Left-Arm spinner Atish has certainly been a revelation this season in Kanga as he has been one of the lethal wicket takers. In mere 4 games and 8 innings, Atish now has 34 wkts with 4 Five-Wkt hauls at an unbelievable bowling average of just 5 runs per wicket and an economy of 3.16.
In his recent match last Sunday, his team after being all out for 107 runs were in deep trouble. However, Atish came to the rescue once again bowling a wonderful spell of 7/25 in 11 overs. Atish simply gave breakthroughs in every over he bowled as he did not allow the opposition to surpass his team’s total. Such was his bowling spell, that only two batsman from Navroz CC managed to score in two digits as they were all out for 75 runs.
Ours CC were 146/4 with Shakti Singh on 63* before the match ended and they won the match on 1st innings lead.
Held at the Cross Maidan Ground, Superstar SC after batting first were off to a shaky start but their experienced no.4 batsman Varun Deshpande saved his team from collapsing to a low total. Right handed Varun coming at no.4 scored a fluent 118* anchoring the innings at a good pace facing only 113 balls which had 13 fours & 2 sixes.
Varun displayed solid batting as wickets fell around him but he played his natural game with good running between the wickets as well as hitting some good boundaries. MB Union CC were 120/5 before the end of the game’s play where the match ended in a draw.
Even though the match did not come up with a result, Varun’s ton remained the highlight performance of the match.
Into the finals of the AISM U17 Tournament, C.N.M won the toss and elected to bat first at the Police Gymkhana Ground.
However, their decision to bat first backfired as they managed to score only 89/9 in 20 overs. Jay Dhatrak, Jay Jain, Aryan Dalal and Ayus Iyer all bagged 2 wkts each in what was a good team performance.
Chasing 90 runs was a mere formality for the strong Singhania team as Jay Dhatrak opening the innings finished off the chase with his quick 44 ball 67* alongwith his opening partner Aarush Patankar (15*). Singhania School won the match by 10 wkts with absolute ease and also won the finals of the prestigious AISM Tournament. It was a collective team performance throughout the tournament which helped them lift the title.
MTM Ship Management after winning the toss at Cross Maidan elected to bowl first and little did they on what was about to hit them! It was a storm by the Morgan Stanley Batsman as they notched up a mammoth total of 223/5 in 20 overs.
Pranay Khanna opening the innings scored a belligerent 35 ball 62 while also assisted Kshitij who came at no.3 for a brilliant 138 run stand in mere 69 balls. Kshitij who came at no.3 did not spare a single bowler as he scored a brilliant 100* batting till the end. Playing at a strike rate of 185+ , Kshitij smashed 9 fours and 6 sixes keeping the scorecard ticking and helping Morgan Stanley reach a big total.
In reply, MTM were all out for mere 65 runs as Devendra Thomare came up with one of the most stunning spells in a T20 match conceding just 2 runs while bagging 5 wkts in his spell of just 11 balls. Devendra cleaned up the middle and the lower order as Morgan Stanley won by a big margin of 159 runs.
Gaud Saraswat CC after being made to bat first at the Dadkar Maidan were put in deep trouble as they were bundled out for mere 65 runs in 19.1 overs. The bowler who destroyed their batting line up was medium pacer Aditya Koli who came up with impressive bowling figures of 7/29 in 9.1 overs. Aditya was spot on with the ball delivering in good line and length as he did not allow any batsman to settle in.
Koli Combined declared their innings on 99/8 winning the match on 1st innings lead. Aditya Koli overall took 8 wkts in the match and it was certainly the highlight performance of the match.
Players like Pravin Tambe, Naushad Khan, Rajesh Paghdhare are all 40+ but still play active Mumbai cricket inspiring a lot of youngsters for their fitness and passion towards the sport. Add one more name into the list as 46 yr Old Digvijay Singh who is also an ex-Goa Ranji Cricketer came up with the best bowling figures in Kanga League 2018.
