Winning the toss first, Thane D which is considered to be one of the stronger teams of the TASC Challengers T20 Cup tournament elected to bat first. They certainly had a surprise in the store as Vasai Team showed plenty of grit and courage with the ball bundling them out for just 110 in 14 overs. Apart from Mangesh Nalavade, Santosh Bhatgunikar and Bharat Gawande none of the batsman of Thane D crossed the two figure mark because of the tight bowling displayed by the opposition. Also one of the added reasons was that wicket was flat and the pitch was not the best for batting either.
While Anish Kalwar took important breakthroughs scalping three wickets, he also got decent support from Giridhar Mhatre who took two important wickets. Both the bowlers did not allow any of the opposition batsman to settle!
While Chasing 111 is not a big deal in 20 overs but Thane D came back strong with the ball & also proved why they are considered strong contenders for the ongoing tournament. Thane D bowlers gave a fitting reply with the ball restricting the Vasai Team to 109 all out in 16 overs and winning the match by one run. It was a close match and a neck to neck competition displayed by both the teams. It was Thane D’s speedster Viral Rathod with the ball who snatched four wickets with his in-swingers to dismantle the Vasai batting line up.
It was a wonderful show by both the teams and luckily Thane D won the match by one run. Considering the tough fight displayed by both the teams, more exciting competitions can be expected in the coming matches of the tournament.
As usual Kaustub took the guard at the crease in the all important semi final match against the hosts Mumbai Police team. Opponent Team wanted to get KP out early and Santosh Shinde greeted him with a bouncer which was pulled for a four. This was the first ball and the intentions were expressed bluntly by KP. He meant business.
Chasing a stiff target of 283 it appeared as if KP wanted to score all the runs by himself, such was his hunger to score not only for himself but to ensure a berth in the finals. KP showed maturity in his innings by slowing down a little bit when he was on 80’s and 90”s because the ball was reverse swinging a lot but again started counter attacking the bowlers with a lot of confidence & grace.
Kaustub also had different plans for that day as he was not keen on running much! Pawar only dealt in boundaries and sixes which was refreshing and entertaining to see as a spectator. Kaustub’s unbeaten 156 ball 188 included as many as 28 boundaries and 7 huge sixes which meant over 75% of his runs he scored in boundaries stands quite a testimony to the fact that he was not keen on running much!
Kaustub who is generally a free flowing batsman and once on song can really score big runs at consistency. No doubt this knock helped his Karnataka side to reach finals with an easy win & Pawar should be a batsman to be worried for as far as opposition is concerned for the finals against MIG
Everyone at the ground saw a new Kaustub Pawar in this match, a batsman who clearly demonstrated his flexibility with all formats of the game.
TASC Challenger Cup which stands for “Thane Advocates Sports Club” is into its second year of this wonderful initiative of bringing practicing advocates to fulfill their hobby and passion towards cricket. In its second successful year, the Club has 16 teams participating this time as compared to the 12 teams who participated last year. It’s basically a Round Robbin format where in there are league matches where each team faces each other once i.e 3 teams per match, then quarters, semis and finals! The competition is conducted in T20 format.
According to the excerpts from Advocate Duduskar who is also the participating player in the Thane A team as well as the president of this club & committee, this tournament is not only to bring all the practicing advocates together but to also allow them to display their passion and hobby towards cricket & also promote the game of cricket amongst the advocates.
Teams like Alibaug, Panvel, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, Vasai, Bhiwandi, Thane, New Bombay are amongst the 16 teams participating in this year’s edition. Advocate Duduskar also stated a fact that this tournament is basically a practice & breeding ground for all the players and participating teams to prepare themselves for the main and the ultimate big tournament called the Maharashtra Advocates Tournament which will be conducted in Pune this December 2016. As many as 105 teams will participate in that huge tournament from different corners of Maharashtra this year.
We also got to know that all the players of the Thane A team are also the committee members who manage & organize the entire tournament. While Mr Duduskar is the the president, Roshan Shetty is the treasurer of the Club. Also if any advocate or any team wants to participate, they must intimate the committee in advance on which the club can arrange to fit them and get a place for them in the tournament. It is also known through Mr Duduskar’s excerpts that Thane A & Legal Eagles are regarded as the strongest teams right now since they performed really well in the last year’s edition of the TASC Challenger Cup while Vasai & Alibaug are also considered to be strong contenders as they have good players in their arsenal.
As far as players are concerned, Batsman like Armaan Sheikh, Roshan Shetty and Manoj Sonavane, Tushar Shitori are players to look out for in TASC T20 Cup.
We wish the tournament ends on a very bright and a successful note & they also get a good amount of preparation for the big one- “The Maharashtra Advocates Tournament” which will be held next month in Pune!
Hrishikesh Panchal Under 12 Tournament held at Mulund Gymkhana ended on a positive note and with a lot of success. The tournament witnessed some amazing matches with great competitive spirit displayed by all the teams and their respective players.
A lot of positives came out from the tournament right from some great individual performances to some nail biting finishes & some great matches too. The kids displayed a lot of energy and focus towards the game & it was surely a great exposure for them to hone their skills.
Though all the teams were equally competitive which was really a good thing to see but in the end one team had to win & it was the supremely talented Sanjeevani Team from Bandra which took away the Hrishikesh Panchal Trophy after winning the finals. The series also helped us to spot wonderful talents like Roneet Thakkur, Aditya Parab, Manan Bhatt & Manav Khuman showing a lot of promise and talent at such a small age.
While Roneet Thakkur was the best batsman in the series amassing 178 runs in three matches & more than the runs he scored, it was the way he scored which is worth appreciating for a 12 year old. While on the other side Manav Khuman was highly effective with the ball picking up 7 wickets in the three matches. We also got to see a magical bowling spell from this talented lad called Aditya parab who also took a brilliant hat-trick to leave his mark in the tournament. While Manan Bhatt’s all round show throughout the series earned him the man of the series award scoring 106 runs as well as picking up 5 wickets in the tournament.
