This monsoon there is going to be a lot of cricketing buzz in Delhi as the Sports Addiction tournament commences from 25th July.
Tapan Sarkar is the man behind this tournament. While speaking to cricketgraph.com about the tournament and cricket in Delhi, he mentioned that he would like to develop the cricket in the capital and would like to encourage kids from different strata of the society to play cricket. Those who are monetarily not capable of paying coaching fees and buying a cricket kit themselves will not be disheartened as the man with the golden heart Tapan Sarkar will support these children.
Sports Addiction tournament is a U-23 competition that will be played with a white ball. 32 teams have extended their participation, which are divided into four pools. 125 matches will be played during the tournament. The matches will get media coverage and will find presence on social media as well. This will be an exciting season for Sports Addiction as close to 500 players will get a chance to showcase their cricketing prowess.
For more information on Sports Addiction tournament kindly refer to the following link: http://tou-sag-u23cricketchampionship-2016-del.cricketgraph.com/tournament/page/about 
It was an evolution and not a revolution when the first ever Test Match was played with a Pink Ball between Australia and New Zealand in November 2015. Since then this bright coloured thing has created a lot of news.
Sagar from Krish Sports Academy, Delhi has taken the initiative to organize the first ever Pink ball cricket tournament in India. Sh. P.N. Memorial Under-19 Pink Ball Cricket Tournament 2016 starts on 15th June, however the entries are open till 20th June. This will be an exciting journey not only for the players and organizers but also for the spectators who are expected to come out in large numbers to watch the game. 30 over matches will be played, with many prizes to be won at the end of the competition. Some of them include; best batsman, best bowler, best fielder and Man of the Match, just to name a few.
Apart from this brilliant concept of Pink Ball cricket tournament, Sagar has been active as a cricket coach and he desires to coach the kids who may not be financially sound, because he understands that these boys have talent in them but due to monetary constraints they are not able to live their dreams. It is indeed a noble deed from this young lad from Delhi. He will be liasing with another coach and together they will try to get sponsorship to help the budding cricketers play the sport. This is a fantastic effort by Sagar to develop cricket in Delhi and also encourage the children who wants to pursue cricket as a career.
Cricketgraph.com wishes Sagar and his team all the very best for the tournament and may he blessed with success for his future endeavours.
Cricket is a sport that selflessly showers the players with joy, happiness, name and fame. It does not expect anything in return. But then there are true cricketers, who, after their playing days, continue to associate themselves with the sport by some or the other means. Chandrashekhar Karmalkar is one such honest server of the sport.
Born on 1st August 1972, Chandrashekhar started playing cricket at the tender age of 13. Soon he saw himself playing for Mumbai U-15 under the able captainship of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Apart from this, he has represented Thane district in Satkar & Sport Star Trophy and has played Club Cricket in “A” and “B” division tournaments.
Currently he is the coach of two pharma giants; Piramal Enterprises (2008) and Abbott Healthcare (2011). Karmalkar also runs his own cricket coaching academy in Thane by the name of Kwality Sports Club and the practice sessions are conducted at the famous Dadoji Konddev Stadium in Thane. This academy is running successfully for over a decade now. One of the best things about Kwality Sports Club is that it provides free of cost cricket training as well as the otherwise expensive cricket kits to the underprivileged children. It requires a big heart to carry out this noble deed and there is no doubt that Chandrashekhar Karmalkar is the man behind this wonderful concept. This is what we call “giving back to the sport that has given you a lot”
One of his students, Jaideep Pardeshi has not only represented Mumbai U-16, U-19 and U-23 teams but also has been the vice-captain of the U-16 side. Vaibhav Mali is the other student who has represented Mumbai U-19. Last year Vaibhav had made the record fastest century in just 36 balls in MIPL Cricket Tournament at Bhiwandi.
Karmalkar not only trains the physically abled ones but also offers coaching to the ‘special’ players. Mayuresh Sansare, who is a product of Kwality Sports Club represented the Indian team in 2015 for the five nation physically challenged cricket tournament. Karmalkar’s work is worth the weight in gold.
Recently, Kwality Sports Club celebrated its 13th Annual Day at Dadoji Konddev Stadium and the function was graced by dignitaries like Mayur Kadrekar, Santosh Kudalkar and former Mumbai Ranji team player and senior Advocate Mr. Shaligram. The awards in the form of trophies and certificates were given away to the talented players by Mayuresh Kadrekar and Mr.Shaligram respectively. The camp was attended by 25 trainees in the period between November and May.
