Played at the Western Railway, Cross Maidan, two really talented teams namely Regent CC and Koli Combined XI took on each other where in Regent CC won the toss and elected to bat first as the wicket has been improving for the batsmen off lately at the Cross Maidan.
Batting first, Koli Combined bowlers did a good job restricting Regent CC to a just above modest total of 194 runs in 42 overs. Even though hardly any batsmen failed to make an impact, talented opener Patrick Allen showed his class by staying solid at the crease for his 74ball 59 (7fours, 1six). Patrick looked confident unlike his mates who were not able to convert their starts. Siddant Vaity with 4/37 was the pick of the bowlers in his spell of 9 overs. Siddhant looked quite impressive with good line and length while the rest of the bowlers also chipped in with a wicket or two.
Defending a modest total of 195 runs, the match was in the hands of Koli Combined to chase it down with ease. However, experienced spinner Prakash Aswani bowled a match winning spell of 5/26 in 8.2 overs to restrict the opposition to 177runs and help his team win a thriller of a match. Prakash kept on bowling in the right areas and troubled the batsman consistently which reaped rewards for him as well as his team and this is not the first time Prakash has performed like this. Regent CC won the match by 17 runs and it was definitely Patrick with the bat and Aswani with the ball who created the maximum impact to defeat the Koli Combined team.
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What a wonderful tournament it was where the most passionate and sporty cricket lovers assembled ad displayed their cricketing skills. Advocates can be good cricketers too and this tournament is a living example. The State level Maharashtra advocates cricket championship cup which is organized in Nashik Thane legal eagles were placed runners up out of the 105 teams participated in this big tournament from all over Maharashtra.
Legal Eagles hard working coach Madhav Salvi effortlessly guided the team while their talented skipper Alkesh Kadam led the team from the front and ensures success. Govind Solanke of legal eagles was declared the “Best bowler” of the tournament while Akshay Nijampurkar and captain Alkesh kadam were the leading runs scorers which includes 3 fifties each for the team. Jayesh patil in absence of their regular opener opened the innings and batted really well giving good starts while Kunal Ghagh, Tejas tipre. Vishal Raman and vice captain Uday bhosale handled the middle order well. Makrand raut, Prathmesh Mhaskar, Somnath patil, Amit Shaligram bowled well throughout the tournament while manager Himanshu Patil and Mataprasad Singh managed the team and played important role in team’s success.
It was a collective team effort which shaped their journey as all the players and members not only progressed in the tournament but also enjoyed the time together.
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Played at the Shivaji Park, Kamath CC between KES Shroff College and Rizvi Engineering College, the match was bound to be an exciting one with both the teams having promising players. KES won the toss and elected to field first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total.
Batting first, Rizvi boys notched up a total of 162/7 in 36 overs where in Rehan Shaikh top scored with a gritty 52. Opener Siddhant also looked good for his 34 while also stitched a nice stand with Rehan. Apart from these two, hardly any batsman managed to create any impact. From the bowling side Akash Ayar was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/52 in 8 overs.
Chasing 163, KES openers failed to give a flying start but Akshay Powale at no.3 who has played cricket at various levels showed his experience by scoring a solid and a fighting knock of 71 off 79 deliveries (11fours). While the rest of the batsman were losing wickets from one end, Akshay stayed solid even though his team lost by 6runs due to low run rate as they started a bit late due to wet wicket. All-rounder Rehan Shaikh who scored a half century also took 3wkts with the ball to push Rizvi to a thumping win.
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Played at the National Cricket Club, it was a match between Gaud Saraswat CC and Friends Union Sports Club where in Friends CC won the toss and elected to bat first considering the favorable wicket which had something for the batsman.
Batting first, Friends CC were off to a good start with their opener Deven Joshi top scoring with 67 off 64balls giving a quick start. Apart from him, the rest of the batsman gave starts but did not convert their scores into something substantial. Friends CC managed to score 229/7 in 45 overs which is a good score to defend. From the bowling side, Gaurav Parte and Ahsan Jamal took 2wkts each while the rest of the bowlers supported them well.
