Shivam Dubey- he has been one player who has been consistently performing at the local and domestic level both with the bat as well as with the ball. He believes in letting his perfomance do the talking and calmly proves everyone time and again how valuable an all-rounder he is. One of the most utility cricketers of Mumbai cricket is not only a wily spinner who can bowl full time and give you crucial break throughs, he is also a one potent middle order hitter who can change the script of the game single handedly if he gets going. Just recently he displayed his abilities in the Mumbai premier league in a match between Mumbai North East Triumph Knights and Shivaji Park Lions.
Shivaji Park Lions who won the toss elected to field first and restricted Mumbai North East to 152/all out in 20 overs. The top order consisting of Praful Waghela (42), Sumit Ghadigaonkar (36) and Suryakumar Yadav (35) gave good starts but the batting line up below them collapsed as medium pacer Shivam Dubey ran through the batting line up of Mumbai North East with a fantastic bowling spell of 5/24 in 4overs. Shivam ‘s line and length was simply impressive as kept on giving breakthroughs not allowing the batsman to settle. Shivam was terrific with the ball while Shams also did a good job bagging 2wkts.
Shivaji Park Lions chasing 161 were off to a flying start on the back of Bravish Shetty’s solid 60* off 51balls. As always, Bravish keeps on proving his point as one of the most dependable and solid openers of Mumbai Cricket while left-handed big hitter Shivam Dubey contributed with the bat too smashing a blazing 47* off 23balls(2fours, 4sixes) to seal the chase in style.
Shivam completely owned the match with his breath-taking all-round show as he was surely the ‘man of the moment’ in this match.
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There are some things which improves with age. They don’t detoriate but their value and presence just keeps on improving as the time passes. Only a real car lover will know the value of an old Mercedes, only a royal smoker will know the value of a fine cigar and only the finely bred intellectuals who are connoisseurs of drinking will know the value of a 47yr old bottle of wine compared to the newly made. A 47year old bottle of english wine gets sold for lakhs while a new freshly made bottle of wine gets sold for nothing more than a thousand bucks.
Such is the case of Pravin Tambe-a bowler who has been improving leaps and bounds with age. He just gets better and better with age. You stand besides him and you will not realize that he is a 47yr old practicing besides you. Infact one may get complex looking at his fitness levels, his passion, dedication and enthusiaism towards the game. Tambe just recently showed how potent he can be in T20’s when he came up with record bowling figures in the match between Arcs Andheri and Namo Bandra Blasters at the Wankhede Stadium where in Bandra Blasters won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Arcs Andheri were bundled out for 107runs and a major reason for that was their leg-break bowler Pravin Tambe who came up with amazing bowling figures of 3/8 in 4overs. Conceding just 8runs at an economy of 2runs per over is a very rare feat in a hig-profile T20 game and not everyone can attain such bowling figures. Tambe took crucial wickets while also kept the batsman in check. Apart from him, medium pacers Aiswarya Surve and Azhar Ansari bagged 2wkts each. Chasing 108 was a mere formality for Bandra Blasters and why not when you have Shreyas Iyer opening the innings & as always indulging in regal batting. Shreyas smashed an unbeaten 53* while he got good support from no.3 Nikhil Patil who scored 39* off 35deliveries to seal the chase in just 13.2overs.
NaMo Bandra Blasters won the match by 9wkts and 6.4 overs to spare & it was definitely Pravin Tambe with the ball who silently proved how priceless he is with the ball while Shreyas and Nikhil doing the job perfectly with the bat.
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Played between Mahindra Logistics and WNS Global services at the Sydenham Ground in Oval, WNS won the toss and elected to bat first on the back of their promising batting line up to post a decent 1st innings total.
Batting first, WNS notched up 214/7 in 20 overs where in most of the batsman found it difficult to convert their starts but it was their promising opener Dnyansagar Patil who scored an elegant 102 off 125balls which saved his team from getting all out under a low total. Dnyansagar smashed 10fours and did equally good running between the wickets to ensure he kept the scoreboard ticking despite wickets being lost from the other end. From the bowlers, it was Nikhil Atgaonkar who was the pick of the bowlers with 4/47 in 8 overs.
