Played at the Oval Ground, It was a high profile match between two big teams namely Mumbai Cricket Association and Bangalore Cricket Club where in MCA won the toss and elected to field first on the back of their strong bowlers and trouble the visiting team.
Bangalore Cricket Club batting first managed to score 126/9 as MCA’s decision to bowl first seemed to be spot on. Off-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers coming up with impressive bowling figures of 3/22 in 8overs with 3maidens while Abhay Sonawane and Deepak Patil also bowled well taking 3 and 2wkts respectively. It was all in all a good bowling perfomance from the MCA boys which restricted BCC to a low total.
Chasing a meagre total of 127, right handed attacking opener Arun Yadav who has amassed a lot of runs in 2017 with some brilliant hundreds got back to runs with a thumping 79* off mere 42balls. Arun who played at a strike rate of almost 200 smashed 9fours and 5sixes as he took on the bowlers with pure dominance sealing of the chase in mere 12.3overs.
MCA won the match by 7wkts in style on the back of Arun Yadav’s swashbuckling innings and a collectively good bowling perfomance.
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Played at the New Hind Stadium, it was now time for the crucial quarter finals between the consistent HT media and the promising JSW where in JSW won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting HT Media to a low total.
Little did they knew about the strength and depth of HT Media’s batting line up. Despite their openers failing to give a flying start, it was their dependable & solid batsman Vaibhav Patil at no.3 who took on the responsibility on his shoulders to help his team reach a decent total. Vaibhav’s controlled aggression led him to score a fantastic 118 off mere 97balls which included 15fours and 2 sixes. Vaibhav also got excellent support from Rahul Yadav who scored a quick 49ball 51 taking their team total to 230/10 in 37.4 overs. From ISW, it was Omkar, Chirag and Ishan bagging 2wkts each.
Defending a not so big total of 213, Kunal Nikam and skipper Kawaldeep took the care of the bowling department taking 4wkts each. Skipper Kawaldeep’s excerpts to Cricketgraph “Match was underway with ISW getting off to a flying start with 2 overs 20runs, then third over I got an opener bowled and since then there was a partnership building between me and Kunal, I took the ball & it was reverse swinging & we struck in almost every over’
Both the bowlers bowled an excellent spell bowling in the right areas which helped them restrict JSW to just 203runs all out. Kawaldeep’s bowling figures read 4/55 while Kunal Nikam came up with bowling figures of 4/30.
It was a yet another dominating win for HT Media where in the entire team once again gave their best efforts to win the game. Skipper Kawaldeep further added: Batting wise, Vaibhav Patil played a crucial innings since we lost two quick wickets. He and Rahul stabilized the innings and a crucial partnership was stitched between them. Hadn’t he scored we wouldn’t have reached the total, credit to his batting mainly and then our bowling which helped us reach the semis now!”
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One of the most relevant and active categories of Cricket at local level is Club Cricket as this is the phase where cricketers give their best representing clubs in Mumbai and giving their best to make a cut in the state and national level teams.
Club Cricket is a base, it’s a platform where cricketers get an opportunity to showcase their skills in various tournaments. Also one more fact if not many are aware is that 99% of the players who play at the club level are all professional cricketers and they have aims to make a career in cricket and represent Team India and if not team India than at least represent State level teams in Ranji.
Hence, lauding the performances of club level cricketers is a very essential thing and it was much needed too. With a star studded panel comprising of of Sir Umesh Patwal (Ex-coach of Afghanistan National team and current coach with Nepal Cricket Team), Mrs. Sangeeta Kamat(MCA Women’s selector) and Sir Nitin Surve( Ex-Ranji Cricketer)., the awards were conduced successfully on merit.
For the Best Batsman Category in Club Level- Run machine of DY Patil Shubham Ranjane bagged the best batsman award. Shubham has been piling on runs with pure dominance and has scored some brilliant knocks. Shubham‘s double hundred in Times Shield to his outstanding performances in Purshottam, Police and Padmakar shield tournaments made him win the trophy. What’s more Shubham has showed abilities to deliver in crunch situations. His 129* in the semi-finals, his 166* in the Police Shield Finals or his 163 in the Purshottam Finals are a testimony to his abilities.
1ST runner-up- KSA’s Eknath Kerkar has also been a consistent performer and has many a times single handedly helped his side win the matches with his aggressive batting. Eknath scored 564 runs in 6 matches this season.
MIG’s Sumit Ghadigaonkar was the 2nd runner up and he is most remembered for his back to back double tons in the Police Shield and a brilliant 193 in the Padmakar Talim Shield’18 showing his appetite for making big hundreds.