Chasing 230, they were struggling at one point for 5wkts down before they even crossed the 100 run mark. However, Sanket Jadhav who came in at no.6 played a fantastic knock of 78* off 101balls reminding us of Laxman’s batting against Australia where he single handedly chased down the target with the lower order. Sanket who came in late had to deal with the lower order as well as tailenders but eventually he remained unbeaten pushing his team towards the victory line with just 1wkt and 3balls to spare. Gaud Saraswat won a thriller of a match and a major credit must go to the match winning 78* by Sanket.
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GSC Champions cup has been a great platform to spot young talented cricketers with amazing skills. Just recently Knight’s opener Sagar Shah came up with a 42ball ton and now comes another player who is marking his presence as an attacking opener and this time it is Siddarth Sharma from Starboys.
Played at the Aarey Bhaskar Ground vs MTB, Starboys won the toss and elected to field first. Mumbai Tigers posted a decent score of 135/5 in 15 overs where in Hardik Thakar top scored with 45 while Nilesh and Basil chipped in with 30’s. Shrinivas Shinde with 2/18 was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the bowlers also did a fairly decent job.
Chasing 136 in 15 overs is not the easiest of tasks but Starboys openers Vinayak Mhaske (42 off 20balls, 7fours and a six) and Siddarth Sharma made it look easy. Both the openers gave a flying start and entertained the spectators with their belligerent batting. Siddarth on the other hand continued the good start as he went on to score a stunning 87* off 33balls (11fours, 5sixes). Siddarth made mockery of the bowlers as he counter attacked them with destructive batting helping his team win the match by 9wkts and 6.1 overs to spare. Starboys won the match in a commanding fashion while opener Siddarth Sharma was rightly declared ‘man of the match’
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Just fresh from his batting histrionics in the last match where he took on the bowlers with a 28ball 68, Sagar is stamping his presence as an attacking opener now again with a brutal ton coming off mere 42balls. Played at the Aarey Bhaskar Cricket Ground between Knights and Mumbai Tigers A, Mumbai Tigers won the toss and elected to field first.
However, they were not aware about the zone in which Knight’s opener Sagar Shah was in. Sagar took on the bowlers from the word ‘go’ and continued his form from the last match. The hard hitting aggressive opener this time went on to make 101* off mere 42 deliveries smashing 9fours and as many as 7sixes to enthrall his team mates and the spectators alike. His opening partner Vikram Page also played a terrific innings of 51 in just 28balls (10fours) giving their team a flying start. It was on the back of these two openers and especially Sagar who converted his start into a ton which took the team total to a healthy 200/3 in mere 90balls( 15 overs).
Chasing 201 in even 20 overs is difficult and doing it in 15 overs is always going to be a mammoth task. Mumbai Tigers managed to reach only 106/7 in 15 overs where in Niel Crasto and Dinesh Natekar took 2wkts each. Kinghts won the match by 95runs and opener Sagar Shah was declared ‘man of the match’ for his fantastic innings.
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All-rounders can always pose a huge threat to the opposition and when they strike in full flow, most of the times, their team crosses the victory line. Umang Sheth from Dashing CC just did that recently in the Cosmopolitan Shield Tournament 2017. Played between MB Union and Dashing CC at the MB Union ground, MB union won the toss and elected to field first.
Batting first, Dashing CC were all out for 213 runs in the 1st innings in 45 overs. Opener Dhun Somaiya played a gritty knock giving a good start scoring 52. Left-handed Umang Sheth who came in at no.3 solidified the innings with a timely 73ball 52(5fours). Both the batsmen played really good shots while also stitched a nice partnership which took their team to atleast cross the 200 run mark. Rakesh Naik was the pick of the bowlers taking 3wkts while the rest of the bowlers also did a good job.
In reply, MB Union were all out for 163 runs as Dashing CC gave a really tough fight with the ball. Left arm spinner Chirag sachdev with 3/16 was the pick of the bowlers while all-rounder Umang Sheth chipped in with 3wkts for 44runs with his off-spin. Dashing CC won the match by 50runs and it was definitely all-rounder Umang who stood out in the match with his terrific perfomance.
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Fast Bowling is a important part in Cricket.Whatever style of Bowling a player chooses,he should be encouraged to pursue it in an attacking manner. The idea is to make the batsman play as many deliveries as possible.
