The best part about attacking batsman is that they have an innate ability to change the game in a span of few minutes or a few overs. They are brutal and entertaining at the same time and GSC Knight’s sagar shah just provide that does of entertainment which his team mates must have enjoyed with a thrill.
Played at the Aarey Bhaskar Cricket Ground in Mumbai, Knights won the toss and elected to bat first as they have a strong batting line up. Openers once again gave a flying start with Umar Khan Dinesh Natekar scoring quick 30’s while Sagar Shah who came in at no.3 pounced on the positive momentum left behind by the openers. Sagar literally took on the bowlers not sparing anyone in his 28ball stay at the crease. Sagar scored 68* off mere 28 deliveries smashing 9fours and 3sixes at a strike rate of 240+ taking their team total to a mammoth 169/4 in 15 overs.
Chasing a target of 170 in 90balls, any team would feel the pressure of chasing such a total and Starboys also succumbed to that pressure managing to reach only 111/7 in 15 overs. Jitendra Singh and Mukesh Patel bowled well taking 2wkts each. GSC knights won the match and Sagar shah was rightly adjudged ‘man of the match’
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Overseas players are equally talented as our Indian counterparts and they are really hard to defeat. In a one such match between NCC (National Cricket Club) and Tringle Rovers Club where players who have come from South Africa, NCC won the toss and elected to bat first on their own home turf at the National CC ground. While at one side was a talented African side, on the other hand was a team playing on its own soil which was hard to defeat. So an exciting competition was bound to happen.
Batting first, openers Aditya Satpute and Nilesh Bhavar gave a solid start which developed a positive momentum. While Aditya fell just 2runs short of a deserving half century as he was caught out on 48 off 52balls (4fours) playing the anchor’s innings. Nilesh Bhavar on the other hand scored a 35ball 36(4fours,2sixes) while Vasudev Kumbhra accelerated the innings with a quick 15ball 28 to take the team total to 152/6 in 20overs which is not the biggest of scores to defend but surely defendable if bowled well in a T20 match.
NCC gave a brilliant fightback with the ball as they restricted Tringle Rover boys to just 128/6 in 20 overs. Ashish Pardesi was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/19 in 4 overs making it a very impressive spell while the rest of the bowlers also bowled really tight. National Cricket Club won the match by 24runs and opener Aditya was declared ‘man of the match’
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Aggressive & hard hitting batsmen are always entertaining to watch. It’s worth every penny watching them in full flow attacking the bowlers. Parth Tulsakar just did that with his brutal 77 off mere 32 deliveries entertaining the crowd and showcasing his vast hitting abilities.
Played at the Aarey Bhaskar Ground at Goregaon, Mumbai, MTA won the toss and elected to field first in order to make a big total and put the Starboys under pressure. Batting first, MTA posted a really good total of 139/8 in 15 overs. Even though the openers fell early but Nilesh Karnekar (33 off 22b) and Shantanu Shinde (50 off 32b) resurrected the innings back with their crucial partnership. Sameer Masurkar and Prakash Naik from Starboys bowled well taking 2wkts each.
Chasing 140runs in just 90balls is always difficult and Starboys did felt some early jitters as they lost 2 quick wickets despite opener Vinayak Mahaske scoring a 25ball 45. Parth tulaskar who came in at no.4 changed the script of the game in a span of few overs as he literally took on the bowlers with his counter attacking cricket. Parth remained unbeaten on 77* off 32balls at a strike rate of 240 (10fours and 5sixes) and pushed Starboys to a thumping win. His batting certainly reminded us of AB de Villiers who once scored 84 off36balls coming in at no.4 for RCB! Starboys eventually won the match by 6wkts and 3.5 overs to spare while Parth was rightly adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his batting histrionics.
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Played between KC Gandhi High School and Boys Cricket Club at the U.CA Ground, Boys CC won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total and chase it down on a neutral track.
Batting first, KC Gandhi were all out for just 169runs where in most of the batsman failed to convert their starts. However, Jaycool Girase who has been consistently doing a good job both with the bat and ball once again stamped his class with a fighting 73 resurrecting the innings back and helping KC reach a somewhat defendable total. Jaycool smashed 73 off 92balls smashing 9fours while the rest of the batsman from the other end kept on losing wickets.
Chasing a modest total of 170, KC Gandhi gave a tough fight with the ball as they bundled out Boys CC for just 105runs. It was an excellent back as they indulged in tight bowling and fielding. Off-spinner Sahil gupta was the pick of the bowlers coming up with an impressive bowling spell of 5/13 in 7 overs. Sahil bowled in the right areas and really looked promising while all-rounder Jaycool took 3 catches and affected 1 run out too making it an all-round perfomance. KC Gandhi School won the match by 64runs & it was definitely Jaycool & Sahil who stood out with their great perfomance.
