So, this is what it had all come down to!!! Our relentless pursuit to unearth ‘Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler’ was about to come to a conclusion. The young men (and a few women too!!) who mattered were all in readiness, raring to get the red cherry in their hands to talk. The sense of excitement was palpable among participants and spectators alike, as the first thunderbolt made its way towards the sticks at the Grand Finale of ‘NATARAJ Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler’ at Kandivali’s ‘Ithinksportz’ cricket academy.
There were the ‘champions’ from previous chapters, looking for an encore. Then there were the ‘battle-hardened’ finalists, who had come agonisingly close to winning earlier, looking to change the narrative on the big day. And then there were the latest hopefuls, gunning for a major coup, perhaps spurred on by witnessing their peers being engulfed in crowning glory. They all made for a heady mix of raw, mercurial young talent, just looking to explode. We knew we had all the ingredients of delivering a cracker of a finale!!!
A total of 149 participants from schools and colleges around the city registered for the finale. The ‘finalists’ from the earlier chapters were given a direct entry into Round 2, courtesy their consistent performances. Basically, the first-timers were up against it from the word go, with them having to prove themselves to be worthy enough to compete with the best of the best. And compete they did, with a significant number of them progressing through to the final round at the expense of a few finalists from earlier chapters.
A total of 9 players from the college competition made it to Round 3. With the margin for error virtually non-existent, each one of them were feeling the heat amidst a burden of expectations. The lone-standing stump, the only constant between these warriors and their quest for glory. With each close shave to the target, the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ kept getting louder, frustrating the competitors at times, while also making them more determined than ever.
And in a classic ‘David vs. Goliath’ moment, Pravin Upadhyay, the 17-year-old spin bowler from Nutan College in Kalyan, competing in the tournament for the first time, trumped all other finalists from earlier chapters to emerge as ‘Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler’. The crowd watched in bewilderment as the unlikely champion let out a celebratory roar. This was HIS moment!!!
For his unbelievable achievement, Pravin was presented with a kit bag from Mr. Rajeev Mishra from ‘RM Sports’ and a certificate of appreciation from NATARAJ PENS and Cricketgraph. The coach of the academy Mr. Umesh Patwal was full of praise for all the participants who played a part, while also congratulating ‘Cricketgraph’ for their persistent quest towards celebrating local talent via such initiatives.
We, at Cricketgraph, would like to thank all those who have played a part in the success of NATARAJ PENS Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler contest.
Played at Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana, it was a crucial clash between Parel Sports Club and Bhatnagar S & CF where in Parel SC won the toss and elected to bat first on the back of their strong batting line up and make a big total.
Opening the innings, young Pragnesh smashed a thumping 160*off 191balls (15fours, 2sixes) which set the tone for the Parel SC innings. Pragnesh who is already making waves amongst youngsters ensured that he anchored the innings till the very end stamping his class all over. The rest of the batsman batted around him and gave him support with 20’s and 30’s while Tanesh Jain at the lower middle order scored a gritty 59 off 121balls which lended a good support to Pragnesh helping their team cross the 300run mark with ease. Pragnesh on the other hand was really rotating the strike well while also smashed some good cricketing shots without losing his patience taking Parel SC to 331/7 in 70 overs. From Bhatnagar, Atharva Poojari was the pick of the bowler with bowling figures of 3/55 in 13overs.
Bhatnagar on the other hand were bundled out for 234runs with opener Vaishnav Narvekar top scoring with a 121ball 64. Medium pacer Yashraj Malap and left arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar both were impressive with the ball bagging 3wkts each. Parel SC won the match in a dominating fashion by 97runs where in Pragnesh’s 160 remained the highlight perfomance of the match.
– Opener Pragnesh also created a record for being the 1st batsman to remain unbeaten from top to end in Young Comrade Shield Tournament
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Played at the Parsee Cyclists Ground, Azad Maidan, it was the all important finals between SS Travels and Tech Mahindra Business Services after fighting hard and consistently playing well throughout the tournament to reach this stage. SS Travels who won the toss elected to field first with an aim of restricting Tech Mahindra to a low total and chase it down.