Defending 215 which is not the biggest of totals, WNS had their trump card in medium pacer Kiran Desai who bowled a mesmerizing spell of 5/47 in 8 overs which inflicted the maximum damage on Mahindra’s batting line up. Kiran who is an experienced medium pacer made sure he bowled in the right areas and kept on taking wickets at regular intervals which reaped rewards for him as well as his team. Apart from him, Aditya and Shivam also bowled well bagging two wickets each.
Mahindra Logistics were all out for 135runs and WNS won the match by 79 on the back of Dnyansagar’s thumping ton and Kiran’s excellent 5wkt haul.
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Over the years we have seen Kumble-Harbhajan, Macgill-Warne and more recently Ashwin-Jadeja or even more recent than that Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav troubling the best of the batting line ups with their effortless spin. One such example was witnessed at the local level where the spin duo of Prathamesh and Sanket both destroyed the opposition to mere 40runs taking 5wkt hauls each.
Played between KRP XI C.C and Dadar C.C at MB Union Cross Maidan, it was the all important clash of the Summer shield where in KRP XI elected to field first after winning the toss. Their decision to bowl first was completely spot on as they restricted Dadar CC to mere 40 runs all out in 16.3 overs. Two bowlers who attacked like a team and wrecked havoc over opposition were Prathamesh Golatkar and Sanket Yashwante. Left arm spinner Prathamesh came up with 5/16 in 6.3 overs while right arm off-spinner Sanket came up with 5/18 in 7 overs out which 5 were maidens. Both the bowlers bowled really tight not allowing a single batsman to settle or score runs freely.
KRP XI chased down the total in mere 4.5 overs with Jatin Shelke smashing a quick 29* off 17balls opening the innings. KRP XI won the match by 9wkts and it was surely these two spinners who amazed one and all with their excellent spin bowling.
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Probably in the Mumbai cricketing circles, everyone knows if there is one batsman who can take the game away from the opposition in a blink of a few minutes, it is this boy Aman and that’s his USP too. He is a very dangerous customer to have in the middle order. The amount of impact he brings down the order is something which comes in very handy for any teams he plays for and he just showed his batting histrionics in the Mumbai Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium on 12th March playing for Namo Bandra Blasters vs Shivaji Park Warriors. Aman who has already smashed some of the quickest hundreds and double hundreds in local cricket proved his credentials at the big stage too and this time in a T20 match.
After winning the toss, Shivaji Park Lions elected to bowl first where in NaMo Bandra were off to a decent start on the back of Kevin and Shreyas. Shreyas Iyer who needs no introduction regarding his class and consistency with the bat smashed a yet another elegant 51 off 33balls to set the tone for Bandra’s innings. Aman Khan who came at no.4 did the finisher’s job to perfection as he went on to score a brutal 28ball 62* which was laced with 5sixes and 4fours to take the team total to a very respectable 182/5 in 20 overs. Aman indulged in brilliant hitting as the rest of the batsman chipped in with runs too.
Defending 185, Bandra boys gave a really tough fight bowling tight restricting Shivaji Park Lions to just 170/9 n 20 overs. Solid opener Bravish Shetty top scored with a fluent 51 while medium Pacer Prashant Bhoir was the pick of the bowlers with 3/28 in 4 overs. The rest of the bowlers also did their job perfectly as Bandra Blasters won the match by 15 runs. It was a match where Bandra looked more confident right from the start while Shreyas, Aman and Prashant played a big role in the win.
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An exciting competition took place at Wankhede between Sobo Supersonics and Mumbai North East where in Mumbai North East who won the coin toss elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total.
Sobo Supersonics however batted really well notching up 184/7 in 20 overs which is always a good total to defend. Abhishek Nayar (30 off 20balls) who opened the innings with Jay Bista gave a good start where in dangerous Jay Bista top scored with 52 off 38balls while the rest of the batsman also chipped in with 20’s and 30’s. Right arm fast bowler Akash Parkar was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/30 in 4overs. Akash was really impressive with the ball while Prateek Dabholkar also took 2wkts.