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Played between MB Union CC and Kamath CC, MB Union won the toss and elected to bat first as they have a good batting line up to make a good 1st innings score and put the opposition under pressure.
Batting first, MB Union CC’s decision to bat first was quite spot on as they made a mammoth 338/4 in 45 overs. Both the openers Tushar Tiwari (74) and Aroil Chagla (43) gave good starts while Rakesh Naik who came in at no.3 continued the positive momentum left behind by the openers smashing a swashbuckling ton, Naik went on to make 109 off mere 75 deliveries which included 7fours and as many as 6 big sixes. Rakesh literally took on the bowlers with confidence as he counter attacked the bowlers with aplomb. Almost all the bowlers went for a bashing with Parag Jadhav being the pick of the bowlers taking 2/36.
Chasing a total of 339 at more than 8runs per over, Kamath CC managed to score only 227/6 in 45 overs. Even though most of the batsmen failed to convert their starts, Omkar Tonpay at no.4 scored a resilient and a fighting 100 off 112balls. Omkar who smashed 11fours and 2sixes anchored the team’s chase but eventually fell short as he lacked support from the other end. Omkar is really looking in good touch with this being his 2nd back to back ton. Pratil Patil took 2/26 while the rest of the bowlers also chipped in with a wicket each helping their team win the match by 102runs. MB union dominated the match where in Rakesh Naik played a big role while Omkar’s fighting 100 was equally commendable.
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The recently concluded Times Shield saw some amazing cricket being played over the last few days and it was aptly wrapped up by acknowledging the efforts of the players. Considered to be one of the Asia’s oldest and largest corporate tournaments, the closing ceremony of Time Shield was graced by the presence of former India stumper Kiran More, who gave away the prizes for the best batsman and best bowler. Times Shield is played across three divisions, namely, A, B and C. The best batsman and the best bowler from each of the divisions were announced during the closing ceremony of the tournament.
In ‘A’ division, Kaustubh Pawar from Tata SC won the best batsman award for scoring as many as 392 runs in just 3 matches with a scintillating average of 130.67. He amassed one century and a couple of half centuries during his term of play. Vaibhav Mali from Air India SC was adjudged the best bowler for picking up 18 wickets and giving away 387 runs in 109.3 overs in four matches. As is evident from his figures, Mali was extremely conservative in giving away runs as he conceded just over 3.5 runs per over.
In ‘B’ division, scoring a mammoth 502 runs in five matches with a healthy average of 100.4, Sachin Katariya from Space SC bagged the best batsman award. Sachin scored a couple of centuries during the tournament. Yogesh Dicholkar of MBPT SC scalped 29 wickets conceding just 351 runs in 125 overs in three matches. Dicholkar was extremely economical as he gave away just 2.8 runs per over.
In ‘C’ division, the best batsman prize was conferred upon Harshd Khadiwale from Mafatlal SC who scored 329 runs in five matches that included one century and three half centuries. Khadiwale had an average of 65.8 and played a pivotal role to help his team win the ‘C’ division Times Shield tournament. Brijesh Gharat was the wrecker-in-chief for Tata Steel (Wire Division) SC as he picked up 22 wickets in 84 overs conceding 276 runs in five matches. Gharat was effective with the ball as he gave away just 3.29 runs per over.
Played between SVIS Borivali and Don Bosco Matunga High School at the Islam Gymkhana, Don Bosco won the toss and elected to field first with an aim of restricting the powerful line up of SVIS to a low total.
Batting first, SVIS notched up 373/6 in 62.1 overs which is a very healthy total. Opener Raj Desmukh who has been playing really well at the top order once again gave a good start with an aggressive 99 off 94balls. Raj as always hardly wasted any time at the crease and kept the scoreboard ticking smashing 16fours and a six. Ayush jethwa who came in at no.3 once again managed to impress the spectators with his flawless batting smashing 173 off just 160balls (26fours, 1six). Both the batsman, Ayush and Raj solidified the innings with a 130run stand solidifying their team’s position. Malhar Mane also chipped in with a 43 before they declared their innings. Chris Britto with 3/122 was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the bowlers also bowled fairly well.
SVIS on the other hand are looking a bit in trouble with 4wkts down for 61runs where in Akshat Pathak gave early breakthroughs with bowling figures of 3/15 in 6 overs. Tommorow will be a tough day for Don Bosco to resurrect the innings while SVIS would like to wrap up the match with a dominating win.