Their decision to field first was accurate as they managed to restrict Tech Mahindra boys to just 165runs all out in 33.3 overs. Almost all the batsman failed to convert their 10’s apart from Javed Shaikh at no.3 who top scored with 45(56b). Sameer Rane with 3/24 in 8overs bowled at really good line and length to become the pick of the bowlers while Kastubh Paranjpe also took 3/24 in his 5.3 overs while Vivek Gowda bagged two wickets to make it an overall good bowling perfomance by the SS travels boys.
Chasing 167, Sameer Rane who was the pick of the bowlers opened the innings too smashing a crucial 80 off just 72balls which included 12fours to complete half of the chase himself. All rounder Kastubh who came at no.3 who also took 3wkts was the 2nd highest scorer with 36. Sameer’s counter attacking 80 set the positive momentum for the chase as SS Travels chased down the score in 30 overs while won the grand finals of the tournament by 6wkts. It was a match where SS Travels dominated right from the start as all-rounders Sameer Rane and Kastubh made all the difference and that too in a very crucial finals.
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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 full of experienced as well as young promising names coming under one ground to compete with each other. Parsee Gymkhana who have a strong batting line up elected to bat first in order to make a big 1st innings total.
Even though they 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. The rest of the batsman played around him scoring 30”s and 40’s which took their team total to a healthy 369/10 in 69.1 overs. Slow left-arm spinner Mushir Khan bowled amazingly well against an experienced and a quality batting line up coming up with bowling figures of 7/101 in 22.1 overs.
Chasing 370, Islam Gymkhana did fought well with some excellent start by the openers where in Musheer also contributed with the bat scoring 49 opening the inning while Aryan Hemdev scoring 50. Apart from him, Akarshit Gomel who has been quite consistent throughout the tournament continued his good form scoring a well-fought 72. If that was not enough, Raunaq also scalped 4wkts with the ball completely owning the day and proving everyone how potent an all-rounder he can be restricting Islam gymkhana to 282/all out. Parsee Gymkhana won the match by 87runs on the back of all-rounder Raunaq while the young Mushir from Islam Gymkhana also won the hearts with his fighting spirit.
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Played at the Cross Maidan, it was the crucial quarters between two really promising teams namely Abhyudaya Bank and Vikrikar where in Abhyudaya won the toss and elected to bat first on the back of their good batting line up.
Abhyudaya Bank batting first notched up a very competitive total of 313/8 in 45 overs on the back of flying start by both the openers-Sanju Raut (95) & Rajesh Shelar (37). While Rajesh was out on 37, experienced Sanju Raut went on to develop his innings falling just 5runs short of what could have been a deserving and a classy ton. Sanju scored 95 off 104balls (10fours, 1six) which included some really good cricketing shots and nice running between the wickets too. Atul Rane also scored a crucial 55 which took the team total to cross the 300run mark. The bowlers did a decent job with Vasim Shaikh being the pick of the bowlers taking 3/49 in 9overs.
Chasing 314, Abhyudaya skittled out Vikrakar XI to just 106runs all out where in Amit Murkar and Prashant Kuprekar took 3wkts each while Jalinder also scalped 2wkts. Abhyudaya won the match by 207 runs and it was certainly Raut’s outstanding 95 which did the job for his team.
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The stage was set, the tables were out, the nets were ready and the wicket was rolled. Yes after a thumping response from various chapters all over Mumbai, it was now time for the Grand Finale NATARAJ PENS presents Mumbai ka most accurate bowler event at the ithink sportszAcademy in Kandivali.
The finalists and winners of the earlier chapters showed up with full grit and determination, the winner of last week’s Mulund’s chapter Pranay Gavande started practicing with other boys from 7am in the morning itself while so many boys once again from different corners of Mumbai along with the finalists and winners of the earlier chapters who were directly given an entry into the 2nd round made it.
Overall 150 students made it to the 1st round of the Grand Finale where in 91 boys were from School and 58 were from College. 50 boys overall made it to the 2nd round while only 18 qualified for the 3nd round.
Then came this 9yr old little genius who had came to the Kandivali Chapter earlier too- the cute little Shane Warne who was the center of attraction of all the spectators. At the age of 9, he was hardly affected by pressure surrounding him, people watching him, his spin was actually an indicator of how good a spinner he will go on to become in the coming days while his accuracy to hit the timbers in every round made him earn fans overnight. This little dynamo surpassed hundreds of boys hitting all the 3stumps, then two and then even the final timber. And that was not all, he again won the sudden death/knockout round too where he was competing with 3 other players. It’s really difficult to hit a single timber twice as a spinner on an uneven wicket under so much pressure where hundreds of people are watching you but Yatarth Yadav excelled all the levels with his superlative talent.
