It was the nail biting semi final at cross maidan between Asiatic Engineering and Dental wagon team. Asiatic team had a target of making 160-170 in mind if they got an opportunity to bat first. Luckily, dental wagons who won the toss elected to field first on a good batting pitch.
The Asiatic team took the full benefit of the opportunity which they wanted as they batted exceptionally well. Though the openers failed to give a solid start it was the middle order which did the talking. Armaan khan and Imran Patel took their side out of trouble with brilliant batting. Armaan scored a blazing 23 ball 35 while we got to see an unbeaten 71 from just 39 balls from right handed Imran sheikh. Both the players stitched a good partnership to save their sinking ship out of the trouble. It was pure counter attacking by both the batsman as they had the license to kill in the last 6-7 overs.
Asiatic engineering made 206/7 in 20 overs & exceeded their own target of making at least 160+ to defend their total with confidence. A team batting second to chase a 200+ target is always under pressure cooker sort of situation & same was the case with Dental wagons. Dental wagons were bundled out for 103 runs in just 18 overs giving a comfortable victory to Asiatic team.
The bowlers did a fantastic job of restricting as well as containing the batsman all the time. Armaan who batted well also contributed nicely with the ball picking up 3 wickets. His 3/9 in 4 overs was very crucial & it was a match winning bowling spell for sure. Asiatic won the semis by 103 runs & Armaan was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance.
After a wonderful win & a great team work we are sure the Asiatic team will enter the finals with the aim of again giving their best & win the tournament in style.
After a spate of two losses in the league round, it was do or die situation for Wipro team to win this match. Anglo eastern team who won the toss took a decision which turned out to be in Wipro’s favor as they are not the best in chasing & they got a chance to bat first.
Anglo eastern was off to a good start taking two wickets in the first 6 overs and giving away just 34 runs. It appeared as if 140-150 would be a struggle for Wipro after the 1st three batsman collapsed. But the real show was left as Alim khan the skipper took the reigns on his shoulder and single handedly changed the match. Azad maidan witnessed another brilliant performance as Alim Khan scored a hundred (101 runs in 53 balls) at a strike rate of almost 200 & was pure treat to the eyes. Right handed Khan smashed 13 fours and 2 sixes en-route his super quick hundred. His two straight sixes against the pacers were also a treat to watch. It was because of the efforts put by the skipper, his team reached more than satisfactory target of 205/6 in 20 overs.
The opposition team (anglo eastern) also played well and at one point even appeared to be favorites to win the match as all the batsman were chipping in with quick cameos. However, they ended their chase at 179/7 in 20 overs & Wipro won the match by 26 runs. Skipper Alim khan also took a crucial wicket with his medium pace. Anshu singh and saurabh also bowled effectively picking up two wickets each.
The hard work and practice of the skipper finally seems to be paying off as his team won the knockout match. It was almost a one man show from ‘man of the match” Alim Khan. It was also really a sweet gesture Alim to dedicate his century to his mom.
Global hospital vs Learningmate were into their first match of the Shiraz-e-hind tournament which is going to be played with the pink ball for the 1st time in Mumbai. Winning the toss, Learning mate had plans of restricting the opposition to a low score. Global hospital was put to bat first. Learningmate were off to a fantastic start plucking out both the openers back to the pavilion for ducks. Such was the momentum it looked the team would bundle out in the first 10 overs until a savior called Amrendra singh arrived at the crease.
Amrendra singh (101 off 63 balls) faced more than 10 overs alone to score a marathon hundred for his team. Amrendra did not only bring his team out of trouble but also took his team to a winning position. His 101 was covered with 13 fours and 2 sixes and not a single bowler or a corner of the ground was spared by his practical yet belligerent batting. Global hospital reached a defendable total of 170/7 in 20 overs. Sanket parte (2/25) & Anthony (1/29) bowled well but they lacked support from the other bowlers.
The Global hospital bowlers did a great job with the ball making the opposition struggle. Learningmate ended their innings at 123/9 in 20 overs & Global hospital won the match by 47 runs. Ashish jadhav (4/20 in 4 overs) was terrific with the ball not leaking too many runs & picking up wickets at regular intervals.
Amrendra singhdeo was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant performance & he will surely be a batsman to watch out for in the next coming matches of the tournament.
Deutsche bank had a great encounter against Orange advertising into the quarter final match of the Masters cup. A high intensity match like quarter finals are always fun to watch & so was this match. Winning the toss, Deutsche bank elected to bat first.
