A lion alone is enough to rule the jungle but when there are group of lions attacking together and marking their territory it becomes all the more difficult for anyone to tame them. A similar sort of event occurred in the F Division Times Shield Match which was played between HT Media and Hafelle India at the DPC Matunga ground in Mumbai.
Hafelle India who won the toss elected to field first with an aim of restricting HT Media to a low total. However, they were in for a shock as HT media registered a mammoth total of 415/7 in 45 overs on the back of their solid batting line up. Team totals like this are not achieved everyday and that too in mere 270 deliveries but it was all possible because of collective team perfomance by the HT boys. HT media were off to a flying start by their openers Prithvi K (48) and Swapnil B (91 off 38 deliveries) as they notched up 139 runs for the 1st wicket in the 1st 12 overs which developed a great positive momentum. Swapnil missed out on mere 9runs on what could have been the fastest Times Shield ton of 2018. That was not all as Vaibhav P and Fazil M also chipped in with 42 & 50 respectively to continue the good start left behind by the openers. Mohsin M who smashed a brilliant hundred in the last match continued his good form smashing a solid 67* off 50balls while skipper Kavaldeep Singh who came at no.8 proved to be quite costly for Hafelle as his late blitz of 41ball 71 down the order took the team total to cross the 400 run mark. HT media who were 270/6 at one stage further accelerated due to Kavaldeep’s onslaught at the lower middle order. What’s more he also plonked one bowler out of the park for as many as 28runs in the 38th over. In a carnage of sorts, almost all the bowlers went for a thrashing as every corner of the ground were laced with 4”s and 6”s by the HT batsman.
Chasing 417 in 45 overs is always difficult and a pressure situation. Hafelle must have experienced the same while chasing as they were skittled out for just 57runs in 13.1 overs. Skipper Kavaldeep (Right-arm fast) who was the 2nd highest scorer with 71 was also amongst the pick of the bowlers taking 3/14 in 3 overs while left arm quickster Fazil with 3/9 in 4 overs was the pick of the bowlers for HT. Spinner Kunal N. also bowled well chipping in with 3/20 as three of them kept a tight line and length to trouble the batsman.
It was a perfect team perfomance by HT Media team wherein all the boys chipped in their capacities which eventually help them register a big win by 358runs.
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Played at the New Hind Ground at Matunga, IDBI took on SSC where in IDBI won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting SSC to a low total with the help of their strong bowling line up.
Their decision to bowl first was quite spot on SSC was restricted to mere 80runs all out in 16.3 overs. It was a collectively tight bowling perfomance from all the bowlers where in Adwait, Rajesh, Mayuresh and Nikhil all chipped in with 2wkts while Shiva from SSC who opened the innings top scored with 23runs.
Chasing a paltry 81, it was a mere formality for IDBI boys and why not when they have a solid and consistent opener like Vivek Patel who has been scoring runs at a really good average past one year. Vivek smashed an unbeaten 52* coming off mere 26balls at a strike rate of 200 smashing 7fours and 2sixes to seal the chase for his team in style. Vivek literally pounced on every bowler smashing boundaries in almost every corner of the ground.
IDBI finished off the chase in mere 9.1 overs and won the match in style by 9wkts on the back of Vivek Patel’s 52* which also earned him ‘man of the match’
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Played at the Wankhede Stadium, Shivaji Park lions and North Mumbai Panthers took on each other where in North Mumbai panthers won the toss and elected to bowl first as most of the teams who have been bowling first have fetched good results at the Wankhede stadium.
Their decision to bowl first proved to be quite spot on as Shivaji Park Lions were restricted to just 135/9 in 20 overs which is always a modest total to defend in T20’s. Almost all the batsman struggled apart from Siddarth Akre who scored 39 at no.3 while all-rounder Raunaq Sharma chipping in with 28runs down the order. From Mumbai North East, quickster Saeed Shaikh bowled an amazing spell taking 4/18 in 4overs. Not only was he economical but also gave important breakthroughs with his tight line and length.
Chasing 139, North Mumbai boys were struggling on one point with 3wkts down for just 28runs. Shivaji Park Lions were giving a hard time but one of the most rising prospects of Mumbai cricket-Yashashwi Jaiswal who came at no.4 played an anchoring knock of 69*coming off mere 43deliveries. Yashashwi smashed 5fours and 3sixes while did good running between the wickets to push his team cross the victory line by 5wkts and 2balls to spare.
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Datamatics who are playing professional cricket tournament like Times Cricket Shield for the first time are giving the experienced teams a hard time. The current Datamatics team who are very powerful and experienced in the shorter format at the corporate level are proving to be equally promising in the longer format too. In the match which was played against Bank of Maharashtra at the Azad Maidan ground, BOM won the toss and elected to bat first.
