40+ players like Pravin Tambe, Digvijay Singh and Rajesh Paghdhare are leading by example that age is not a barrier for fitness and sports. Rajesh Paghdhare who is another 45+ player playing active cricket in Mumbai continues to impress one and all becoming a motivation for many.
Kurla SC after being made to bat first at PJ Hindu Gymkhana were all out for mere 70 runs. Shubham Yadav (4/14) and Rajesh Paghdare (4/31) were the pick of the bowlers taking wickets at regular intervals.
Young Parsee CC declared their innings at 175/5 after their lower middle order rescuing their team from a stage where they were 3/23 & 5/83. Rajesh Paghdhare and Arvind Tandel at no.6 & 7 stitched a match winning partnership where in Rajesh scored 59*off 41 balls while Arvind’s quick cameo of 46* (24 balls) changed the game in Young Parsee CC’s favor.
Kurla SC were 58/8 in 2nd innings with Arvind Tandel taking 4 wkts making it an all-round performance as Young Parsee CC won the match on 1st innings lead on the back of their two all-Rounders-Rajesh padhare and Arvind Tandel.
In what was a low scoring game for both the sides at the Elf Vengsarkar Oval, Deutsche Bank who batted first were in deep trouble at one point with 15/2 and 24/3. However, Mandar Ponkshe who came at no.3 ressurected the innings back as he fought single handedly to score a valiant 65 runs off 51 balls (5 fours, 4 sixes). Mandar anchored the innings at a time when wickets were losing from the other end and the 2nd highest score was 17 in his team.
In reply, Star India were all out for 108 runs on the back of great bowling performance by the bowlers. Most of the bowlers chipped in with J Parekh’s 3/18 in 4 overs being the best bowling figures.
Deutsche Bank won the match by 16 runs and Mandar Ponkshe who rescued his team with a crucial half century was the highlight performer of the match.
In what was an high intensity match with talented youngsters from both the sides, an exciting competition was bound to happen. Vijay Manjrekar XI after electing to bat first could have been bundled out for a low total had it not half centuries from Varun Lavande (54) and Aryan Badhe (53). Left arm spinner Vignesh Solanki chipped in with 4 wkts while Arjun bagged 2 wkts in 1st innings for Vijay Merchant XI.
Vijay Merchant XI in reply managed to score 335 runs as Pragnesh Kanpillewar once again showed his resistance and solid batting technique going to score a match winning 155 off mere 113 balls. It was an innings of pure belligerence in a test format as he smashed 21 fours and 6 sixes to push his team towards a healthy total.
Vijay Manjrekar XI in their 2nd innings were all out for 216 runs, thanks to Arjun’s tearaway bowling spell where he cleared the top order with excellent line & length. Arjun was spot on with the ball giving consistent breakthroughs while Aarya Satpute was the only saving grace with a valiant 92* saving his team from a collapse. Vijay Merchant XI were 120/4 before the end of the game’s play where they won the match by 6 wkts.
It was a match full of twists and turns while Arjun and Pragnesh were the standout performers in the match.
Citius Tech after batting first at Azad Maidan were all out for 81runs which is a not so defendable total in T20’s. Ketan Kharat was the pick of the bowlers inflicting maximum damage to the opposition as he came up with excellent bowling figures of 4/11 in 4 overs which is quite impressive for a T20 match.
On the back of his excellent spell, WNS A won the match by 9 wkts chasing it down in mere 8.2 overs. Openers Ajinkya (43) and Dnyansagar Patil (33*) finished the game in style while Ketan’s 4 wkts played a big role in the win.
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.