Their openers wadekar & wagh fell early which gave the opposition team some momentum. However, Abhishek Sharma came in to change the fortunes of his side. With some support by Ponkshe (25 ball 20), Abhishek Sharma smashed a very important half century. Sharma scored a brisk 37 ball 57 which were laced with 8 fours and a big six. The best part about his batting was he perfectly mixed aggression with composure on the crease as he also rotated the strike & kept the scorecard ticking.
Apart from Sharma & Ponkshe not a single batsman crossed 20 run mark & that was one of the major reasons deutsche bank managed to score only 132/8 in 20 overs. It was simply wonderful to see Mahesh take 5/24 in his 4 overs. He was the lone warrior in the battle against deutsche & was very effective with the ball. Chasing 133, it was the same case for Orange advertising too as their openers failed to give a good start.
The only part where they were not same in terms of batting was they did not had someone like Sharma in their line-up who could chip in with the bat as 10 out of 11 batsman failed to cross the 20 run mark. Orange team were all out for 117 in 18 overs. Even if they would have played till the end they could have managed to win but it was also some good bowling by the Deutsche team. Eric Bacha (2/13 in 4 overs) & Jigar parikh (2/20 in 4 overs) were fantastic with the ball. Anil Julka picked up 3 wickets & broke partnerships. The right arm medium pacer took crucial breakthroughs which helped his side to win the game. He was the pick of the bowlers & was adjudged man of the match for his effective bowling.
Deutsche team won the quarter finals & will certainly be high on motivation & spirits to give their best in the semis & eventually reach finals to lift the Masters Trophy cup.
Two good teams faced each other at Shivaji Park namely Naaptol & Idea for an exciting encounter in the Milan Corporate T20 Tournament. Winning the toss first, idea team decided to bat first. The pitch was very tough for the batsman to score boundaries. Shivaji park has long boundaries & it was quite evident as there was only one six in the entire innings of Idea team
Idea team was restricted to just 131 in 20 overs. Had it not been Vikas Sharma in their team even 131 could have not been possible for them. The aggressive right handed opener smashed boundaries with resolute force and controlled aggression en route his match saving knock of 92 coming off just 55 balls. Vikar helped his team to reach a decent target from nowhere as the openers lost their wickets early & so did the middle order. It was Sharma who stayed right through the end. Puran Singh (1/15 in 4 overs) & Ashish amin(1/26(4) ) bowled well to restrict the opposition.
Chasing 132 on a pitch where boundaries are extremely tough to come (Only 4 fours in entire innings of Naaptol) is always tricky and Naaptol team fell victim to the trickiness of the pitch as well as some good bowling by the idea bowlers. Naaptol lost their first three batsman quickly but it was some good batting by Abhishek (33 off 35) & Ashish(42 off 35) which raised the hopes for Naaptol. They eventually thrown away their wickets on what could have been a match winning chase. The Naaptol team ended the chase at 116/7 in 20 overs and Idea won the match by 15 runs. Skipper Paresh shetty led from the front in the bowling department as he bowled brilliantly picking up 3 for 29 in 4 overs. Paresh gave important breakthroughs which were crucial towards changing the course of the game. Javed(1/25), Nilesh Kambli(/18) & Neel jain (1/13 in 4 overs) were also effective & bowled well while Vikas Sharma(1/25) also gave a decent contribution with the ball making it an all-round show for his team.
Vikas Sharma was adjudged man of the match for obvious reasons & the whole team will move ahead in the tournament with a lot of confidence & zest.
Into their 2nd match, Rajesh Mehta & his boys entered the crease with renewed aggression and hunger to win against super kings after their defeat in the 1st league match. Winning the toss, KSG elected to bat first & all they wanted was to play full quota of 40 overs. Making 270-280 + was on their wishlist as that much score can be easily defended.
Right handed Rajesh Mehta and kamal Mehta gave a good start before Kamal was out at 19. The 43 year old skipper Rajesh Mehta survived till the 3rd last ball of the innings to score a brilliant 131. His stroke filled 131 came off just 102 balls. At 43, Rajesh Mehta’s stamina and commitment towards the game must be appreciated. Mehta smashed 17 fours and 2 sixes (two sixes in the last two overs) to dismantle the opposition bowlers. Deepak Mehta (64 off 46) and Snehal Mehta also played crucial cameos in the middle to steer their team to a healthy total of 314/10 in 40 overs.
