You don’t get to see this everyday. Pro cricketers practicing with tennis ball and a stump.
As per coach Umesh Patwal9 from ithinksportz.
Use of stump is essential for still head. Tennis ball helps in focusing more on the process then result.
After a over-whelming response from the earlier chapters at Kharghar and Kandivali, Our next destination was in the remote corners of Bhayander surpassing the small bylanes. ‘NATARAJ’ pens & Cricketgraph team in literal sense is scouting for a talent hunt from every corner of Mumbai. The Bhayander Chapter was conducted at the popular RISING STAR ACADEMY which is headed by Nandu Jadhav sir who is the head coach of the academy.
It was simply spellbinding to see boys throng up to the destination. There was one player called Komal Singh who had a hairline injury but still after not making it to the 3rd round of the Kandivali Chapter, he came on the same day to Bhayendar to give his best. What’s more his dedication and passion paid off as this time he qualified to the finale round of the Bhayander Chapter where he was eventually felicitated with NATARAJ & CRICKETGRAPH certificate along with NATARAJ goodies. There was also one humble local boy (spinner) who came in his shorts without proper cricketing attire. No one was expecting him to be a tough fight but he turned out to be the most competitive underdog as he was right there till the finals giving everyone a run for their money. There was also this one talented boy who was handpicked by Umesh Patwal sir for 1year free coaching at the Kandivali Chapter coming here too to again give his best to win the competition.
However, the boy who won the hearts of everyone was this talented Rohan Kataia from Father Joesph High School who stood out from hundreds of participants. Rohan smashed the stumps in all the 3rounds while he also smashed the single timber in the finals too with mind boggling accuracy. Despite being so young, the amount of patience under pressure, resilience, calmness along with line & length at which he was bowling was commendable. Rohan won the tie-breaker round in the finals which was really tough for any bowler. Rohan was eventually gifted a wonderful large SG KIT BAG, a certificate from ‘NATARAJ’ pens and Cricketgraph along with ‘NATARAJ PENS’ hamper. It was good to see young energetic and genuinely cricket loving boys coming from different corners to participate under hot sunlight at afternoon and it just shows how much a cricket loving nation India is all about!
Played between Godrej Staff and Mukand Sports Club at the Dombivali Gymkhana, it was the all important semi-finals between these two teams where in Mukand Sports won the toss and elected to bat first in order to put the opposition under pressure.
Mukand SC batting first were all out for 160runs in 30.2 overs which is definitely not the best of the scores to defend. Even though hardly any batsmen converted their starts with their top order getting out quickly. It was their middle order bats Jay (36) and Mayank Dixit (40) who contributed with a crucial stand which saved them from an embarrassingly low total. Medium pacer Civek Singh with 3/26 was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the bowlers also bowled really tight hardly allowing the batsman to score freely.
With an excellent fightback by Mukand SC, Godrej Staff were struggling at one point with 8wkts down for 95runs while chasing but it was their skipper Santosh Bandarkar who rose to the occasion as he scored a match winning 53* off 50balls to take his team to a thriller of a win. Santosh smashed boundaries while also co-ordinate well with the lower order showing his wit and experience on the field. Dhiraj Gavhane with 5/24 bowled an excellent spell but it was eventually Godrej’s skipper Santosh who sealed the finals spot for his team in the tournament.
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the Police Gymkhana Ground at Marine Drive, it was a match between two promising teams of Mumbai namely Borivali Warriors and Chembur Strikers where in Borivali boys won the toss and elected to bat first with the back of their strong batting line up.
Opening the innings for Borivali Warriors, Shahen Mistry gave a flying start with his 27ball 64. Shaheen’s strike rate of 237 which included 8fours and 4biggies kept the bowler on toes while they did lose a few wickets in between. But at no.4 came all-rounder Lavesh Mehra who has developed a name for himself as one of the hard hitters and aggressive batsman in limited overs format. Lavesh steadied the ship again as he kept on playing his natural game smashing 68* off mere 33deliveries (8fours, 4sixes). This is not the 1st time Lavesh has proved to be a dangerous batsman as he keeps on repeating such entertaining knocks. With the back of these two batsman, Borivali Warriors reached a great total of 246/6 in 20 overs which is a great total to defend. From Chembur, Nliesh Mahadik and Neil Dhankani took 2wkts each.