Experimentation in the nets should be encouraged all the times so that the bowler is able to perfect a variation before trying it under match conditions.Constant practice is always useful,but workload should be monitored carefully.
The only key that holds here is that there are no shortcuts to success,so keep practicing till you attain that desire pace,line and length.Fast bowling is something one has to do with passion,because it is very hard work. Fast Bowlers is required to bowl with pace for many overs and this requires stamina, so long distance running will help them bowl many overs with the consistent intensity.
In this video you would see bowler Siddhant singh practicing fast bowling with coach sumeet khanna.
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Sumeet Khanna is an active cricketer, playing at top divisions in MCA.
He is a MCA Level O certified coach. Apart from coaching at few clubs in western mumbai, he contributes to cricketgraph regularly to help the cricket community at large.
Pushkaraj has been bowling consistently well since the last few years. Everytime the ball is handed over to him, he comes back to the dugout/dressing room with results and his hardwork is showing in this year’s Times Shield too where he has time and again troubled the batsman with his wily spin.
If his recent matches are anything to go by, he is really looking promising to achieve bigger things in cricket. Playing for Mumbai Customs, in the match against Repro at cross maidan, Mumbai customs won the toss and elected to bat first notching up a mammoth 503runs for 1st innings. Opener Prathamesh Pawar(107), Akash Parkar (94) and Skipper Sachin Wagh (117) batted exceptionally well strengthning the innings with their impressive batting. Repro in reply were all out for 136runs where in Pushkaraj was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/33 followed by 3wkts each for Akash Parkar and Ankush Jaiswal. Repro received a follow on where in they were again bundled out for 196runs/all out in the 2nd innings. Once again the pick of the bowlers was none other than Pushkaraj coming up with match winning bowling figures of 5/44 in 12.4 overs helping his side win the match by an innings.
In the match against Dena Bank too at Cross Maidan, he single handedly demolished the batsman with his amazing spin taking 7/48 in 18 overs. It was his bowling spell which restricted Dena Bank to 136runs in the 1st innings helping Mumbai Customs win the match by an innings. Pushkaraj is really bowling well in the right areas and is working hard as always to get the results. Lets wish for him that he goes through a great upcoming season and keeps on progressing in cricket.
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When the chips are down and someone comes to the rescue, that’s when the real class and resilience of a player is tested and talented Nikhil Patil just did that recently in the Times Shield scoring a hundred at a time when the wickets were falling from the other end. Played at the cross maidan, BPSA (Bharat Petroleum Sports Association) won the toss and elected to bowl first with the back of their good bowling line up.
Their decision was actually spot on with Tata sports struggling at 2wickets down for 9runs and 4wkts down for 40 runs at one stage. They were looking all set to be bundled out for just 100-110runs. But that was not the case as right handed Nikhil Patil at no.4 anchored the innings and resurrected the innings back like a surgeon scoring a valiant 100* off 170balls(17fours). Nikhil looked really confident and different from the rest of the batsman who were not able to convert their starts as he kept the score board ticking and dealt in boundaries too helping Tata Sports reach a somewhat respectable total of 193/all out in 53.2 overs. Medium pacer Abhishek Nayar has decided that he will let his perfomance do the talking as he looks all set for a domestic comeback with consistent performances so far. Continuing his form from the last match, Nayar went on to take 6/32 in this match in 18.2 overs which did the maximum damage. Abhishek was really bowling at a nice pace and was able to hit the right line and length. BPSA on the other hand declared at 220/9 with opener Bhavin scoring 41 while Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Abhishek Nayar both scoring half centuries at the middle order.
Tata Sports were again bundled out for 138 runs where in Nikhil top scored with 32 while Nayar was again the pick of the bowlers with 4/34 taking his tally of wickets to 10 in this match. Medium pacer Tushar Deshpande also bowled well bagging 4wkts. With a lead of just 72runs, BPSA chased down the score in just 8.4 overs and won the match by 9wkts. BPSA looked dominating throughout the match and Nayar’s all-round show coupled with Nikhil Patil’s fighting 100* remain the highlight performances of the match.
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