DPZ CC batting first at Dadkar Maidan were all out for 156 runs with Bhushan Talwadekar top scoring with 55 runs at the middle order. Left-arm spinner Digvijay Singh fell just one wkt short of the coveted record which every bowler dreams to achieve as he came up with envious bowling figures of 9/46 in 16.3 overs. Digvijay 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.
Experience always pays off and especially in cricket where a player with a rich experience can strategize well and understand the situation better than the one who is still fairly young to the game.
Shivaji Park Youngsters after batting first declared their innings at 175/8 with Mandar Phadke scoring a crucial 56 down the order. Defending a total of 176, Nitin Surve took the onus on his shoulders to help his team win the match with ease. Leg-break bowler Nitin came up with match winning bowling figures of 7/43 in 12.4 overs as he removed the entire top order as well as the middle order. It was a display of quality bowling which showed how experience bowlers can always be an asset to the team.
Rajasthan SC were all out for 112 runs as Shivaji Park Youngsters won the match on 1st innings lead. Mandar’s half century at no.7 and Nitin’s excellent spell of 7 wkts played a crucial role in their team’s win.
Cricket is a very interesting game where it’s only the survival of the fittest. The competition is intense and you get very less chances to prove yourself or make a comeback and one mistake can cost you a match. As we say catches win matches and a dropped catches can change matches. Ninad Borkar who was dropped on a duck by a sitter changed the game after getting a one more chance to bat.
Matunga Gymkhana were off to a good start with openers chipping in well. Ishan Amin scored an aggressive 71 opening the innings while Ninad who came at no.4 was dropped on zero. Little did the opposition knew that it will cost them a match. Ninad made the most of his opportunity smashing a breath-taking 58 ball 126* to enthrall his team mates and the spectators alike. What’s more he also broke the record of most sixes in an innings which was held by Dhanraj Shinde (11 sixes). Ninad en-route his 126* smashed 10 fours and 12 sixes mostly dealing in boundaries and treating the bowlers with absolute disdain as Matunga Gymkhana declared their innings at 249/4 in 30 overs.
Youngstar Marine Drive were all out for 121 in 1st innings with Siddhant bagging 4 wkts while Divakar Shetty bagging 3 wkts. Receiving a follow on, they were again bundled out for 46 runs as left-arm spinner Yogesh Dicholkar bowled a terrific spell of 6/20 in 6 overs. Yogesh bowled well overall taking 8 wkts in the match while Matunga Gymkhana won the match by an innings and 82 runs.
It was an attack which can be described as pack of Wolves where the entire team of Payyade SC fired up with the bat with every batsman chipping in with runs.
After being made to bat first, Payyade SC were off to a solid start with opener Harsh Tank crossing the 50run mark thrice in a row in Police Shield scoring a quick 77 along with his partner Akhil who scored 41. Hardik Tamore (35), Siddhesh Lad (46) chipped in while Akash Parkar (54) at no.6 and Parag Khanapurkar(69) at no.7 stitched a decent partnership smashing half centuries. Their innings ended with Vinayak Bhoir giving the finishing touch with a quick cameo of 18 ball 43*
Mumbai Police Gymkhana in reply were all out for 195 with Shubham, quickster Badrey and Vishal Dabholkar bagging 3 wkts each.
There was’nt a single department where Payyade SC did not fire as they won the semi-finals by a handsome margin of 222 runs.
Bharat CC after being made to bat first at Shivaji Park were off to a patchy start with both their openers falling out cheaply. However, Sumedh Kamble who came at no.4 ensured his team reaches a decent total going on to smash a match winning 100* off 119 balls. It was an innings where he smashed 12 fours while also toiled hard between the wickets as Bharat CC declared their innings on 179/5 in 40 overs.
In reply, Bluestar CC were bundled out for 105 runs as Rohan Sadarjoshi and Bhavik Patel both took 3 wkts each. Vishal Bhillare scored 51 runs at no.6 scoring almost half of his team runs.
Bharat CC won the match on 1st innings lead and it was certainly Sumedh’s ton which helped them win dominantly. Bharat CC with 16 points is now at the top of the table in G Div alongwith Young Parsee team.