Advancing from the league round, it was the super six match between Devils United & Corporate Strikers at Elf Oval ground in Mumbai in Netmagic Premier League 2017 Cricket Tournament. Corporate strikers which are considered a strong team in the tournament loss the toss and Devils United elected to bat first in order to capitalize the situation and make the most of the batting track.
Corporate strikers managed 79/5 in 10 overs with their all-rounder Ganesh Sawant being the top scorer with 22*. Ganesh remained unbeaten and upped the rate in the last slog overs of the game. Uday was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/11 in his 2 overs followed by Sachin Patil 2/17(2) & Sumit G’s 1/11 in 2 overs. Chasing 80 runs in 10 overs, Devils United won the match by 9 wickets. But it was not a comfortable victory for them as they were at one point stuck at only 35-40 runs in 6 overs. It was some sloppy fielding & late onslaught by the Devils United batsman & especially Sushil kumar Gupta who scored a match winning 40*off just 22 balls. His 40* was outright entertaining to watch and included 4 fours and 2 big sixes towards long on to enthrall the spectators.
Devils united won the match by a comfortable margin of 9 wickets and all-rounder Sushil Gupta was adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his brilliant performance. Devils united defeated a strong team like Corporate strikers and they qualify for the next stage i.e semi finals (20-20 over) stage of the tournament & looking at their current form, they certainly look favorites to win the tournament too!
It was the 10 over league encounter between TCS & Sony Pictures at Air India Ground, Mumbai. TCS won the toss and elected to bat first as it was a good batting track and it would help them post a big target.
However, things weren’t as hunky dory as they may have expected as TCS lost 3 early wickets within the first 10 runs and they were struggling at one point. But TCS eventually played well in the slog overs and posted a great total of 101/7 in 10 overs with the help of powerplay (where the tally of runs are doubled from what they are scored in the powerplay overs) . No.5 & 6 Pratik S and Pinkesh played crucial cameos of 31*(22) and 19(13) which took their team total to cross the 100 run mark. C Mungekar was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/14 in 2 overs followed by 2/21 by Prathamesh. Chasing 102, Sony Pictures finished the match in style as they had 2 overs to spare despite such a big target.
V Pandey scored a flashy 22 ball 38 but it was their other opener Pratik Patil who played a gem of a knock and stayed till the end finishing the game in style. Pratik Patil scored a brilliant 50* coming off just 24 balls. At a strike rate of above 200, he smashed 3 fours and 4 big sixes to enthrall the spectators. Pratik took the onus on his shoulders in the absence of their regular opener Vipin Chaurasia & did his job to perfection.
Sony team won the match by 9 wickets and 2 overs to spare & opener Pratik Patil was adjudged man of the match in Tata Motors Corporate Cricket Championship 2017 for his swashbuckling 50*. Looking at the way he and his whole team are playing, Sony will surely be a team to lookout for as and when the tournament advances.
It was the semi-final match between KSG warriors & Super Kings at the Payyade Cricket Ground (Kandivali) in Mumbai. Super Kings from SRK won the toss & elected to field first as they found wicket suitable for bowlers & they have good bowling line up too.
KSG Warriors who did batting first did good job with the bat as they scored 319/9 in 40 overs. It was 8 runs per over and that was quite commendable by warriors. Almost all the batsman scored 20’s and 40’s but it was their middle order batsman Sitanshu Parekh who scored an aggressive 52 ball 97. Coming in at no.7 he changed the entire game single handedly with his effortless batting. Sitanshu consistently played at a strike of above 190 and he smashed 8 fours and 5 big sixes in his 52 ball stay at the crease. Sitanshu who scored most of his runs straight did maximum hitting in the last 5 overs which helped his team cross the 300 run mark. Jatin Mehta 3/25 and Mittal Dalal 3/57 were the pick of the bowlers for Warriors.
Chasing 320 in 40 overs is very tough & Warriors did felt the difficulty. But there was no denying the fact that they gave an extremely tough fight as they were all out for 265 in 37 overs. Had any of their batsman stayed a little more at the crease till 40 overs, things could have turned in their favor too. Sitanshu who already scored 97 with the bat also took 2/37 in his 5 overs along with 2 catches & it was a complete all round performance by him.
“Man of the match” Sitanshu who had cancelled his tour just to play in the semis will surely be feeling that it was worth it as he made his team win the match with his all- round show & we certainly wish they win the finals too!
It was the nail biting semis of the Khichadia Khar Tournament between Rizvi Springfield Bandra & Yashodham High School Goregoan at Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai. Rizvi who boasts of a strong batting line up elected to bat first after winning the toss.
