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.
India’s leading English newspaper The Times of India felicitated Babrekar on completing a successful umpiring career that stretched for 29 years. He officiated the Times Shield matches at the top level; A division and B division. The 66 year old has been associated with cricket for nearly all his life, first as a player and then as an umpire.Before becoming a full time umpire, the gentleman from Vasai worked at Mahindra and also played cricket for the company for 23 years. He took a voluntary retirement in 1992 and concentrated on umpiring for the rest of the years.
Babrekar is considered to be one of the most learned umpires in MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) panel as he will well-versed with the umpteen number of rules and laws. He is like a walking, talking rule book and this is indeed not an overstatement.
Many cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar as well as the young turks like Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane have played under the watchful eyes of Babrekar. He is also privileged to have played alongside Sunil Gavaskar.
On a lighter note, the now retired umpire says that, “Umpiring is a thankless job”. He adds, “There is a lot of pressure when you are officiating a formal match. You cannot afford to take your eye off even for a whisker. It is a high intensity job and I have truly enjoyed my umpiring career”.
Baberkar has now taken up the role of a supervisor with Mumbai Cricket Association, to ensure that he is in touch with the game even in the second innings of his life.
Here are some pics portraying Umpire Babrekar’s cricket journey
We have seen Sehwag scoring fastest triple hundreds, we have seen Hayden & Lara score gigantic knocks in test cricket & today there was this one boy called Suryansh who reminded us of all of these legends.
Oh My God! is the first expression which will come to your mind when you read this boy’s score in the recent Giles Shield match between Gundecha Education Academy vs SPSS Mumbadevi. It may be tough to believe but yes it’s a fact, Suryansh Shedge scored a mammoth triple century scoring 326 off mere 137 balls. Coming in at no.3, the Mumbadevi team were put in deep trouble with the destructive batting showcased by this talented right hander. A triple century at a strike rate of over 250 is a no mean feat & we are sure this is amongst the fastest ever triple hundreds in any format in world cricket. 13 year old Suryansh broke numerous records on his way.
Suryansh’s score of 326 is now the highest ever score in the history of Giles Shield Tournament, that’s a huge record to break. His 326 off 137 is the fastest ever triple hundred in any format of the game. Be it local or international, this is a verified fastest triple hundred scored by this genius batsman who smashed 54 fours and 3 sixes en-route his glorious knock. In his 3 sixes, his six towards the covers was his personal favorite while the six towards the mid-wicket was the longest. Suryansh himself gave us some excerpts which seem to be quite interesting. His coach had told him he would break Sarfaraz’s & Arman Jaffer’s record today & even go on to score a triple hundred. Who knew! His coach’s words & wishes were completely fulfilled by his disciple.
Suryansh certainly looks like a player made for the bigger things. Suryansh had earlier scored a 96-ball 167 in the previous Harris Shield Tournament & even that was a record. The 13yr old little genius has a long way to go in cricket for sure. Shedge’s 326 also helped his team win the match comfortably against SPSS Mumbadevi team by a record margin of 480 runs which is another record in terms of biggest wins by runs margin in Giles Shield Cricket.
Their next match is against Billabong & the opposition must have already started planning strategies on how to tackle this Little Master Suryansh in their upcoming encounter.
It was Cathedral’s league match of the elite group against IES & they put up a brilliant show against the opposition. Winning the toss, IES modern school elected to bat first with an aim of putting Cathedral under pressure. However, things took a complete turn as IES were put in a spot by the cathedral bowlers.
IES modern school were all out for just 113 runs because of some great bowling by Cathedral team. Krish shah and Sumeir zaveri took 8 wickets together to bundle out the side for a paltry score of 113. While krish was effective and consistent taking 4/27, Sumeir also bowled wonderfully well with his medium pace picking up 4/41. Both the bowlers did not allow the opposition batsman to settle in or create partnerships. Trailing just 113 runs, IES were not aware of the further damage which was going to be inflicted by the Cathedral with the bat.
Cathedral lost their openers early but it was the calm before the storm in the form of Sumeir Zaveri who smashed a double century to lift his side to a great total. Right handed Sumeir scored 202 off just 266 balls in what was one of the most graceful and classiest knocks to be witnessed. Not even once did bowlers were able to rattle the tough temperament & technique of Zhaveri who was looking flawless in his stay at the crease. It was a hard working innings from a very hard working boy who smashed only 80 runs in boundaries. His 20 boundaries covered all the corners of the ground where he showed he has good range of shots in his arsenal.
Sumeir also did lots of running & rotated the strike nicely chipping the scorecard with a strike rate of almost 65. Even his coach had the same things to say for this boy who is way beyond his age in terms of temperament, strength, discipline & dedication.
The Parsi Gymkhana witnessed a magnificent knock from a promising talent who also got able support from Shreyas saraf who played the supporting role with a fluent 85. None of the bowlers from IES looked dangerous apart from Parth Satvik who took 6/71 in his 25 overs.
The Cathedral school team won by a huge satisfying margin of 298 runs at the end of two days play. The school has not qualified for their further rounds but their players like Sumeir, Krish, Yash & Shreyas have showed a lot of promise. The boys have also made their hard working coach Manik Madkaikar proud for sure.
The New Hind Matunga ground witnessed an exciting as well as a close competition between SVIS Borivali and Rizvi in the Harris Shield Tournament. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Rizvi team had a target of scoring a competitive total to put the opposition under pressure.
They succeeded fairly in their endeavors as Rizvi managed to score 312 runs in 89.1 overs. Almost all the top order batsman of Rizvi chipped in with runs. There were three half centuries from Rizvi batsman right from Ayaz Khan(68), Yash Salunkhe (68) , Alsaad Sheikh (64) to faiznauman rabani with a unbeaten 43. Yash Jathar was the pick of the bowlers for SVIS picking up 7 wickets for just 69 runs. He was so consistent and disciplined with the ball, it left the opposition stunned. Had it not been Yash for SVIS with the ball, Rizvi team could have easily crossed 400 run mark.
SVIS batsman(285 all out in 65.2 overs) played well in reply to Rizvi’s 312 but fell short of 27 runs before the end of two days play & lost the game by 27 runs & an innings. Suved Parkar left behind his mark & authority as a batsman smashing 115 ball 147 to enthrall the spectators. It was a mesmerizing knock from parkar which had put Rizwi team under pressure. At one point of time it appeared as if Suved would finish the game in style for SVIS. Had Parkar remained at the crease for a few more overs, the outcome of the match could have been completely different. Right arm medium pacer Akash Yadav bowled really well for his 4/65 with the able support of Farhan sheikh (3/73).
The only difference between Rizvi and SVIS team was that Rizvi team had put collective efforts while from SVIS it was only Yash with the ball & Suved with the bat for SVIS. These two players single handedly took the burden of their team & have surely left behind a mark for themselves.