Best Bowler at Club Level- Pravin Tambe(DY Patil) who by now needs no introduction bagged the Best Bowler Trophy. Taking a whopping 40wkts in 13matches at a nice average and economy rate made him stood out from the rest. What’s more, he still gives most of the players a run for the money when it comes to fitness and passion for the game despite being 40+ in age.
Mumbai’s most popular speedster Badree Alam from Parkopheen Cricketers with 28 wkts in 10 matches was the 1st runner up while the experienced Santosh Shinde of Mumbai Police Gymkhana was the 2nd runner up taking 26 wkts in 11 matches.
Best All-Rounder at Club Level- Most of the people will associate Shashank with his amazing batting form at club level this season but not many know that he is also a very utility bowler and a good fielder. Shashank bagged the best all-rounder award with 974runs and 15 wkts in 12 matches making him one of the most prolific all-rounders.
Shashank was in such a brilliant form this season that there was a phase in between where he scored 3 tons in 4 innings out of which two were in Purshottam and one was in Police Shield.
Parag Khanapurkar who is one of the most experienced all-rounders at Club level was a tough competitor to bag the awards smashing 568 runs while also taking 18 wkts in 10 matches
Chirag Khurana who is known for his aggressive batting was the 2nd runner up and he is a proven all-rounder too with 482runs and 11 wkts in 6 matches this season
Most Popular Player Cricket Awards in Club Category – Badre Alam (Parkophene Cricketers Team) bagged the most popular cricketer award with a margin of 383 facebook votes and why not when he can rattle the batting line-ups with his thumping pace and good line and length!
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, T-shirts by ATTITUDE, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
31st March 2018 was a little step towards making a mark in local cricket, it was a movement in itself where a platform was set out to appreciate all the cricketers at all levels and not just the International stars. It was time to make each and every talent know their worth by recognizing and felicitating their performances.
Mumbai’s Own Cricket Awards by NATRAJ PENS and Cricketgraph ensured even Women’s category of cricket was covered in the awards ceremony as this has been one area which needed equal attention and appreciation.
The illustrious panel consisting of Sir Umesh Patwal (Ex-coach of Afghanistan National team and current coach with Nepal Cricket Team), Mrs. Sangeeta Kamat(MCA Women’s selector) and Sir Nitin Surve( Ex-Ranji Cricketer) ensured the recipients were selected on merit and Women’s category had one name which swept away both the awards and it was none other than the pride of India-Jemimah Rodrigues. The talented all-rounder who is making quite a mark with his blazing batting and wily bowling clinched not only the “Best Batsman’ award but she also won the most popular ‘Women’s Cricketer Award”.
Best Batsman in Women’s Category-
Jemimah Rodrigues (Mumbai U/19 Team)- The Indian sensation amassed over 1532 runs at an average of 65.00+ in 25 matches while she also bagged 23 wkts making her one of the most utility assets to have in the national side as well as for the Mumbai team. What’s more her grace and aggression while batting is nothing but a feast to the eyes while her 202* off mere 163 balls against Saurashtra was nothing but a stuff of pure brilliance. Once she gets going, she scores big and it’s quite evident from her career graph. Even her knocks of 178 & 153 vs Gujarat & Rajasthan were nothing but commendable.
Jemimah also bagged the most popular player cricket award by a massive margin of 1000 votes which is just a testimony to her popularity. She is certainly winning the hearts all over Mumbai as well as India.
1st Runner up Aachal Valanju who has scored 776 runs in 19 matches has also been one consistent batsman who has notched up a lot of fifties this season.
2nd Runner-up Charu Todankar could have given a really tough fight to Jemimah had she played a few more matches. In whatever matches she played, Charu was quite impressive amassing 213 runs in 3 matches while also bagging 4 wkts. Her 80 ball 132 against Salgaonkar Sports Club Team in knock out stage is something which is still fresh in many cricket lovers minds.
Best Bowler in Women’s Category-
Fatima Jaffer has been an exceptional bowler and has had a consistent season so far. She has performed at every level with consistency and her line and length are also improving with every match. With 57 wkts in 26 matches, she definitely stood out amongst all the bowlers.
Janvi Kate was the 1st runner-up bagging 12 wkts in 5 matches. Had she played more matches, she could have given Fatima a tough fight.
Akshi Gaurav who is a genuine wicket taking bowler has given some excellent performances this season and she was the 2nd runner up with 24 wkts in 16 matches.
Best All-Rounder in Women’s Category-
Sheryl Rezario with 286 runs and 12 wkts in 11 matches definitely makes her one of the most utility all-rounders. She possesses the ability to change the game single handedly and has had a good season so far. She rightly clinched the best all-rounder award.