Rizvi lived up to their expectations as a good batting team as they scored 278/9 in 45 overs. At one moment they did appear to be in some trouble but eventually their middle order sailed them out of trouble. Down the order it was their no.5 and & no.7 Aditya Dev and Ranbeer Yadav who came as saviors for their side as they scored 84 & 74* respectively. Both the right handers clobbered the bowlers and sailed their team to a highly commendable total of 278 in 45 overs. They rotated the strike and kept the scorecard ticking & also created a good partnership where in they targeted almost every bowlers at will. From Yashodham it was their right arm off spinner Jugraj Mehta who bowled brilliantly for his 4/96 followed by right arm medium pacer Usama chaudhary who took 3/25.
In reply, Yashodham high school was all out for a paltry 87 in 24 overs. Right arm leg spinner Yashasvi Jaiswal once again showed his bowling prowess as he scalped 5 crucial wickets which broke the opposition’s momentum. Yashashvi bowled a brilliant spell of 5/32 in his 9 overs and Rizvi won the match by a big margin of 191 runs & skipper Jaiswal was adjudged man of the match.
With such a big win in the semis, Rizvi will be in a great mindset when they enter the finals & we certainly wish that they win the tournament.
It was the T10 knockout match between two powerful teams namely Bharti Airtel vs Voltas House at the Air India Ground in Mumbai. Both the teams are strong and it was equally crucial for both the sides to win as it was a knockout match. Voltas who won the toss elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting them to a low score.
However, things did not go in their favor as Airtel simply plundered the bowlers in all the parts of the ground and posted a mammoth 138/3 in 10 overs. Opener Kalpesh Mehta was retired hurt on 5 after injuring his finger but his partner Jitesh Purabia was the star of the match. Aggressive opener Jitesh who is known for aggressive cricket again scored a blazing 69 off just 32 balls. He was thoroughly destructive and entertaining with the bat and smashed 4 fours and 5 big sixes in his 32 ball stay at the crease. Jitesh also got good support from M More who scored an unbeaten 50* off 23 balls.
Chiang 139 in 10 overs at 14 runs per over is always a pressure situation and Voltas managed only 87/3 in 10 overs. Jitesh also did good fielding and took an important run out through his direct hit. It was a great performance by him and his team altogether as they won the knockout match by 51 runs. Jitesh was adjudged ‘man of the match’ and he will surely be a batsman to look out for in the coming matches of the Tata Motors Corporate Cricket Championship 2017 Tournament.
It was a crucial league match between two exciting teams namely CEX vs Best Seller at the National Cricket Club, Mumbai. It was important for both the teams to win to advance in the tournament. CEX came to the ground without their top 7 regular players & Sumit Chiluka was their stand in skipper for this match.
Winning the toss first, Sumit elected to bat first as he has a better bowling line up to defend the score and also make the most of the opportunity of batting first. Team CEX made 139/3 in 20 overs which is always a defendable score if not big. CEX were calm in the first 10 overs but they changed gears in their last six overs of the game. Zulkarnain was the pick of the batsman scoring a well crafted 66 off 71 balls. However, it was Sumit’s quickfire 35ball 47 which took the team total to almost 7 runs per over (i.e 139 in 20overs). Sumit attacked all the bowlers with ease and also did good running between the wickets with Zulkarnain. In fact both the batsman stitched a wonderful partnership of 120 runs which played a very crucial role towards their team’s success.
Team Best Seller looked good and gave a tough fight but they were eventually all out for 121 runs in 20 overs. Hardly any batsman could convert their 10”s and 20’s apart from Allen J who scored a gritty 43 off just 27 balls. Skipper Sumit played the captain’s role to perfection as he also did some great bowling scalping 4/26 in 4 overs with his effective medium pace. Team CEX won the match by 18 runs & stand in skipper Sumit chiluka was adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his all round perfomance.
With a good victory in this match, Team CEX will surely have a lot of confidence when they advance into the tournament.
It was the final face off between two competitive teams who have made their way to the finals after some great performances. It was the final encounter at Wankhede Stadium between Anjuman Islam & Father Agnel Vashi of the Navi Mumbai Inter school tournament (under-16).
Anjuman Islam team which boasts of a strong batting line up elected to bat first without thinking twice after winning the toss and made a huge score of 289 in 45 overs. Wicket-keeper opening batsman Sayyed Maaz scored an aggressive 29 at the top of the order setting the tone for other batsman to carry on the positive momentum. Shaikh Sadjat scored a solid 78 followed by Ahmad Khan’s gutsy 58 at the middle order. It was some good batting by Anjuman which took their team total to 289.
Chasing 290, Father Agnel were all out for just 121 runs in 38 overs. Anjuman Islam bowled their heart out and especially their left arm spin wizard Kesu Munta who took a brilliant fifer with the ball. Kesu who was also the captain played the skipper’s role accurately. It was also some fantastic fielding by the talented Naseerudin which played a game changing role in the finals. In fact Naseerudin’s brilliant fielding yielded him 3 very important run outs which completely changed the game.