However, their decision to bat first proved to be costly as they were bundled out for just 109runs in 35.1 over. The bowlers did a really good job bowling tight where in Sagar was the most impressive of the lot bagging 4/15 in 9.3 overs while Pratik and Ritesh taking 2wkts each. It was overall a good job by the boys where in they bowled in good line and length not allowing the batsman to score runs freely. Sagar in particular was spot on being the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing a score of 110, Datamatics openers Vinayak and Malang Aras gave a flying start almost finishing the chase single handedly. Vinayak scored a match winning 50 which included some really good shots while Malang Aras also chipped in with an attacking 39.
Datamatics eventually won the match by 7wkts in a comfortable win and they are really looking promising where all the players are collectively doing a good job.
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Playing on Wankhede is always special and this match was played on that venue itself where in Mumbai North East and Arcs Andheri took on each other for a crucial MPL clash. Mumbai North East who won the toss elected to bowl first on the back of their strong batting line up.
Batting first, Arcs Andheri were off to a decent start provided by their openers wherein the ever dependable and solid Subramanian Doraswamy scoring an anchoring knock of 49 off 39deliveries but the rest of the batting line up collapsed below them as Arcs Andheri were all out for 116 in 19.1 overs thanks to Iqbal Abdullah’s 27 down the order. Experienced left arm spinner Vinayak Bhoir once again ensured that he was the pick of the bowlers. Vinayak gave only 14runs while taking 3crucial wickets in 4 overs which played a big role in Arcs Andheri’s collapse. The rest of the bowlers also bowled well chipping in with wickets.
Chasing 117 is a mere formality when you have two of the most prolific batsman of Mumbai Cricket opening the innings. Sumit Ghadigaonkar(32 off 20) and Shashank Singh gave a flying start smashing 70runs in the first 8overs while the consistent Shashank who has amassed close to 2000runs this season in Mumbai Cricket at an amazing average scored a 49ball 63 laced with 5fours and 2sixes to register his presence in MPL.
Mumbai North East eventually clinched a win by 7wkts and 4.3 overs to spare and it was definitely Vinayak with the ball & Shashank’s solid 63 which did the job for Mumbai North East.
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Played between Sobo Supersonics and Namo Bandra Blasters at the Wankhede Stadium, Bandra boys won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting Sobo Supersonics to a low total.
Sobo Supersonics did felt some early jitters with their openers not able to provide a flying start. However, Prasad Pawar who came at no.4 smashed a match winning 83 to bring his team back into the game. Prasad who is known for playing such knocks took only 53deliveries smashing 6fours and 3sixes to push his team’s total to 149/6 in 18overs. Prasad smashed some really elegant shots while also did good running between the wickets to take his team towards a respectable total. Medium pacer Azhar Ansari was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/21 in 4overs.
Chasing 150 is not the biggest of totals but surely competitive enough if bowled well. However, Namo Bandra Blasters were bundled out for 99/9 in 19 overs on the back of excellent bowling by the experienced warhorse Abhishek Nayar and the talented Rohan Raje. While Abhishek was economical coming up with 3/17 in 4 overs, Rohan was equally impressive taking 3/24.
Sobo Supersonics won the match by 50 runs and it was surely on the back of excellent innings by the talented Prasad Pawar.
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Played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, North Mumbai Panthers and Sobo Supersonics took on each other where in SOBO Supersonics who have a solid batting line up to chase any sort of targets elected to field first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total.
However, North Mumbai Panthers did a fantastic job notching up 192/4 in 20 overs. North Mumbai Panthers did not look affected after made to bat first. Right handed opener Salman Ahmed anchored the innings till the very end smashing a solid 74* off 52deliveries. Salman who smashed 7fours and 4sixes co-ordinated with every batsman not only smashing some excellent shots but also rotating the strike nicely. Salman’s knock was one of controlled aggression while he also got good support from Sairaj Patil who smashed an enterprising knock of 54* coming of mere 26balls which also included 5big sixes. Sairaj was equally impressive as he and Salman stitched a 48ball 84run stand to take the team total to 192.
Chasing 193, it was a tough fight given by North Mumbai Panthers. They did not allow Sobo supersonics to win easily, not before taking away their 7wkts. Opener Jay Bista once again top scored with a 39ball 60 while Prasad Pawar(35 off 17), Prashant Naik(35 off 19) and Gaurav Jathar (20* off 9balls) at the middle order gave crucial contributions to push their team towards the victory line. What’s more Gaurav smashed the winning runs in Dhoni ‘esque’ style with a six to register a 3wkt win over North Mumbai Panthers for Sobo Supersonics.
While Salman Ahmed and Sairaj were simply impressive with the bat, but it was a combined and collective efforts from Sobo Supersonics which helped them win over them.
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The 10th year of Youth Cricket Club season ended with a nail biting finish in a T20 match of ‘ YCC ON TOES CUP 2018 between team A V LIVE EVENTS & GARDEN STUDIO at Payyade Sports Club Kandivali.