Chasing 185 in a T20 match against a quality bowling attack is always difficult and Mumbai North East were struggling at one point on 4/33 and 5/44. It was almost a game over situation for Mumbai North East until Akash Parkar arrived at no.7. The dangerous big hitting all-rounder literally changed the whole script of the game from nowhere with Aditya Dhumal who has now become a crisis man for any team he plays for. Both the talented all-rounders stitched a 130run stand in mere 65deliveries making it one of the thrilling and game turning chases you will ever see in a T20 game. Akash scored a brutal 82* off 37balls laced with 5fours and 6biggies while Aditya smashed a 34ball 50* which had 4sixes in it. Both the players took on the bowlers in a almost shock defeat for Sobo Supersonics who were looking really strong at one stage for a big win.
Mumbai North East won the match by 4wkts and it was certainly Akash Parkar who was the man of the moment with his fantastic all-round perfomance while Aditya keeps on proving that he is the real crisis man to depend on in any stage and any format!
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Just fresh from a 41ball 100 in the same tournament in the last game vs Borosil Glassworks which was laced with as many as 9sixes which helped his team clinch a win. Jiniv who already stamped his mark as an attacking opener continued his onslaught vs Kansai Nerolac Paints ltd on 11th march at the Indian Airlines ground at Kalina.
Intelenet Global Services wisely elected to bat first after winning the toss on the back of their in-form opener Jiniv. It again spelled trouble for the opposition bowlers as Jiniv went on to score a magentizing 154* off mere 58balls and this time the sixes count got higher and it touched to 14sixes in the match along with 13boundaries. Jiniv literally treated every bowler with disdain simply attacking every bowler with brute force out of the park with his aggressive batting. It was a pure treat to watch him stand and deliver the bowlers as he entertained everyone present on the field till the very end. What’s more, Jiniv smashed 6sixes in an over which was a complete treat and showcase of his power hitting which took his team total to cross the 200run mark. On the back of his superlative 154, Intelenet reached a nice total of 212/4 in 15 overs.
Kansai Nerolac managed to score only 54/7 in 15 overs on the back of tight bowling by the Intelenet bowlers where in Shashank Mistry was the pick of the bowlers taking 2wkts for 1run while the rest of the bowlers also chipping in with a wicket each.
Intelenet won the match by a record margin of 158runs in a 15over game and it was without a doubt Jiniv who was the ‘man of the moment’ with his blazing hundred.
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It was a very crucial semi-finals between Union C.A and New Hindu CC at the Youth’s own union, cross maidan where in Union CA who have a promising line up of bowlers elected to field first and restrict New Hindu CC to a low total for chasing it.
Their somewhat risky decision to bowl first paid of as New Hindu CC were skittled out for 201/10 in 44overs. Opener Pratik Patil smashed a confident looking 54 while the in-form Virendra Yadav continued to impress with a yet another flawless 64 off 100deliveries. New Hindu CC were looking solid at one point until left-arm spinner Bhavin Darji came and changed the complexion of the game back into his team’s favor. Talented spinner Bhavin who bowled in the right areas came up with excellent bowling figures of 5/31 in 8overs where in New Hindu who were 115/2 at one point were all out for 207 because of his timely breakthroughs. Apart from Bhavin, Prajyot Sakpal also bowled well taking 3/32 in his 7overs.
Chasing 202, it was once again their promising opener Parag Jadhav who ensured that the chase was taken care off. Opening the innings, the dependable Parag smashed a superlative 78 off 119balls laced with 4fours and a six while Omkar Pashte with unbeaten 34* sealed of the chase.
Union CA won the semi-finals and it was surely Bhavin Darji and Parag who turned out to be heroes for their team.
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To be featured in the top 5 is surely a moment of pride as these 5-6 players usually are amongst the best from hundreds of performances played in that particular month and it indirectly shows the amount of talent and class these players have.
Taking into consideration various factors as always like the level of opposition, the level of tournament, the wicket, the match situation, the intensity of the game and the pressure, we come up with the top 5 from a lot of numerous promising performances in Mumbai.