Skipper Kesu Munta topped the wicket taker’s list with 24 wickets & it was also surely a great collective performance by the Anjuman Islam boys and their coach Manoj Lokhande must be proud of his boys who lifted the trophy for the 3rd consecutive time. Not a single team has achieved this feat in the last 10 years & all the Anjuman boys surely have a great future ahead!
It was the all important Quarter final match between Karnataka Sporting Associations vs Worli Sports Club at the Worli Gymkhana, Mumbai. It was crucial for both the teams to win this match as it would take them to the semi finals of the tournament. Winning the toss, the strong Karnataka team elected to bat first.
Batting first, Karnataka scored 299/9 in 44 overs. Their skipper Kaustub Pawar who also plays Ranji cricket got off to a good start but could not convert it this time like he usually does. No.3 batsman Vidyadhar Kamat scored a fantastic knock of 77 off just 85 balls (4 fours, 1six) . Rohan Kerkar also scored a blazing 64 off just 45 balls which included 4 fours and a huge six followed by a quick 40 from Vaibhav Mali & a handy 37 by Vinayak Bhoir.
In reply, Worli Sports Club managed only 140/10 in 38.3 overs and Karnataka won the Quarter finals by a big margin of 159 runs. Vinayak Bhoir who scored 37 with the bat also chipped in with the ball taking 3/26 with his left arm spin. It was a good team performance and Vinayak Bhoir & Vidyadhar Kamat were adjudged “man of the match” for their great show.
With a big win in the Quarter finals, Karnataka will definitely be a team to look out for in the semi finals.
It was the 1st round match between two exciting teams namely Automotive CC vs MSRTC at the Youth Own Union, Cross Maidan in Mumbai. Automotive CC won the toss and they batted first in order to keep the opponents under pressure.
Batting first, Automotive batsman took full advantage of batting first at they posted a healthy total of 266/7 in 45 overs. At one point, Automotive CC were struggling at 82/4 in 21 overs until Jayesh Thakkar came in and changed the game single handedly. Jayesh not only anchored the innings but he also upped the run rate for his side as he scored a swashbuckling 102 off just 71 balls. Jayesh who came in at no.5 played aggressive cricket as he wanted to lift the team’s run rate. Thakkar smashed 11 glorious boundaries and 3 big sixes in his 71 ball stay at the crease. He was completely entertaining to the eyes & played a very important role for his team.
Chasing 267 in 45 overs, MSRTC were all out for just 47 runs in 20 overs. Right arm pace bowler Parth Mehta was the star in the bowling department as he completely shattered the MSRCTC Mumbai batting line up with his pace bowling. Parth Mehta took a stunning 6/16 in his 9 overs to reduce MSRTC to a meagre 47 & hand over a big win to his side.
Automotive CC won the match by 219 runs & “Parth Mehta” was adjudged man of the match for his great bowling. Jayesh Thakkar’s contribution was also equally appreciation worthy & we are sure the whole team would be in a great state of mind after such a commanding win against MSRTC.
It was the important semi-final encounter between Souvenir Cricket Club vs Patan Cricket Club at Sunder CC ground, Cross Maidan, Mumbai. Souvenir team won the toss and elected to bat first as they have a deep & a strong batting line up.
Right handed dashing opener Rohan Bane scored a blazing 46 off 27 balls (4 fours, 3 sixes) which set the tone for the Souvenir innings. It gave other batsman the confidence to move on positively. No.3 batsman Amey Lad also played a crucial hand of 41 off just 48 balls. However, the pick of the batsman was their right handed Ronak Shinde who scored a brilliant 63 off 74 balls which included 5 fours. Ronak kept on rotating the strike and hardly wasted any time at the crease, keeping the scoreboard ticking. Souvenir team managed 231 all out in 44.5 overs with Imran Shaikh (3/61) & Rakesh Naik (3/35) taking 3 wickets each.
Chasing 232, Patan CC were bundled out for 144 runs in just 32 overs and Souvenir team won the all important semi- final match by 159 runs. The talented Shreyas Pathak compensated it with his brilliant bowling as he took a superb 4/20 in his 5 overs which played a huge role in restricting Patan to 144. Ronak Shinde who scored a brilliant 63 with the bat also took 3/29 with the ball thus making it an excellent all-round performance.
Shreyas Pathak who was the best player of the tournament in the Harris Shield was adjudged ‘man of the match’ for his brilliant bowling in this match too. Definitely it was a good collective performance by the Souvenir boys and they will have a lot of positive momentum by their side when they enter the finals of the tournament.