Chasing a mammoth total of 247 in 120 balls, Borivali Warriors restricted Chembur Strikers to just 155/7 in 20 overs where in all-rounder Neil Dhankani saved the grace of his team by chipping in with an unbeaten 51*. Lavesh Mehra was the pick of the bowler too taking 2/19 in 4 overs while Rahul Bhadreshwara with 2/35 also did a good job. Borivali Warriors won the match by 93runs and Lavesh Mehra was declared ‘man of the match’.
CRICKETGRAPH
The man who has amassed centuries after centuries, the man who has amassed over 1500runs this season, yes Shashank Singh delivers once again with his trademark ton in a high pressure semi-finals of the Talim Shield Tournament 2018.
Played at the CCI ground, DY Patil won the toss and smartly elected to field first knowing that they have a strong batting to chase down any sort of scores. Cricket Club of India(CCI) batting first did a good job scoring 288/8 in 45 overs which is definitely not the lowest of scores to defend if not the highest. No.3 Vinit Indulkar smashed 48 but it was all-rounder Sujit Nayak who brought in his experience to play under pressure as he smashed an 81ball 92(8fours, 2sixes) to steer his team to a respectable total. Sujit played his natural game while Karan Nandey also looked good for his 43. Medium pacer Prashant Bhoir scalped 3wkts while Shashank also chipped in with some medium pace taking 2/45.
Chasing at more than 6runs per over is always a task but not when you have a batsman who is in a different zone altogether. Even though Shoaib and Aman fell early, two of the highest run getters in Mumbai cricket this season paired up to resurrect the innings. Shashank Singh (113 off 97balls) and Shubham Ranjane (57 off 50balls) stitched a crucial 113run stand and brought their team back into the game. Opener Shashank eventually went on to score another attacking hundred where in he smashed 7fours, 4sixes at strike rate of 116 to score his match winning 97ball 113. Sarvesh Damle (47*) and Arun Yadav (29*) finished up the remaining work left behind by these two with an unbeaten 90run stand which sealed their spot in the finals. It was a collectively great team perfomance where in Shashank once again stood out with his all-round heroics while Shubham and the rest of the boys did their job perfectly well too.
CRICKETGRAPH
Following close on the heels of Friday’s successful event at Kharghar, the second episode of ‘NATARAJ PENS Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler’ took place on Saturday at the ‘Ithinksportz’ cricket academy in Kandivali. It turned out to be rousing success with over 120 budding cricketers from across the suburbs participating in the challenge.
Headed & coached by former batting coach of the Afghanistan cricket team, Umesh Patwal, the academy provided perfect settings for youngsters to showcase their bowling talent. Its sand based natural turf proved to be a challenge for bowlers, who had to contend with the bounce as well as the swing movement and hit the target consistently under pressure.
Aged 10, Dheer Shah from Lilavatibai Podar High School, wowed and confounded one & all, showcasing exemplary calm and nerves to come up with the goods when it mattered the most. Upsetting the applecart, Dheer trumped most of his senior colleagues, hitting the target on two attempts with only one stump to aim at. His steely resolve won him a lot of plaudits and appreciation from all, along with, of course, the ‘Accurate Bowler’ award. Dheer was presented with an English willow bat from ‘RM sports’ and a certificate of appreciation from NATARAJ Pens and Cricketgraph.
Talking to Cricketgraph, Dheer’s father spoke of his late night bowling sessions, targeting accuracy, which obviously came in handy during the competition. Dheer spoke of his happiness at winning the competition and being awarded with the bat by Umesh sir.
The win did not come easy though, as he had to ward off competition from 18 finalists who made it to Round 3. With only 1 stump to aim at, many of the other participants came ominously close. But it is a game of thin margins afterall!!
Cricketgraph would like to congratulate all the participants on their fine show and hope to see more of them in upcoming events. We would be running the competition at few other academies across the city, before converging for a ‘Grand Finale’ to find ‘Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler’. Watch this space for more news on the same.
“Mumbai ka accurate bowler” contest organized by NATARAJ PENS in collaboration with Cricketgraph will be conducted on Wednesday, January 31st at Kalyan’s Santosh Sports Cricket Academy. The competition has already garnered tremendous response at the Kharghar, Kandivali and Bhayendar Chapters for the coveted title of Mumbai’s accurate bowler.