The top 5 all-round performances for the month of Feb are mentioned below:
Joint 5th– Rahul Sawant(RHB & Spinner)- 5/37 and 45, Times Cricket Shield ‘18
Played at the Western Railways, Cross Maidan, it was the all important Quarter Finals between Nanavati S.S Hospital and B.Arunkumar Sports Club where in B.ArunKumar SC won the toss and elected to bat first.
Batting first, ArunKumar Boys were bundled out for just 184runs in49.1 overs . From the bowling side, the bowler who impressed one and all with his superlative perfomance was spinner Rahul sawant as he came up with match-winning bowling figures of 5/35 in 16.1overs(2maidens). Rahul not bowled in the right areas with good accuracy but he also kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
While chasing 185, Nanavati boys did lose quick wickets at the top but their middle order consisting of Rahul Sawant (45 off 40), Bhushan Shinde (29 off 42) and Atharva Ankolekar (32* off 46balls) resurrected the innings back to script a quarter finals win by 4wkts. It was a match where both the teams fought well but it was their all-rounder Rahul Sawant who stood out with excellent all-round show bagging 5wkts while also top scoring with the bat.
5th– Akshay Darekar(SLA)- 6/65 & 32*, Young Comrade Shield Tournament ‘18
Played at the Sydenham College Gymkhana at Oval Maidan, it was a match between two promising teams namely Shivaji Park Youngsters and Dadar Union where in Shivaji Park Youngsters won the toss and elected to bat first.
Their decision to bat was first was not exactly accurate as Shivaji Park youngsters were restricted to a modest total of 259 in 68.2 overs. The bowler who bamboozled the batsman was this 29yr old Akshay who has been an experienced warhorse by now coming up with excellent bowling figures of 6/65 in 20.2 overs. Akshay who has played 47 First Class games showed how potent he can be with the ball as kept on bowling in the right areas with discipline which fetched rewards for him as well as his team.
Chasing 260, they were struggling on 6/62 at one point but it was Akshay Darekar (32*) and Tanush Kotian with 47 saved the grace by not letting their team get all out in two figures. Dadar Union were all out for 159 and lost the match by 110runs but Akshay surely stood amongst the 22boys who were part of that match with his all-round perfomance.
4th-Aditya Dhumal(SLA & RHB)- 54 & 5/21, Young Comrade Shield Tournament ‘18
Played at the New Hind Sports Club, Dadkar Maidan, it was the all important match between two really promising teams namely Maskati Cricket Club and Sind Sports Club where in Sind SC elected to bat first.
Their decision to bat first was completely spot on Sind SC notched up a mammoth total of 407/9 on the back of flying start by the openers & especially their left-handed opener Akhil Rajput who went on to score a thumping ton. Apart from them, all-rounder Aditya Dhumal(54 off 51b) and Vaibhav Singh(54 off 41b) at the middle order smashed crucial fifties which took their team total to cross the 400run mark.
Defending a big total of 402, Maskati fell prey to the quality bowlers of Sind SC & especially their experienced all-rounder Aditya Dhumal who once again showed his experience. Aditya came up with match winning bowling figures of 5/21 in 13overs with 6maidens which inflicted maximum damage to the Maskati batting line up. Aditya who bats equally well is a genuine all-rounder and this is not the 1st time he has come up with such amazing bowling figures. Sind SC won the match by 252runs and it was definitely Aditya who played a big role in the win.
3rd– Prasad Chandra(SLA)- 5/35 and 46, Thane Vaibhav Tournament’ 18 (Finals)
Delivering in the finals from all cylinders is very difficult and though Prasad’s team lost the match but he won the hearts of many with his all-round perfomance. Played at the Central Maidan in Thane, it was the all important finals between Valuable Sports Club and Reliance Group Sports Club wherein Valuable Sports club won the toss and elected to bat first and scored 215/10 in 35overs. Slow left-arm spinner Prasad Chandra was really impressive with the ball coming up with excellent bowling figures of 5/35 in 7 overs. Prasad bowled in the right areas while troubled the batsman with his wily spin which helped him take a superb 5wkt haul.