Sayali Satghare was the 1st runner up with 107 runs and 14 wkts making him a strong contender.
Vrushali Bhagat is also one player who has given some great performances and she was the 2nd runner up with 173 runs and 8 wkts.
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
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Organized by Nidhi Sports Academy, the tournament has been quite a success with some nail biting matches. In the match between Jolly Brothers CC and NSA Heroes at JNPT where in Jolly Brothers won the toss and elected to bat first.
However, Jolly Brothers batting first couldn’t make much of an impact making just 123/5 in 20overs. The openers failed to give a flying start with Rohit Desai and Sumeir Zaveri at the middle order top scoring with the bat. Rohit Desai scored a gritty 42 while Sumeir Zaveri scored 30 taking the team total to atleast 123. From the bowlers, Off-spinner Preet Nanda was impressive with the ball taking 1/8 in 3overs.
Chasing a modest total of 124, NSA Heroes chased it down successfully despite a shaky start by the top order. Talented Rugved More who has scored a lot of runs in various tournaments over the last one year smashed an unbeaten match winning 49* off just 32balls smashing 6fours and 2sixes while Kunal Tendulkar gave nice support with an unbeaten and a quick 25* sealing off the chase in style.
NSA Heroes won the match by 7wkts and 2.1 overs to spare while Rugved who fell just 1run short of a deserving half century was declared ‘man of the match’.
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FCC Tournament’s has always been a platform for cricket lovers to display their talent. The tournament every year witnesses some amazing performances, breath taking matches and some amazing talents who amaze us with their exceptional hitting abilities and mesmerizing bowling.
This year’s edition has also started with a bang where the opening ceremony was attended by CHIEF GUESTS namely:
- ALPA CHAVAN –Social activist and reformer from Shivsena, Dombivli
- Vinayak Joshi – Ex Western Railway Ranji player and Level 1 MCA coach
This year has also been great with some exciting matches so far, some were close while some were dominating but all in the tournament stays a pure entertainment and a big success.
In the match between Warriors CC and Taloja CC at Asahi Glass Ltd, Taloja,, Warriors CC who won the toss elected to bat first with an aim of making a big total on a batting track which had some support for the bowlers. Warriors CC batting first made 140/4 with Samir, Rohit and Devesh chipping in with quick 30’s.From the bowlers, Pratik was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/21 in 3 overs while the rest of the bowlers also supported well.
Chasing a total of 141,Prasad who opened the innings took on the bowlers from the start smashing a 37ball 63* anchoring the chase. Prasd was dominating with the bat smashing 8fours and a six while he got excellent support from Parikshit who also scored an elegant 56* in mere 33balls hitting 4sixes and 5fours in it. It was on the back of their excellent partnership Rangers CC won the match in the most dominating manner by 8wkts while attacking opener Prasad was declared ‘man of the match;
Other Match Details-
Match 1
FCC PHANTOMS VS SIEMENS CORPORATE TEAM
FCC Phantoms- 103/9 in 15 overs
Siemens-104/8 in 14.3 overs
Man of the Match – Vinod – MoM from SIEMENS
Match 2
DATAFRIENDS vs SHM-ULHASNAGAR
Datafriends- 99/8 in 15overs
SHM-ULHASNAGAR-87/9 in 15overs
Man of the Match – SAGAR NEHETE from DATAFRIENDS
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The stage was set, the awards were inked and everything was in line for a big movement as well as a valuable moment in the history of local cricket. Yes! Mumbai’s very own Local Cricket Awards was successfully conducted at Ackruti trade Center at 91 Springboard Hall where in the entire venue was packed with full capacity where coaches, Mumbai’s most promising cricketers, parents and school principals attended the event.
Leading the panel was our renowned coach of Mumbai Cricket Umesh Patwal-the newly appointed batting consultant of the Nepal Cricket Team. Umesh Patwal also had a stint with the Afghanistan Cricket Team as a batting coach. The next up was Sangeeta Kamat- selector for senior women within MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) and Nitin Surve- ex-western railways cricketer rounding up a rather very relevant star studded panel.
Performances from a total of 6 categories, namely school cricket, college cricket, corporate tournaments, club cricket, professional cricket (Advocates, Doctors & Architects) and Women’s cricket was taken into consideration. Each category had awards for the top 3 Batting, Bowling & all round performances. There was also an award for the most popular cricketer which was voted through Facebook likes.
The best part was even professional cricket was taken into consideration where in Advocates who have been playing cricket consistently well in various tournaments as their 2nd passion were felicitated. Acknowledging and recognizing their performances was indeed important as they manage their work life as well as make time to play cricket following their love towards the game.