9yr old Yatarth who is a right-arm leg spinner and lives in Goregaon East studies in Model Public School has certainly made his parents, friends and his school proud winning the grand finale of NATARAJ PENS– Mumbai Ka Accurate bowler title. Yatarth was gifted a high quality kit bag from RM Sports, NATARAJ PENS Goodies, a winners certificate from NATARAJ PENS and Cricketgraph along with a Kimati Pink Leather Ball which must have certainly made this mini Shane Warne’s day.
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The month of January was as intense as December with so many bowlers giving their best in various tournaments. Purshottam Shield , Police Shield, Times Shield, Talim Shield, Giles Shield, Harris Shield amongst a host of many T20 tournaments at the school, professional and corporate level were conducted.
Hence there were a lot of 5wkt hauls and even 7-8wkt hauls throughout the month. It became all the more difficult to come up with the top 5. After a grueling session and intense shortlisting, we found these performances to fit in the Top 5 for the month of January 2018 in Mumbai Cricket. And by the way who said Cricket is just a batsman’s game? Have a look at these performances, it shall prove you wrong!
Joint 5th– Pravin Tambe 6/28, RHB, Spinner, Purshottam Shield 2018 Finals
After fighting against numerous teams and a lot of hard work, it was the all important finals between DY Patil and New Hind SC where in DY Patil batted first after winning the toss at PJ Hindu Gymkhana. DY Patil batting first notched up a mammoth total of 609runs on the back of some amazing tons and half centuries. Defending such a bit total plus having world class bowlers like Tambe, Abdullah and Nayar, it was going to be tough for New Hind SC. Pravin Tambe once again delivered in a high pressure game coming up with match winning bowling figures of 6/28 to restrict New Hind SC to just 147all out. Tambe’s exquisite line and length was once again the talking point as DY Patil won the finals by 462runs.
5th– Aryan Dalal- 7/10, Left-arm Spinner, MCA U/16 Bhandari Trophy 2018
Into the 1st knockout round between two really talented teams namely Singhania School & Vani Vidyalaya(kalyan), Singhania won the toss and elected to field first as they have a strong bowling line up including their ever dependable Aryan who always times and again comes up with match winning bowling spells.
Batting first, Vani Vidyalaya School were skittled out for mere 40runs in 12.3 overs with not a single batsman apart from their opener Kshitij even reaching two figures. The bowler who once again terrorized the opposition with his effortless spin bowling was this little genius Aryan Dalal. Aryan came up with unbelievable bowling figures of 7/10 in 6.3 overs and kept on taking crucial wickets at regular intervals. Not only has his line and length being developed really well, he is now bowling with much more discipline and vigor which is quite impressive for his age. It was on the back of his good bowling, Singhania School won the match by 7wkts with ease.
4th– Aniket Redkar- 6/5, Off-spinner, Talim Shield Tournament 2018
A clash between two powerful and experienced teams of Mumbai namely CCI and Islam Gymkhana took place at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai where in Islam Gymkhana elected to field first after winning the toss.
CCI hardly looked affected after made to bat first as they notched up 271runs on board on the back of Valthaty’s ton. Defending a competitive total of 271 against a equally good team like Islam Gymkhama, off-spinner Aniket Redkar came to the fore as he came up with spellbinding bowling figures of 6/5 in 6overs. Yes 6wkts while conceding just 5runs which restricted Islam Gymkhana to 184/9 in 45overs which helped his team win the match by 87runs. Aniket’s majestic bowling figures which wiped out the opposition’s batting line up were a result of excellent line and length coupled with a lot of discipline which reaped rewards for him as well as his team.
3rd– Dasrath Redij- 8/9, Right-arm Fast, VK Architects T20 Tournament 2018
Till now an 8wkt haul in a T20 match were completely unheard of. Forget about such bowling figures in a T20, 8wkt haul is difficult even in a 40over and 50over game. However, at the Vengsarkar Academy in Mahul, history was created by Dasrath as he came up with the best bowling figures you can ever hear in a T20 game where bowlers are allowed only 24balls to bowl. Dasrath’s bowling figures were so astonishing that he took wicket at an average of every 3rd ball he bowled vs VK Architects who elected to bat first after winning the toss.