Chandrashekhar Karmalkar has truly been a gem of a person and his dedication, devotion and determination towards the development of cricket is simply incredible. Let us hope that he continues with this noble deed with the same enthusiasm and intensity. Cricketgraph.com wishes him all the very best in his future endeavours.
Ajanta Pharma locked horns with Reliance Commodities on 28th May at RBI ground, Mumbai in the Champions A final of Dreamz T20 Tournament. Batting first, Ajanta Pharma posted a defendable 137-6 in 15 overs, with few useful contributions from opening bat Prashant (34 runs off 28 balls), no.3 batsman Sushant (25 runs off 27 balls) and middle order bat Dinesh (40 runs off 17 balls). Dinesh was brilliant with the bat as he smacked the bowlers all-round the park. His entertaining knock was a perfect mix of aggression and solidity. Navin was the pick of the bowlers picking up 2-22 in his three overs.
It was a disappointing batting performance from Reliance Commodities as they were bundled out for a paltry 61 in 13.4 overs, losing by a big margin of 76 runs. After shining with the bat, Dinesh rolled his arm over to grab 3-16 in his miserly spell of three overs. Sunil top scored with an unbeaten 21 off 31 balls but was the lone fighter for his team.
Dinesh Nadgeti (40 runs off 17 balls and 3-16 in 3 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his match-winning contributions.
It was a low scoring Dreamz 40 overs Cricket Tournament final match that was played between Automotive and IPCA on 28th May at Azad Maidan, Mumbai. Batting first, IPCA was restricted to a modest 121-6 in 25 overs. Coming in at no.3, Yogesh top scored with 49 runs off 63 balls, not receiving any support from the rest of the batting line-up. Sachin was the pick of the bowlers picking up 2-13 in his economical five over spell. His disciplined bowling did not allow IPCA batsmen to score freely. He also accounted for one run out.
In reply, Automotive chased down the target in just 23.1 overs, winning the match by eight wickets. The opening pair of Sachin KT (49 runs off 49 balls) and Sachin SN (29 runs off 38 balls) provided a solid start to the run chase. In the end, Dipesh (23 not out off 24 balls) and Jayesh (20 not out off 20 balls) stitched a tidy partnership to see their team home. Aniket and Prasad picked up one wicket each. It was a clinical performance by Automotive to clinch the Dreamz 40 overs Cricket Tournament.
Sachin SN (2-13 in 5 overs and 29 runs off 38 balls) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his wonderful all-round efforts.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first Lintas posted a respectable 147-4 in 20 overs against Naaptol on 29th May in the semi-final of Milan Mega Corporate T20 Tournament that was played at Cross Maidan, Mumbai. Coming in at no.3, Nakul Kulkarni played a gem of an innings as he cruised to a clinical 56 off 52 balls, hitting seven boundaries. Nakul found the gaps at regular intervals and ran well between the wickets. Amit Narkar was the other batsman who played a handy role by chipping with an unbeaten 45 off just 37 deliveries. Avnish Yadav shined with the ball grabbing 2-30 in his four overs.
Naaptol was bundled out for a paltry 111 in 16.2 overs, losing the match by 36 runs. Ashish Amin top scored with 32 runs off 27 balls but received no support from the rest of his team. Aditya Pratap was brilliant with the ball picking up 3-24 in his three overs. Nakul Kulkarni who had earlier starred with the bat rolled his arm over to pick up 1-11 in his one over.
Nakul Kulkarni (56 runs off 52 balls and 1-11 in 1 over) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his fantastic all-round performance.
It was a low scoring semi-final match that was played between SS Travels and Siddhivinayak Cricket Club on 28th May at Western Railway ground, Mumbai, during the Milan Mega Corporate T20 Tournament. Batting first, SS Travels managed to put up a modest 120-8 in 20 overs. Ajinkya Divekar (29 runs off 24 balls) and Shailesh Nakashe (27 runs off 22 balls) played well but could not capitalize on the solid start they got off to. Satish Naidu and Akhilesh bowled well in tandem to account for two and three scalps respectively.
Chasing 121 runs was not going to be that daunting. Siddhivinayak did not get off to the best of starts but Shubham (34 runs off 25 balls) and Ambrika (27 runs off 22 balls) held their nerves to see their team through. Shubham shouldered the responsibility nicely and stitched a beautiful partnership with Ambrika. Siddhivinayak chased down the target in just 15.5 overs, winning the match by three wickets. Prince, Shekhar and Ajinkya accounted for one wicket apiece.