In the Advocates Section there were 3nominations as follows-
- Roshan Shetty (Thane A Advocate ) –
Total – 365 runs and 13 Wkts in 10 Matches
Best Performance – TASC Challengers Cup Cricket Tournament 2017-18 – 68 runs against Amhi Punekar 12 Che Team in Final
- Navodit Gujjar (VVCS Vasai) –
Total = 420 runs in 11 Matches
Best Performance – TASC Challengers Cup Cricket Tournament 2017 – 18 = Total 218 runs in 4 Matches (70* runs not out against Kalyan Advocates Team in Group League Match Stage)
3. Ninad Muzumdar (High Courts/CMM) –
Total = 332 runs and 6 Wkts in 8 Matches
Best Performance – TASC Challengers T20 Cup Cricket Tournament 2017-18 – 100 runs in 62 balls against Thane A Advocate Team in Semi Final Match
Talented All-rounder Roshan Shetty clinched the award as he was felicitated with a NATARAJ & CRICKETGRAPH certificate, Fast & UP hamper, a stunning BR Sports English Willow Bat and a Trophy. Roshan Shetty who is an attacking all-rounder has played many match-winning knocks and has single handedly turned the script of the game many a times while he has also been quite handy with the ball who has the ability to take provide with crucial breakthroughs. As a result, he was rightly awarded for his consistency in Professional Cricket. Navodit Gujjar and Ninad Muzumdar were equally commendable and they have also been exceptional performers at the Professional level.
The event ended on a successful note and a remarkable moment was witnessed where local cricket-which is the most untapped and unrecognized level of cricket at the grassroots level was given a recognition as well as a stage was provided where players who grind day in and day out were finally felicitated and recognized for their hard work and brilliant performances.
Mumbai’s own Cricket Awards- an initiative where grassroot level cricket was about to get a proper stage and was about to get recognized turned out to be quite a success yesterday with the 91 Springboard Hall filled in full capacity by the most relevant people including young promising as well as popular cricketers, coaches, parents and principals gracing the event with their presence.
The awards which had 6 different categories was headed by an illustrious panel of Umesh Patwal (Current Coach with Nepal Team), Sangeeta Naik (Women’s MCA selector) and Nitin Surve ( Ex-Ranji Cricketer) where in cricketers from School level were recognized and felicitated.
In the Best Batsman category- the run machine and one of the most promising as well as consistent openers of Mumbai Cricket-Vedanta Gadia won the ‘Best Batsman Award’. Vedanta who single handedly gave swashbuckling starts in the U/14 West Zone Tournament recently scored a staggering 1563 runs this season in 18 matches while also scalped 16 wkts making him one of the most consistent and prolific players at the school level. What’s more he has the ability to change the game single handedly and soaks the pressure well which are all good signs.
Raj Deshmukh who scored over 1200 runs this season and has been thoroughly consistent with the bat with a healthy batting average was the 1st runner up.
While Vedprakash Jaiswal who is another consistent batsman and the one who will always be remembered for scoring 4 double hundreds in a single season of Giles Shield last year was the 2nd runner up.
In the Best Bowler Category- Young left arm spinner Atharva Bhosale clinched the award. Atharva who has taken 41 wktsi n 15 matches this year has taken some brilliant 5 wkt hauls confusing the batsman with his wily spin. Atharva has been consistent with the ball and looks promising for a bright future. while bowlers like Khush Jain who has scalped 64 wkts in 15 matches, Ayush Zimare (51 wkts in 13 matches) and Aman Maniar (51 wkts in 13 matches) are all exceptionally talented and commendable performers missing by a narrow margin.
In the All-rounder Category- The rising name and a mini version of Jacques Kallis and Mumbai’s U/14 Skipper Ayush Jethwa was declared the Best all-rounder. Ayush who has over 1601 runs coupled with 7 tons and 46 wkts in 22 matches this season hardly had competitors matching his numbers. Ayush also brought home the Under 14 West Zone Trophy for Mumbai leading from the front as the skipper while also amassing a lot of runs.
1st runner up Mohit Tanwar from Rizvi School was a strong contender to bag the awards with 1232 runs and 27 wkts in 3 matches this season. Mohit is a proven match winner missing by a narrow margin.
2nd runner up Atharva Dakway with 308 runs and 40 wkts in 40 matches was also a force to reckon with.
Most Popular Player Cricket Awards in School Category – Akash Singh of KC Gandhi School bagged the most popular cricketer in the school category awards with a massive win by 607 facebook votes. Akash Singh is a genuine all-rounder who has single handedly helped his team many a times with his attacking batting.