Vengsarkar Academy is not the best wicket for batsman but still you can easily score 130-140odd runs on this wicket but fast bowler Dasrath from SSA strikers ran through the entire batting line up of VK Architects as he came up with match winning bowling figures of 8/9 in 4overs with 2maidens where he completely looked unplayable. Not a single batsman was able to score in 2digits as VK architects were all out for mere 23runs. To further add insult to the injury, SSA Strikers not only won the match by 10wkts but they chased down the total in mere 1.4 overs with their openers doing their job. Dasrath was rightly declared ‘man of the match’ because of his majestic bowling.
2nd– Aryan Dalal- 9/14, Left-arm spinner, Singhania Trophy 2018
Again making it into the list, this boy Aryan never fails to surprise us, he also keeps on breaking barriers and raises bar every time he comes to the crease. Just fresh from an impressive 7/10 where we thought his bowling can’t get better than this, Aryan just came back with a shocker as he delivered with an exceptional perfomance vs St. Xaviers at the Raymond Cricket Ground.
S.C.A winning the toss elected to bat first and scored a very big total of 326/8 in 32.5 overs with the back of some really good batting & especially a thumping ton by Tejas Chalke who scored 162. St. Xaviers in reply were skittled out for mere 27runs in 11.4overs where in left-arm spinner Aryan Dalal almost did a Kumble taking all the wickets in the innings! Aryan came up with astonishing bowling figures of 9/14 in 6.1overs (2maidens). What’s more that terrific bowling spell also included a hat-trick as he came up with his career best bowling figures so far. SCA won the match a big margin of 298runs and it was obviously Aryan with the ball who stood out in the match.
& FINALLY THE NO.1 WHERE CRICKET NEVER FAILS TO AMAZE US
1. Aarush Parankar- 0/8, left-arm spinner, Under-11 Masters Cup 2018
The Cricketing talent in India never fails to amaze us, quadruple centuries, fastest tons, most sixes, fastest bowlers, best bowling figures, you name a record in Cricket and India will be right up there in the Top 10 list in every cricketing record starting from local to international cricket and one such boy who won the hearts and stunned the Mumbai cricket was this talented Aarush Patankar as he came up with one of the best bowling spells you can ever come across.
Played at the Kalyan Sports Academy between Billabong High School and Maharashtra Cricket Academy, Maharashtra CC won the toss and elected to bat first.
However, they were least aware about the zone left arm spinner Aarush was in as he was in sublime form bowling in the right areas accurately. In fact his bowling was lethal, he started off with a hat-trick and ended his dream bowling spell with bowling figures which read- 08 in 4 overs(4maidens) which eventually skittled out Maharashtra CC to just 21runs all out in 7 overs. Billabong chased down the score with ease winning the match by 9wkts while Aarush was obviously adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his outstanding bowling.
For records-
- This is only the 2sttime a bowler has succeeded in taking 8wkts in mere 4overs in any form of cricket (leather ball).
- A hat-trick and a 5wkt haul (8wkts) in 4 overs is also a first instance in Mumbai cricket (leather ball).
- O runs conceded with all the overs maiden in a bowling spell is also a first time record which is now created by Aarush.
- & this are by far the best bowling figures in the history of Mumbai cricket(leather ball) in a limited overs game at school level
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Played at the Sainath Sports Club, Virar, National English High school and Kanchan High School clashed with each other for crucial finals of the MCA U/14 Interschool tournament where in Kanchan High School won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big 1st innings total.
Kanchan High School were however in for a shock as their whole batting line up crumbled as they were bundled out for 105/10 all out in 38.1 overs. All the batsmen struggled to score runs where in 16runs was the highest score smashed by both the openers. Wicket taking machine Sharik Baloch seems to have developed a habit of delivering in every match. Baloch in such high intensity finals once again proved his mettle with the ball coming up with match winning bowling figures of 6/28 in 8.1 overs. As always the off-spinner bowled perfectly in the right areas troubling the batsman with his superlative spin which reaped rewards for him as well as his team.
