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.
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 where in Anish Chaudhary at no.3 played a solid knock of 60 off mere 85balls(6fours) which helped his team from an embarrassment of a low total. 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.
Chasing 186, 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 all-rounder Rahul Sawant who stood out with excellent all-round show bagging 5wkts while also top scoring with the bat.
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Played at the National C.C Cross Maidan, it was a match between two promising young teams namely Apollo youngsters and Worli Cricket Club where in Worli Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big total.
Worli CC’s batting line up however crumbled as they were bundled out for just 115runs in 32.5 overs. Almost all the batsman found it hard to convert their starts with Akshay Nivalkar being the shining spot scoring a fighting knock of 51 off 55balls at a time when his whole team was struggling. Right arm medium pacer Dhruvil Mehta was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/29 in 8overs. Dhruvil not only bowled tight but took crucial wickets with nice line and length while the other bowlers also bowled well around him.
Chasing 116 was a mere formality for Apollo Youngsters as their experienced batsman Vivek Patel at no.3 anchored the chase with a match winning 57 off 61balls while he also got good support from Farhan Shaikh who scored 47*. This is not the 1st time Vivek has impressed the spectators with the bat as he has been scoring runs consistently this season while Farhan was also equally good. Apollo Youngsters eventually won the match by 7wkts on the back of some good bowling by Dhruvil as well as impressive batting by Vivek and Farhan.
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Played at the Central Maidan, Thane, it was the all-important finale of the A Div of the Thane Vaibhav Tournament 2018 where in Greater Mumbai Police won the toss and elected to bat first considering they have a good batting line up to chase.
Made to bat first, Route Mobile did a fairly decent job as they notched up a healthy score of 238/9 in 35 overs which is anyday defendable. Even though they did felt the early jitters losing some quick wickets at the top, Dinar Gaonkar at no.4 chipped in with 30 while talented Akhtar Shaikh at no.5 made all the difference coming up with a very crucial 50 off just 40balls(6fours, 2sixes). Akhtar succeeded in changing the momentum as he looked really good and confident against the bowlers while Tanush Kotian and Sachin Gill chipped in with handy contributions of 38runs each at the lower middle order which eventually took their team total to a very defendable score.
Chasing 239 in 210 balls is not the easiest of tasks and that too in a finals of any tournament and Mumbai Police must have felt the pressure of chasing at almost 7runs per over as they were all-out for 183runs in 28.2 overs where middle order bat Shrikant Limbole top scored with 48. Vishal Dhagaonkar who has been consistent throughout the tournament once again delivered in the finals taking 3wkts for just 2runs while Siddarth and Hitesh Parmar also taking 2wkts each. Route Mobile eventually won the finals on the back of excellent team perfomance by 55runs and lift the prestigious Thane Vaibhav Trophy with pride.
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This boy is certainly on a roll, just fresh from a great series in the Vasai Colts where he notched up 337 runs in 5matches with a best score of 147. Arpit seems to be not done yet with his purple patch as he has continued the flow in Inter-school tournament too smashing his 4th ton in the last 3months. Played between National English high School and Abhinav Vidya Mandir School at the Sainath Sports Club, NES won the toss and elected to bat first on the back of their strong batting line up.
Batting first, NES posted a very good total of 301runs in 41.2 overs and once again the pick of the batsman was their premier no.3 Arpit Dhadve who went on to score a scintillating 104 off mere 74balls. The way Arpit was hitting the ball and confidently developing his innings was really evident by the fact that he is in a different zone right now. Smashing 13fours and good running between the wickets, Arpit kept the scoreboard the ticking. Dhadve also indulged in a mammoth 191run stand with Parth Naik who just fell one run short of a classy century. Parth was equally destructive smashing 10fours and 3sixes wherein he took just 71deliveries to reach 99. Harsh Sujar dismissed him on 99 but it was never the less as good as a ton.
Defending 302, NES bundled out Abhinav Vidyamandir School to just 125runs where in all-rounder Parth Naik was the pick of the bowlers too taking 3/20 while the rest of the bowlers also did a terrific job. NES school won the match by 177runs and it was definately Parth and Arpit who stood out and dominated in the match.
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