DATE: 31st January 2018, Wednesday
Venue: Santosh Sports Cricket Academy, Aadharwadi Jail Road, Near Lulla Complex, Kolivali Village, Kalyan West.
Reporting Time: 3:00 PM
On the spot Registrations Closes at : 3: 30 PM
One of the chapter contest will be conducted in Kalyan’s Santosh Sports Cricket Academy. Unequivocally the atmosphere is going to be an electrifying one, courtesy the healthy participation of the young and budding cricketers of Mumbai.
Apart from this, the winner will be showered with cricket goodies from RM Sports and certificates.
RM Sports that has expertise in manufacturing and trading of cricket equipment, will be encouraging the winners with English willow cricket bats, cricket balls, cricket kit bags and many more cricket goodies. So, it is very much evident that there is everything for grabs for the players.
The first chapter of NATARAJ PENS Mumbai ka Accurate bowler was conducted at Kharghar at Pro King Sports Acadaemy, which turned out to be a BIG success. School and college kids from as far as Satara, Vapi, descended to Kharghar to test their bowling accuracy. The energy level was so high that it didn’t deter one specific bowler with a plastered arm.
There were over hundred participants who gave their best to showcase their skills but eventually only 93bowlers made it to the 1rd round. In the 2nd round, only 25 were qualified from 93 and eventually out of all these, there was one bowler out of the 7 finalists who stood out with his accuracy and won the final round. The intensity and aura was so good at the venue that one could literally feel the pulse of these boys.
17 year old Omkar Chettiar from Jhunjhunwala Jr.college, the talented left arm spinner displayed amazing sense of accuracy by hitting the stump in all the 3 rounds. When Cricketgraph interviewed Omkar on what was the technique he used he said ‘ I was just focusing on the stumps either trying to bowl at Yorker length or bowl a full toss at stumps without feeling any pressure’ Apart from Omkar, there were a few bowlers who were equally impressive but missed out just by an inch. There was also one little boy who gave big players a run for their money. Omkar who won the competition was eventually provided a ‘Winners certificate’ from Cricketgraph and NATARAJ PENS, a stunning English willow bat from RM Sports by Rajiv Mishra.
Omkar didnt show any signs of nervousness which was the differentiating factor and that helped him to win the title of “Mumbai ka Accurate Bowler” at the Kharghar Chapter.
Cricketgraph will be running this contest in few more academies in the next few weeks, to reach out and scout for the accurate bowler.
Played at Nadiad in Gujarat, it was a match between two big teams namely Mumbai & Maharashtra where in Mumbai won the toss and elected to bat first with the back of their strong batting line up.
Their decision to bat first was quite spot on as they managed to score 350runs in 98 overs. Opener Vedant Gadia who has been piling up big tons once again stamped his authority all over as one of the most solid U/14 openers in Mumbai at present. Vedant opening the innings went on to make a superlative 162 off 258balls which set the tone for Mumbai’s innings. Vedant looked in a different zone altogether as he smashed 28fours against quality bowlers with supreme confidence and grace. Another big name at the school level in Mumbai, Mohit Tanwar solidified the middle order as he smashed a stoic 100 off 134balls (18fours) which took the team total to a respectable 350. It was these two who fired at a time when the whole batting line up from the other end crumbled. From Maharashtra, Tilak Jadhav and Sachin Dhas took 4wkts each. Maharashtra on the other hand were all out for 331 in the 1st innings where in opener Arshin Kulkarni smashed an impressive 135 off 231balls (24fours,1six). Jugraj Mehta from Mumbai caught everyone’s attention as he came up with excellent bowling figures of 5/53 in 23.2 overs. Jugraj who has been consistently bowling well finally is getting to see results.
Mumbai on the other hand again batted well with Vedant again giving a good start with 41 while Ayush Jethwa who needs no introduction by now once again did what he does best, i.e a century! Ayush scored 105 off 107ball (17fours) where in Mumbai were 256/5 in 65overs before the end of the game’s play. It was a match which resulted into a draw but Vedant, Mohit, Ayush and Jugraj surely stood out with their individual performances. Also this is run-machine Vedant’s back to back century in this tournament along with Ayush. Gadia’s first ton in this tournament was a few days ago at Anand in Gujarat where he scored 114.
CRICKETGRAPH