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Played at the MIG Cricket Club between Indian Oil Sports Club and Central Railway Sports Association, Central Railways won the toss and elected to field first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total.
However, Indian Oil batted well in the 1st innings notching up 335runs in their 1st innings. Even though most of the batsman failed to create any impact, it was their opener Ravikant Shukla who stood tall amongst the bowlers. The southpaw went on to score an elegant and solid looking 179 off 257balls (23fours, 2sixes) at a healthy strike rate of 70 keeping the scoreboard ticking & also surviving from one end as wickets were falling at regular intervals. Middle order bat Aditya Tare looked good for his stoic 66. Left-arm spinner Vinit Dhulap was terrific with the ball as he scalped 5wkts against a quality batting line up. In reply, Central Railway Sports Association were restricted to just 231 runs all out as Indian Oil’s left arm pacer Khalil Ahmed wrecked havoc over the batsman with his impressive line and length. Left arm fast bowlers are a rarity and quality left arm fast bowlers are even more rare and it was just good to see Khalil bowling so well coming up with bowling figures of 7/54 in 21.5 overs.
In the 2nd Innings, Indian Oil again displayed their batting prowess with opener Ravi once again giving a good start with a timely half century while it was Siddhesh who top scored with a ever classy ton in the 2nd innings. Siddhesh took on the bowlers and as always looked really solid and elegant at the same time hitting a deserving 125. In fact Lad was in a different mood that day as he brought his ton in mere 64balls making it one of the fastest of Times Shield this season. Indian Oil batted for 53 overs at 365/7 before the end of the game’s play where they won the match on 1st innings. It was a match dominated by Indian Oil where Ravikant, Siddhesh Lad and Khalil stood out with their individual performances.
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Played at the Karnatak Sporting Association, Cross Maidan, it was a high octane match between two prolific teams namely DY Patil and Payyade Sports Club where in DY Patil won the toss and elected to bat first with the back of their in-form and strong batting line up.
Their decision to bat first was completely spot on as they managed to score a healthy total of 356 in69.4 overs. Openers Shoaib and Shashank gave a good start scoring 35 and 48 respectively. Aggressive Aman scored a 27ball 42 followed by in-form Shubham Ranjane’s another half century. While Aman has continued to play aggressively throughout the tournament, we have also lost count of the number of runs piled up by Shubham Ranjane and Shashank. That was not all as their experienced & prolific all-rounder Abhishek Nayar at no.5 gave a crucial contribution scoring a solid 56 off 69balls (6fours, 1six). Abhishek is really looking in good touch and seems to be getting back in the groove. It was overall a collectively good batting perfomance by top order to lower middle order. Harmeet Singh and Vishal Dabholkar were the pick of the bowlers taking 4wkts each.
Chasing 357, Payyade were flattened out for just 207runs all out in 47.3 overs with their opener Akhil Herwadkar top scoring with 80runs. All-rounder Abhishek Nayar contributed with the ball too as he came up with excellent bowling figures of 4/21 in 9.3 overs which did the maximum damage. Karsh Kothari (3wkts) & Shubham(2wkts) also bowled well. DY Patil won the match by 151runs and it was surely on the back of their collective team perfomance but Abhishek Nayar’s all-round contribution certainly became the highlight perfomance of the match. If Abhishek’s current perfomance is anything to go by, he is certainly giving strong signals of a promising season ahead in 2018 too.
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Attacking openers are always a threat because they can take the game away in a span of few overs. They can also change the momentum with their quick starts and Umar Khan just did that for GSC Knight as he managed to give a great start at the top of the order. Played between GSC Knight and Gokuldham Boys at the Aarey Bhaskar Cricket Ground in Mumbai, Gokuldham boys won the toss and elected to field first with an aim of restricting the Knights to a low total.
However, Gokuldham bowlers were in for a bashing right from the word ‘go’ as Knight’s opener Umar Khan completely decimitated the bowlers with his attacking 59 off mere 22 deliveries. Umar smashed 4fours and as many as 6sixes at a strike rate of 268 to completely enthrall his team mates as well as the spectators changing the momentum of the game. Apart from him the rest of the batsman chipped in with 20’s and 30’s taking their team total to 183/5 in 15overs.
In reply Gokuldham Boys managed to score only 128/6 in 15 overs as they fell 55runs short of the target. Mukesh Patel and Abhishek Singh bowled well taking 2wkts each. GSC Knight won the match in a commanding fashion while opener Umar Khan was declared ‘man of the match’
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