With almost 8 runs per over needed to win the game, KSG strikers succeeded in defending their total and winning the match by 105 runs. Deepak valia, Kunal Mehta and Pujit Mehta all took three wickets each to help their team exert trouble on Super kings. Pujit (3/33) was particularly quite effective with the ball.
Man of the match Rajesh Mehta must be happy with his personal as well as his team’s performance. KSG strikers will surely be a team to look out for in their next three matches which are left.
i One of the main concerns of cricketers is to maintain the quality of their cricket gears for protection. It’s not just a bat but all the other accessories that are required to play the game smoothly. How often it happens that a high quality cricket equipment purchased at quite a costly price becomes improper to use. It happens due to frequent wear and tear. But a new one can’t be purchased easily due to the soaring prices. But now that trouble has been resolved by a unique glove man at Cross maidan. He is master in repairing such deteriorated cricket equipment. His forte is repairing of batting gloves. His name is Laluram.
Laluram, who is originally a resident of Uttar Pradesh, comes to Mumbai during cricket season. He has been doing this for past 15 years and now he has become a connoisseur in this area. “When people come to me with such gloves, I stitch it with leather from inner side. I make sure that the other area of gloves doesn’t get affected while I work on inner area. My stay here is for 6 months then I go back to my village in Uttar Pradesh. I work only for these 6 months and somehow manage to survive the whole year on the money which I earn in this time,” said Laluram.
He learnt this thing from his uncle who used to live in Mumbai. “My chacha had a shop at Fashion Street. He used to repair the shoes back then. Slowly cricket gloves also started coming at the shop for repairing and he used to stitch them, making them usable again. I learnt everything from him. He passed away 10 years ago and now I am looking after this. There no shop now I do my work at Cross maidan only, “said Laluram.
His daily routine is not that easy. He lives in Kalwa and everyday travels to Cross maidan for his work. “I start at 10 am in the morning and continue my work till the light is good. The work of stitching has to be done precisely and thus it takes around 2 hours to repair a single pair of gloves. So many gloves come to me during the season but I take time to prepare it to the perfection. If I try to hurry in order to get more money quickly then I would be negotiating with its quality. I want my customer to be happy. Agar acche se kam karunga to hi customer dubara aayega,” said Laluram.
Laluram talked about the prime reason of deterioration of these equipment. “Basically it happens because of sweat. The more you use it, the faster will be the rate of deterioration. I buy the leather from market and stitch it with my hands. After repairing the gloves once, ideally it should go for 6 months minimum. After all it depends on the usage. Talking about the players who play on daily basis, it should work fine for 6 months to one year.”
He also talked about how he manages the financial balance between his earnings and the equipment needed for stitching. “Till few years ago I used to charge 250 Rs per pair but now cost of leather has increased and hence I take 280 Rs. per pair. In a day I can complete up to 4 pairs of gloves. Considering all the equipment needed for repairing work, I earn 100 Rs. Per pair of gloves. So in a day I get 400 Rs for this work. Along with this I also repair shoes, pads, arm guards and helmets. “Mere se jitna ho sake utna kar raha hu ab dekhte hai aage kya hota hai ” So for all the cricketers out there, Laluram is the most efficient way of repairing the gloves and ensuring the quality as well in considerable amount. If you have to repair anything then rush to Cross maidan in Mumbai.
WATCH HIM IN ACTION – GIVING NEW LIFE TO CRICKET GLOVES
Dindoshi had some clear things in mind before entering the crease & one of their strategies was to chase the score as they had a strong batting line up. Things went their way as Dindoshi elected to field first after winning the toss. The Aarey bhaskar ground witnessed a full “paisa vasool” match where close to 450 runs were scored in one session(in just 40 overs) at morning.
The bowlers tried to contain the CPCC batsman but that wasn’t enough as the CPCC team batted really well. They played aggressive cricket & did not spare any loose balls either. Opener Sandeep Sharma’s 24-45 and a 65 ball 118 by Susheel Pillai lifted the team spirits. CPCC managed to score 221/3 in 20 overs. It was a wonderful display of batting & gave Dindoshi a tough score to defend. Dindoshi had plans of restricting them to around 180-190 but CPCC went on to score 221. Medium pacer Shrinivas Shinde was the pick of the bowlers giving away just 22 runs in 4 overs along with a wicket.