With so many positives & emerging talents coming out from this tournament which was organized for the first time, CricketGraph now wish that the next year’s edition will be double in terms of grandness and twice as successful than the first edition!
The Elf Oval Stadium witnessed a promising performance from this talented Player Rajesh Pingulkar on 12th of November against Rika Global. Representing JSW in the ongoing Masters Cup, Rajesh Pingulkar was the saving grace for JSW team as he helped his side reach a competitive total of 178/6 in 20 overs scoring an unbeaten 56* off 38 balls along with the able support of Chirag Kini & Rakesh Chaudhary down the order. When his side was in trouble at 100/5, Rajesh came in & threw his weight around showing patience & intelligence at the crease not allowing more wickets to lose & also rotating strike with Kini & Choudhary on a regular interval.
Not only did he kept calm initially & created good partnerships with the middle order batsman but also accelerated on time when it was required which helped his side reach a fighting total. What’s more when Rika Global was cruising towards a comfortable win with 70/2 in just 8 overs, Pingulkar came in & struck with two big blows reducing them to 77/4 in 10 overs.
Hence it was a superb all-round performance by Rajesh & it helped his side win a crucial match against Rika Global. Rajesh was no doubt adjudged man of the match for his heroics.
Any pure cricket fan would admire Parag Khanapurkar’s innings in the ongoing Police Shield Cricket Tournament as he was completely flawless & appeared very confident against good quality bowlers of the Cricket Club of India team. The knock was all the more special because it came at a time when his side was almost on the verge of losing when they were 100 for 5 and wickets kept on losing from the other side before he stitched a magical 180 run partnership with Abhishek Tiwary in which he was a major contributor to help his side snatch a big win against a big team like CCI after a string of losses in the last two games.
Chasing 282 against a good quality bowling attack is never easy, but as he said, he just wanted to spend some time at the crease as it was a good batting track & just staying around for a while would give him the confidence required. Parag also balanced his innings very nicely as it was a perfect mixture of class, patience and controlled aggression which included 21 fours straight from the cricketing textbooks and 5 glorious shots over the boundary.
More than the composure which he displayed, it was also the timing of his shots which called for everyone’s attention. Parag also literally dominated good quality bowlers of CCI with aplomb ease. Parag also smashed 22 runs in one over against the likes of big bowlers like Dinesh Salunkhe who has also played for IPL’s Rajasthan Royals! Remaining unbeaten at 148 & also picking up a handy wicket with the ball, Parag who was given the opportunity to lead the side played the Captain’s role to perfection.
Parag who has also played for Ranji Mumbai & had scored a hundred on debut in 2010 & last appeared for them in the 2014-15 season will surely be having his fingers crossed to again make a comeback to the Ranji team after such an excellent display with the bat!
From a boy who has a knack of scoring big, be it scoring a triple hundred (329) during his school days or back to back hundreds a few years ago in the Kanga League, this has come as no surprise. Some players have a knock of scoring big and Harsh seems to be one of them & it was no surprise that Tank’s knock came at the right time & at the right place & against the right opposition.
Opening the innings along with Swapnil, they both went smoothly together at 150 for no loss taking their time to settle in to score big. Harsh who himself was cautious at the start of the innings did not indulge in too many rash shots until he reached a much needed century for his team. As Harsh himself stated, the wicket was good to bat on & their target was to score big and win the game as two teams were ahead of them to qualify in the semis on the basis of run rate.
It was after his century, Harsh felt the need to up the ante for his team to put a big total & he changed gears from there onwards reaching 182 from 100 in shorter time before the days’ play got over. It was because of Tank’s efforts at the crease, the run rate worm short northwards, Mumbai Police managed to impose a big total & win the match against P.J Hindu Gymkhana & eventually qualifying for the semis!
The 16th CPCC MCA U 14 selection tournament prize distribution ceremony was organised at the cpcc grounds in Andheri, Mumbai. The function was graced by Chief guest national selector /Former india player Jatin Paranjpe. Guest of honour Dr.P V. Shetty, Chairman of U 14 selection committee mr.Nilesh bhosle and selector mr.Amol Bhalekar.
The trophy was award to Payyade Sports club and Runners up trophy to Sainath Sports club.
Musheer Khan from Payyade team was awarded the man of the series with best batsman going to Ayush Jethwa from Payyade team. Sainath Sports club’s Adarsh Singh received the best bowler award and Aurit Biswal was handed the best fielder.
If Arch Mavericks reached a defining total of 226, all credit must go to this talented batsman Sumit Nigade who displayed plenty of grace and oodles of aggression in his 52-Ball 97.
Sumit started counter attacking the bowlers from the word go & that further boosted his confidence on the field. There wasn’t a single moment at the crease when Sumit allowed the opposition to settle in. Though his side kept on losing wickets from the other side but that hardly affected his natural game, as he kept on attacking the bowlers with ease. Scoring at a strike rate of almost 200, Nigade ensured his team crossed the psychological 200 run mark in 20 overs thus anchoring his side to reach a total of 226/7 in 20 overs.
Laced with 12 silken boundaries and 2 monstrous sixes, Sumit’s knock was like full value for money for the spectators and his team. What’s more, Nigade did equally good running between the wickets too!
Just 3 runs short of what could have been a great century! But none the less…it was a match winning knock which helped his side snatch a comfortable victory against Collage Designs! We wish his rich vein of form stays with him for a long time & he continues to rattle the opposition in the same way in the coming matches! Also this knock will surely be one of the better highlights of the ongoing ArchitectT20 Tournament!