Kanchan High School did not allow NES to win the match easily as Karan Vaishnav gave his best taking 5/56. They did not allow NES to win before sending their 7batsman back to the pavilion. Eventually all-rounder Parth Naik at middle order came up with a crucial 40(88balls) which sealed the chase. NES school won the match by 3wkts where in Sharik was again the player who stood out with his exceptional bowling. This was Sharik’s 7th 5wkt haul in a span of just 40 days which says a lot about his talent. Top order batsman Arpit Dhadve has also been excellent with the bat in the tournament wherein he has batted consistently well notching up a lot of runs.
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Finally it was the all important finals of the high profile Under-14 west zone Trophy between two really talented teams who have fought hard throughout the tournament to reach the final face off. Mumbai and Saurashtra took on each other where in Saurashtra won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big total and putting the opposition under pressure right away.
Saurashtra were off to a shaky start right from the beginning with their openers failing to provide a flying start while Karnav Rathod at no.3 top scored with 40 for his team where most of the batsman struggled. Saurashtra were bundled out for 181runs. Spinner Jugraj Mehta who has bowled well throughout the tournament once again delivered in a high pressure match as he took 3/30 in 18.2 overs with 11 maidens. Aayush Mishra also bowled well taking 3/44 in his 10overs.
Mumbai were given a tough fight by Saurashtra but they eventually surpassed Saurashtra’s 1st innings score as they were all out on 184runs taking a 1st innings lead. Jay Dhatrak(33) and Roneet Thakkur(45) were the top scorers while Smit Sanghani from Saurashtra took 4/22. Saurashtra were 172/9 in their 2nd innings where in Jugraj was again the pick of the bowlers with 3/46 in 35overs along with Aditya Jadhav who took 3/27 in 23 overs. Mumbai eventually won the match on 1st innings and win the finals of the prestigious Under-14 West Zone Trophy under the able leadership of Mr.Consistent Ayush Jethwa who batted really well and stood from the front as a skipper. Opener Vedant Gadia also turned out to be one of the most dependable and prolific openers Mumbai can have at Under 14 level while Jugraj has improved and matured leaps and bounds as the most dependable bowler being the highest wicket taker of Mumbai with 15 wkts in his pocket under pressure sitautions. The rest of the players have also done a commendable job and it was on the back of collective team perfomance Mumbai brought the trophy home.
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Sagar Khandagale, a 26-year old, young and dashing coach from Kharghar runs a cricket academy named Pro Kings Sports. The cricket practice of this academy takes place at Sachin Tendulkar ground in Kharghar. Khandagale has been doing cricket coaching for five years. Though he is just 26 years old, at such a young age, he is already well-equipped to coach the budding cricketers which is evident from the fact that he is the head coach at Pro Kings Sports Academy.
Prior to the inception of this academy, Sagar was associated with Kharghar Sports Association, where he embarked upon his cricket coaching journey. He worked there for five years and gained lot of knowledge about the sport. His experiences at Kharghar Sports Association has helped him be a better coach and impart better training to the players at his academy. Sagar is ably assisted by Ganesh Bhosale, who is the bowling coach, and Vinay Patil, who is the fitness coach at Pro Kings Sports academy. These coached are well-experienced in their respective fields. The trimurti strive relentlessly to offer best possible cricket coaching to the young guns and make sure that each of their players get thorough attention.
The academy has eight nets, which is a lot of space, considering the paucity of open areas that is available to play cricket in Mumbai and adjacent regions. Off-season training also takes place in the academy, which helps the players to stay in touch with the game even during the monsoon. Practice matches are played at regular intervals (2-3 times a week) which guarantees that the players are able to adjust to the match situations and also help them develop the right temperament to win matches.
Apart from the regular cricket coaching, Sagar and co. provide coaching to women, corporates, children between 5 and 10 years of age, and adults above 30 years of age. They also have flood light facility, which means that practice at Pro Kings Sports academy can start from dawn and easily continue till dusk.
Under the able aegis of Sagar, Sudhagad School won the DSO of Raigad District Cricket Association. Aurojyoti Biswal and Swapnil Patil, the two products of Pro Kings Sports academy have paved their way to the higher level. Biswal won the best field award in U-14 CPCC tournament in 2016-17.
The efforts taken by Sagar and co. are tremendous and let us hope that more and more players from Pro Kings Sports academy get a chance to play cricket at a higher level.