While one thing Dindoshi team were confident about was their strong batting line up despite their regular batsman missing. The team applied right hand-left hand combination as they sent Vinayak Maske and Aniket Naiksatam to open the innings. The openers gave a blazing start right from the first ball. Quite evident from the fact that they were 25 for no loss in the first two overs itself. Right handed Vinayak Maske(108 off 52 balls) scored a glorious century shattering the bowlers to all parts of the ground. His marathon knock at a strike rate of above 200 included 19 fours & a six & it showed he dealt most of the runs in boundaries. Aniket from other side was equally devastating smashing a 59 ball 94 which included 11 fours & 5 sixes. The openers chased the entire target in style where Aniket smashed the winning six with four balls to spare. Not only did they won the match in style but it was also a record breaking partnership(227*) in a T20 by both the openers.
Both the teams played well but it was Dindoshi who got the better out of the opponents. Both the openers played aggressive cricket & also Manoj yadav’s fielding throughout the course of the match was worth mentioning. Vinayak Maske got man of the match award while appreciation must also reach Aniket who despite being injured & surviving on painkillers and sprays fought so hard for an unbeaten 94.
It was a good competition between two good sides (Navi Mumbai vs JP Morgan) at Sassanian cricket ground, Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Opponent JP morgan won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim to make a big score. However, they were unaware about the plans of Navi Mumbai which they had in store as the bowlers bowled fantastically well to restrict them to just 125 all out in 33 overs.
The pacers as well as the spinners did their job perfectly & almost every bowler chipped in with wickets. The bowlers also contained the batsman not giving away loose balls to the opposition to score boundaries. Chasing 126, it wasn’t the toughest thing for Navi Mumbai batsman though the pitch wasn’t the best to bat on. Their coach Ajay Verma (Coach Navi Mumbai Police Team & BCCI Level 1 Umpire ) had already advised his boys to play on merit. They were advised to play their natural game and be mentally tough. The Navi Mumbai boys did their job perfectly winning the match by 4 wickets within 25 overs.
Left-handed opener Sagar Vichare who was sent to open the innings almost remained unbeaten till the end before he gave his wicket in the last stage of the chase scoring a superb 56 off just 62 balls. Sagar was extremely patient with the bat & he was unshakeable throughout his stay at the crease. Sagar played the anchor’s role to perfection scoring freely in all the parts of the ground.
It was because of Sagar’s half century, the team comfortably won the match by 4wickets.
It was a good day for coach Ajay Verma (Coach Navi Mumbai Police Team & BCCI Level 1 Umpire ) as his boys put up a good show. Mr. Shinde Sir, the Sports Secretary of Navi Mumbai police team was also happy with the performance of the boys & congratulated them for their first win in the tournament & wished them to continue playing good cricket in their coming matches.
Manjitsingh Malhi has been associated with one of the best teams in Mumbai; DY Patil Sports Academy for quite some time now. First as a player and now as a coach of DY Patil Under 19 Club players, Malhi has extended his services to the sport for this team in all aspects. At just 34 years of age, Manjitsingh has achieved a lot in the field of cricket.
As a player, he started playing for DY Patil Sports Academy since 2006 and continues to play for DY Patil even today. He has represented his team in Times Shield as well. Apart from this, he has also played Kanga League for Pandurangwadi Cricket Club in ‘D’ division. Manjit is a genuine all-rounder and adds value to any team that he plays for. He is a right hand batsman and a right arm off break bowler. He even did wicket-keeping for a few years.
Recently he appeared for Level O (cricket coaching course) conducted by MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association). Under his able guidance, many players went on to play at top level in Mumbai Cricket. “It’s always good to share what i have learned in cricket, that’s the best feeling I get during coaching and i am very thankful to my Mentor Mr. Dr. Vijay Patil and Mr. Abey Kuruvilla to help me out give me to the such opportunity and whatever i am today is just because of them ” exclaims Malhi. As long as he has been playing for DY Patil, he has been coaching the team for the equal number of years. He has been a coach to Navi Mumbai U-14 boys and has conducted summer camps for them for four years. For Navi Mumbai U-16 boys, he has trained them for a year during the MCA summer camp. Also he has coached Navi Mumbai women’s team for a year. Manjit has also coached Navi Mumbai centre which is a part of MCA camp. He is associated with “ADD SMILES”, an NGO in Navi Mumbai.
Manjitsingh Malhi has been a fantastic contributor to the sport and let’s hope he continues to provide his service to the game.
