pratik Sargade bagging 5/15 in 11overs with 6maidens in what was a very impressive spell of spin bowling.
Apollo CC declared their innings on 87/2 and.United Cricketer were again bundled out for 126runs in their 2nd innings as the bowler on song Pratik Sargade this time bagged a stunning 7wkts for 49runs taking his tally of wickets to 12/64 in the match.
Apollo CC won the match on 1st innings lead & it was a match where Pratik simply snatched the game away single handedly from United Cricketers helping his team win dominantly.
AND FINALLY THE NO.1
1. Bharat Shinde (Right Arm Fast)-8/10 in Kanga League’18
In the match which was held at Shivaji Park, Bluestar CC elected to bat first with an aim of making a decent total to put Navi Mumbai SC under pressure. However, the game changed upside down for Bluestar CC as fast bowler Bharat Shinde came up with terrific bowling figures of 8/10 in 14overs with 8maidens which restricted Bluestar to 75runs all out in 37.3overs. Bharat’s searing pace and consistent line and length made life difficult for the batsman as he simply did not allow any batsman to settle at the crease.
Navi Mumbai SC in reply made 130/8dec and it was a good day for Bharat as he remained unbeaten with the bat too hitting a boundary and a six at no.9. Navi Mumbai SC won the match on 1st innings and if was definitely Bharat Shinde grabbing all the attention with his pace bowling coming up with 2nd best bowling figures across all divisions in this year’s Kanga League 2018.