The finals was perfectly intense and it remained a thrilled till the very end where in Reliance gave a tough fight to Valuable CC. The match was so exciting that no one could guess the winner till the very last ball. Prashant Jangam(44), Mayuresh Tandel(43) and all-rounder Prasad Chandra(46) came up with crucial 40’s but eventually Reliance lost the match by just 1run where in the last ball took away the results in Valuable CC’s favor.
Prasad Chandra’s all-round contribution in the match was really commendable and he certainly won the hearts of many even though his team fell short of mere a run to clinch the title.
2nd– Raunaq Sharma (RHB)- 178 and 4wkts, Young Comrade Shield Tournament ‘18
Played at the P.J Hindu Gymkhana at Marine Lines, it was a high octane match consisting of two really talented teams namely Parsee Gymkhana and Islam Gymkhana wherein Parsee Gymkhana who have a strong batting line up elected to bat first in order to make a big 1st innings total.
Even though Parsee Gymkhana were off to a shaky start but all-rounder Raunaq Sharma who came in at no.3 played a gem of a knock smashing a superlative 178 off mere 141balls which took the game completely away from Islam Gymkhana. Raunaq who smashed 21 fours and 7 sixes completely demolished the opposition bowlers with his counter attacking cricket stamping his class in almost every corner of the ground taking the team total to 369/10 in 69.1 overs.
Chasing 370, Islam Gymkhana were all out for 282runs where in Raunak scalped 4wkts with the ball completely owning the day and proving everyone how potent an all-rounder he can be. It was a commendable win for Parsee Gymkhana and it was certainly Raunaq who stole the limelight with his excellent all-round display.
AND FINALLY THE NO.1
1st– Rakesh Naik(RHB & SLA)- 105 and 5/ 69, Mumbai Junior Shield ‘18
Scoring a hundred and taking a 5wkt haul is a very rare feat in cricket & dependable all-rounder Rakesh Naik registered his name into this elite list of Mumbai Cricket History where he achieved this feat. Played at the United Cricket Club, Cross Maidan, it was the all important match between Shastri Hall Cricket Club and Blue Star Cricket Club where in Blue Star won the toss and elected to bat first.
Batting first, Blue Star were struggling at one point after the top order failed to capitalize with their scores reading 36/4 and 72/5 at one stageuntil their experienced all-rounder Rakesh Naik came to the rescue. Rakesh who already proved his mettle in Mumbai cricket with a consistent season both with the bat as well as with the ball in Kanga League made sure he introduced himself to the opponents who were not aware about him. Rakesh brought his team back into the game with a match winning 115* off 127deliveries which included 8fours and 8sixes to anchor his team towards a defendable total of 219/8 in 45 overs. At one point where his team was not looking good for more than 150, Rakesh helped his team make a comeback.
If that was not all, while defending an achievable target of 220, Blue Star CC restricted Shastri Hall Boys to just 171 runs all out. All-rounder Rakesh Naik yielded magic with the ball too after a superlative ton taking a superb 5wkt haul. Rakesh came up with excellent bowling figures of 5/17 in 7.1 overs with his left arm spin which steered his team towards a thumping win. Bluetstar won the match by 48runs and it was certainly their star all-rounder Rakesh Naik who grabbed everyone’s attention!
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Played at the Shivaji Park Ground in Dadar, it was the all important semi-finals between L&T Sports Club and BMC where in L&T won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big 1st innings total and put the opposition under pressure.
However, their decision to bat first seemed to have backfired as they were all bundled out for 103 runs. At one point they were 18/5 and luckily with the help of Sagar Kamble’s 39, L&T reached 103/10 in 23.5 overs. From the bowling side, Harkesh Mehar and Santosh Dhande took 3wkts each while Sandeep Pawar and Santosh Dhande also chipped in with 2wkts. Overall it was a very good bowling perfomance by MCGM where in they did not allow any batsman to score runs freely.
Chasing 104, it was a mere formality to chase where in solid opener Sandesh Paralkar smashed 55 off 47balls (9fours) which anchored the chase for MCGM. Sandesh played some excellent shots in his match winning half century where in MCGM now seal their spot in the finals of the Times Shield on the back of excellent bowling and a solid fifty by Sandesh.
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