Winning the toss and batting first Team Garden Studio got off to a flying start with their opening batsman & captain Kunal Patel & Mitesh Mehta putting up a partnership of 81 runs in 9.0 overs . They were well on course for a big total before the purple cap holder & highest wicket taker in the tournament – Amit Sheth of A V LIVE EVENTS struck thrice in the 10th over of the innings sending back Mitesh Mehta , Vice captain Sagar Pania and all rounder Khalid Mulani reducing the score to 82-3 in 10 overs which proved to be a big dent in their innings. A decent partnership of 42 runs of 23 balls between Dipesh Goradia and Kunal Patel steadied the innings before Dipesh was out with the score on 124 in 13.5 overs.
But captain Kunal Patel smashed a brutal 95 runs of 56 balls giving his best while taking the bowlers apart along with all rounder Maulik Doshi who scored 58 runs in 23 balls engaging in 74 runs stand in 5.2 overs taking the score to 217 in 20 overs inspite of good bowling by Ambrish Mehta who took a 5wkt haul for 39 runs in his 4 overs.
Chasing the score of 217 team A V LIVE EVENTS were struggling at 81 for 4 in 8.3 overs as the batsman got starts but were not able to capitalize. Match winner Naynesh Shetty who walked in & smashed a quick fire 38 runs of 17 balls before getting leg before wicket to captain Kunal Patel with score reaching 131 runs in 12.5 overs. Next batsman Jay Rawal walked in to join Ambrish Mehta with A V LIVE EVENTS required to score an impossible target of 86 runs in 43 balls. Jay started cautiously playing on the merit and soon got into the groove and smashed Sagar Pania 3 boundaries in the 14th over which shifted the momentum in favor of A V LIVE EVENTS. With still 52 runs needed 24 balls Jay decided to shift the gears in the 17th over as he scored 26 runs in that over (4 ,W, 6,4,4,6,1 ) which was the final nail in the coffin for Team Garden studio .Jay scored a match-winning 54runs off mere 22 balls to take his team to victory and lift the ON TOES CUP 2018 which also won him the Man of the Match award.
You can watch the finals on YOU TUBE courtesy A V LIVE EVENTS
YCC – SYMBOL OF UNITY!!
Man of the Match – Jay Rawal
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Played at the National CC Cross Maidan between Brothers Cricket Club and the Daiwadnya Cricket Club, Brothers CC won the toss and elected to bat first as the wicket looked good to bat first and post a decent total to defend.
Even though Brothers CC were off to a shaky start losing a few quick wickets, the talented Akash Suryavanshi who came at no.4 scored a match saving knock of 76runs off mere 89balls to bring back the momentum back in his team’s favor. Akash smashed some really good shots as he looked confident smashing 8fours and 3sixes to take his team’s total to 220/10 in 42.5 overs. Had Akash not scored 76, it would have been difficult for Brothers CC to cross the 200 run mark. From the bowling side, Sachin Kanvinde and Nitin Bavishkar took 3wkts each.
Defending 221 which is a fairly good score but not a big one, left-arm spinner of Brothers CC Ratnadeep Chavan came up with amazing bowling figures of 4/7 in 6overs(maidens) to restrict Dauwandya CC to just 74runs all out. Fast bowler Rohit Mohite also bowled well taking 4/31. Both the bowlers were really impressive and especially Ratnadeep who bowled really tight and some unplayable deliveries.
Brothers CC won the match by 147runs and it was surely on the back of solid 76 by Akash along with great bowling by Ratandeep and Rohit.
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Remember the times of Hayden and Langer or Sehwag and Sachin opening the innings? Some opening pairs are so made for each other and are so dangerous that they sometimes snatch the game single-handedly away from the opposition. We witnessed a similar sort of batting by two talented openers in the Summer Shield between Oriental CC and Bombay Wanderers at Cross Maidan.
Oriental CC who batted first were off to a flying start as both their attacking openers Jay Davane and Hitesh Arolkar stitched a match winning 202runs stand in mere 149balls. Jay Davane who is a attacking batsman went on to score a brilliant stroke filled 130 off 102 which included 13fours and 1six. What’s more he had a equally destructive partner attacking in tanden as Hitesh Arolkar also smashed an aggressive 104 off just 79balls which included 15fours in total. Both the batsman took on the bowlers with will while also rotated the strike nicely keeping the scoreboard ticking. On the back of their thumping tons, Oriental CC reached a healthy total of 361/3 in 44 overs which included 17 penalty runs.
Chasing a mammoth 362 in 45 overs is very difficult and Bombay Wanderers must have felt the pressure of chasing such a big total. Bombay Wanderers were skittled out for 95runs all out as fast bowler Ranjit Patil spearheaded the attack with a match winning bowling spell of 4/18 in 8overs (3maidens) bowling at really good line and length. The rest of the bowlers also supported him well bowling tight and not allowing the batsman to score runs freely.
Oriental CC won the match by 266runs and the openers definitely played a major role in this cleansweep victory for their team.
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