Shubham (34 runs off 25 balls) was announced as the Man of the Match for his brilliant batting.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Automotive Cricket Club posted a challenging 146-6 in 20 overs against Orange Advertising in the Champions final of Milan Mega Corporate T20 Tournament that was played on 29th May at Cross Maidan, Mumbai. Sachin Sanghvi (35 runs off 39 balls) and Kishen Ghosh (37 runs off 33 balls) provided a solid start to their team right at the top, with Dipesh Golam playing an unbeaten blistering knock towards the end. Dipesh scored a quick-fire 37 off 15 balls, smacking four boundaries and two sixes. Akhtar Shaikh was the pick of the bowlers picking up 3-25 in his four overs and received good support from Salman Khan who grabbed 2-33 in three overs.
In reply, Orange Advertising chased down the target easily in 19.2 overs, winning the match by five wickets. Salman Khan (32 runs off 29 balls) and Rishi (35 not out off 30 balls) played well together to see their team home. Both the southpaws played some good looking cricketing shots and were a treat to watch. Out of the eight bowlers used by Automotive, five of them picked up one wicket each.
Salman Khan (2-33 in 3 overs and 32 runs off 29 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his splendid all-round efforts.
The Telecom Premier League that saw the leading telecom giants locking horns against each other on the cricket field concluded on a high on 5th June, when Airtel took on Idea A at Air India Sports Club, Mumbai in the final match of TPL. Batting first, Airtel posted a mammoth 215 in 10 runs scoring at over an unbelievable 20 runs per over. Jitesh Purabia played a blinder of an innings smashing 91 runs off 30 cherries, including four boundaries and a whopping 10 sixes in his blistering knock. Purabia was simply unstoppable and made a mockery of Idea A’s bowling. Mayank Shirke was the other batsman to contribute with a quick-fire 66 off 27 balls, hitting five boundaries and as many sixes. It was a disastrous outing for Idea A bowlers as they were thrown all around the park. Vikas Sharma and Paresh Shetty picked up one wicket each.
Chasing a magnificent 216 in just 60 balls was always going to be a daunting task for Idea A and it did them no good when they lost both their openers; Vikas Sharma and Paresh Shetty cheaply for 4 and 6 respectively. Rushi Patel was the lone fighter scoring 33 runs off 24 balls. After putting up a solid performance with the bat, Airtel bowlers stepped up to restrict Idea A for a paltry 92-8 in 10 overs. Arif Rakhangi, Kalpesh Mehta and Mayank Shirke bowled well in tandem to account for two scalps apiece. Airtel registered a comprehensive victory against Idea A by a huge 123 runs.
Jitesh Purabia (164 runs in 5 matches; 91 runs off 30 balls in the final) was declared as the Best Batsman as well as the Man of the Match for his scintillating knock and was also awarded for hitting maximum sixes in the tournament. Daiwat Rane (Airtel) won the Best Fielder accolade with Rushi Patel (Idea A, 8 wickets in 5 matches) bagging the Best Bowler prize.
While speaking to cricketgraph.com about TPL, Gayathrie from IBM who was the co-sponser alongwith Giesecke and Devrient, said, “Telcom Premier League seemed to be a good platform for many reasons. At IBM, our constant endeavour is to engage with our stakeholders (employees/customers) on a deeper, human level. Our focus is to delight them with the right experience at the perfect moment to strengthen engagements and nurture the relationship. We (IBM) are always looking for such opportunities and the TPL seemed to be perfect fit where we could take this thought forward and interact with our clients via an informal yet competitive/fun setting”.
TPL was a grand success as it not only brought the big telecom players on a single platform but also encouraged them to showcase their cricketing talent.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, HUL posted a challenging 144-6 in 20 overs against KPMG during the final match of Plate Group Dreamz T20 Championship that was played at Oval Maidan, Mumbai on 28th May. Vijay Swaminathan played a solid innings of 46 off 32 balls and played a pivotal role in taking his team to a respectable total. In the end Sanjay Mane scored an unbeaten 38 off 31 cherries to finish the innings on a high. Jaimin Parmar grabbed 3-30 in four overs.
KPMG did not get off to the best of start as they lost their opener Kunal for a duck. Coming in at no.3, Sagar top scored with 26 runs off 30 runs and received good support from Harsh Mehta who made 20 off 23 balls. However they could not last long as they fell prey to disciplined bowling of HUL. KPMG was restricted 121-9 losing the match by 23 runs. Prashant Korgaonkar was the best bowler picking up 4-13 in his economical four overs spell. Prashant was consistent in his line and length and was duly rewarded for his efforts.
Prashant Korgaonkar (4-13 in 4 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling performance.