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
Mumbai Own Cricket Awards by NATARAJ PENS was successfully conducted on 31st March 2018 in full capacity consisting of Coaches, parents, cricketers and all the relevant personalities in the field of cricket headed by an illustrious panel of Sir Umesh Patwal (Ex-coach of Afghanistan National team and current coach with Nepal Cricket Team), Mrs. Sangeeta Kamat (MCA Women’s selector) and Sir Nitin Surve( Ex-Ranji Cricketer).
From all the categories of awards which were conducted, College level category was something which which seemed to be the most awaited category of the lot. This is the phase where most of the boys are at their peak age of learning, growing up, working on their techniques, taking major decisions regarding their career. Cricketers at the college level have to balance not only their studies and other commitments but also have to grind hard and practice daily on the field and perform in the matches too. This is the phase where most of the aspiring players set a certain goal to reach in Cricket and take the sport seriously as a career and hence felicitating them for the hard work and great performances they put was really important.
In the College Category Award for the “Best Batsman”award was bagged by Ashay Sardesai who is a young batsman and was in the news for scoring a mammoth 250 in the C K Nayudu U23 Cricket Tournament 2017-18. Ashay smashed 855 runs in 12 matches this season and has been one of the most consistent batsman.
The 1st runner up Japjeet Singh Randhawa also bagged an award and felicitation for scoring 742 runs in 10 matches at a staggering average of 80+. Japjeet has been Khalsa’s most prolific run scorer and has single handedly helped his college team win many matches.
Left-handed attacking opening batsman of the Mumbai team who is making a mark in the Mumbai Cricketing circles with his fearless Batting-Divyansh Saxena was the 2nd runner up with 648 runs in 13 matches.
In the Best Bowler Category-Talented Bowler Abhimanyu Vashishtha who has bagged 41 wkts in 16 matches clichéd the best bowler award. Abhimanyu has been consistent with the ball and is improving everyday as far as his line and length is concerned.
1st Runner up Parag Ovhal from Podar College has also been quite a tough competitor to bag the trophy with his consistent bowling throughout the season. Parag Ovhal took 23 wkts in 9 matches.
2nd Runner-up Rugved Kulkarni from RA Podar College was also felicitated for his performance of 23 wkts in 8 matches this season.
In the All-rounder Category- One of the most experienced and prolific Mumbai all-rounder Shams Maulani who has been a dependable warhorse of whichever teams he plays for bagged the prestigious award. With over 520 runs at an average of close to 55 with the bat and 24 wkts in 9 matches this season, Shams has been exceptional as well as consistent making him a big asset in cricket.
1st Runner-up Suved Parkar who is regarded as one of the most promising talents in Mumbai Cricket right now was also felicitated. Suved with 946 runs at a very healthy batting average and 3 wkts in 11 matches has been very impressive.
2nd Runner-up Varun Lavande who is among the most attacking all-rounders at present was the 2nd runner up smashing 664 runs and 4 wkts in 9 matches.
Most Popular Player Cricket Awards in College Category – Satyak Patel from Rizvi Colllege won the most popular college cricketer with a massive win by 268 facebook votes. Satyak who is one of the most promising bowlers of Rizvi has bowled some amazing spells which made him a mass favorite.
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
Played at Basti, two promising teams took on each other namely Basti Blues and Kanpur U-14 Teams where in Basti Blue won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big 1st innings total to put the opposition under pressure.
Basti Blues batting first made a big total of 190/2 in 20 overs on the back of their skipper Abdul Rahman’s brilliant hundred. Opening the innings, Abdul took on the bowlers with dominance as he smashed 6fours and 5sixes at a strike rate of 187. Abdul’s blazing knock was well supported by Pushpendra singh who scored 39 while all-rounder Mohamad Hasan scored an unbeaten 24* before the end of the innings.
Defending 191, the pressure was more on Kanpur team as targets of 180+ are always difficult to chase in a T20 game but spinner Mohamad Hasan came up with one of the best T20 Bowling spells taking an 8wkt haul. Leg-break bowler Mohamad Hasan came up with brilliant bowling figures of 8/32 in 4overs which reduced Kanpur U/14 to 1768 in 20 overs. The strong batting line up of Kanpur where in Divyanshu Singh top scored with a 55ball 78 fell short of 14runs.
Forget about T20’s, 8wkt haul is difficult to get in One Dayers and even in Tests and what Hasan did was simply commendable with the ball which also helped him earn ‘man of the match award’ while Abdul’s brilliant 59ball 110 played a equally big role in the win.
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