Ravi Parmar was the star performer with the bat for Ratnakar Bank against Star Sports on 30th April in Mumbai during the Plate A Quarter Final match of Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. Parmar cruised to a blistering 48 off 34 balls and was the anchor of his team’s batting. He remained unbeaten to see his team post a challenging 157-7 in 20 overs. Muddassar and Ajeet picked up two wickets apiece.
In reply, Star Sports was done and dusted for 136 in 19.4 overs, losing the match by 21 runs. Nitin top scored with 33 runs off 24 balls but failed to take his team home. Sandesh picked up a five wicket haul and finished off with brilliant figures of 5-25 in 4 overs. Mahesh grabbed 2-25 in his four and gave good company to Sandesh.
Ravi Parmar (48 not out off 34 balls) was announced as the Man of the Match for his match winning knock.
Batting first GEP Solutions posted a respectable 145 in 19.2 overs against CEX on 30th April in Mumbai during the Plate B match of Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. No.3 batsman Ameya top scored with 32 runs off 30 balls and received good support from Bisman (22 runs off 16 balls) and Sumit (20 runs off 13 balls). Ravindra was the wrecker-in-chief who finished off with brilliant bowling figures of 5-25 in his four overs. He bowled a disciplined line and length and was duly rewarded for his efforts. Batsmen found it difficult to score off him and fell prey to his consistency. Nikhil and Mahesh chipped in couple of wickets each.
CEX batted well as a team to chase down the target in 19.5 overs, winning the match by five wickets. After losing the opening bat Sandesh cheaply for a duck, Nikhil (32 runs off 37 balls) and Nitish (47 runs) came together to their team’s rescue. Umesh scored a quick-fire 27 off 17 balls and was there till the end to see his team through. Shriyank accounted for 2-38 in his four overs.
Ravindra (5-25 in 4 overs) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his excellent bowling display.
Batting first Aditya Birla posted a mammoth 204-4 in 20 overs against ICICI Prudential on 1st May at Venus Sports Academy, Mumbai during the Woods T20 Bowled Out Corporate Tournament. Opening bat Aditya top scored with 67 runs and received good support from Mayank who made 39 off just 27 balls, striking at a strike rate of over 140. Mayank smacked seven boundaries and a six in his wonderful knock. In the end Daniel (36 not out off 14 balls) and Kedar (27 not out off 10 balls) played some special cricket to take their team over 200-run mark. Abhinav picked up 2-38 in his four overs.
It was a disappointing batting performance from ICICI as they were bundled out for a paltry 89 in 18.1 overs, losing the match by a huge margin of 115 runs. Aditya Birla bowlers bowled well in tandem with Ajit, Daniel and Priyal accounting for two scalps each. Mayank who had shined with the bat earlier, rolled his arm over to pick up 1-23 in his four overs.
Mayank (39 runs off 27 balls and 1-23 in 4 overs) was announced as the Man of the Match for his outstanding all-round efforts.
Over 450 runs were scored in the match between Mumbai Police City Riders and Shivaji Park Warriors on 3rd May at Police Gymkhana during the Mitsui Shoji T20 Tournament. Batting first, the Warriors posted a magnanimous 223-6 in 20 overs, thanks to a brilliant unbeaten century from Shashank Singh (107 not out off 52 balls) right at the top of the order. Shashank was brutal with the bat, smacking nine boundaries and seven sixes. He had an unbelievable strike rate of over 200. Mangesh Jadhav picked up 2-36 in his four overs.
Chasing 224 runs seemed to be a daunting task but the City Riders came out all guns blazing. Jay Bista (33 runs off 16 balls) provided a flying start to his team, which was followed by twin half centuries from Sunil Patil (67 runs off 34 balls) and Rohan Bhosle (53 runs off 35 balls). In the end Swapnil Kulaye finished off the game in style hitting a quick-fire 37 off just 14 cherries. It was a batting treat for the spectators. Singh who had earlier shined with the bat rolled his arm over to account for 3-44 in his four overs. The target was chased down in 19 overs, keeping five wickets in hand.
Though his team failed to win, Shashank Singh (107 not out off 52 balls and 3-44 in 4 overs) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his outstanding all-round efforts.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Datamatics posted a challenging 161-9 in 20 overs against Friends Cricket Club (FCC) in the final match of Friendship T20 Tournament that was played on 1st May in Mumbai. Nikhil (26 runs off 23 balls) and Sudhir (32 runs off 37 balls) provided a solid start to their team. Mangesh played a cameo lower down the order scoring a brisk 29 off 13 balls smacking two boundaries and as many sixes in his entertaining knock. Ajay was the pick of the bowlers for FCC picking up 3-25 in his four overs.
In reply FCC was done and dusted for a paltry 83 in 14.4 overs, losing the match by a big margin of 78 runs. Left arm medium pace bowler Sagar was the wrecker-in-chief grabbing 4-15 in his four overs. He bowled a disciplined line and length and was duly rewarded for his outstanding bowling efforts. FCC got off to a horrendous start as they lost both their openers for a duck. Hiren Lakmani from FCC top scored with 31 runs but could not play a long innings to see his team through.
Sagar (4-15 in 4 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his wonderful bowling figures. Rohidas (Datamatics) was announced as the Best Bowler and Parikshit (Reliance) was awarded with the Best Batsman prize.
To watch the cricketing legends on television is a common thing but to get the opportunity to coach them is something extraordinary. Sandeep Dahad a former Mumbai left arm Pacer grabbed the opportunity when he was presented with a bowling coach assignment for one of the teams of MCL – Leo Lions. MCL is a star studded T20 cricket tournament played by retired cricketers. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Bret Lee ,Grame Smith ,Saqlen Mushtaq ,Murlitharan , Brian Lara, Darren Gough just to name a few have been a part of MCL.
While interacting with cricketgraph.com, Dahad expressed that it was a fantastic experience to be offered a job to coach cricketing greats like Brian Lara Harshell Gibbs and Darren Gough, were in the team, whom Dahad coached. “Though these players have retired, they still look to play with the same intent and intensity as if they were playing for their country”, added Sandeep. Mr.Dahad, who is also one of the coaches of MCA- IDBI FL pace academy and a former Tripura ,Goa state team coach, was completely floored by the modesty and simplicity of the cricketing legends. During the tournament, these great players were totally involved while making decisions, studying the opponents’ batting line-up, bowling attack and understanding every player’s game.
The former captain of the island country West Indies; Brian Charles Lara was the skipper of Sandeep’s team(Leo Lions). “Though the southpaw was not in best of the forms, he did not let this affect his captaincy”, averred Mr. Dahad. Lara led with supreme confidence, which is evident from the fact that his team reached the finals of MCL.
The coach reminisced,” The final match was played on a wicket that was on a slower side making it difficult to chase. Everybody in the team expected that Lara would elect to bat first if he wins the toss. To everybody’s surprise, Brian’s brain had some other plans. He won the toss and chose to field first. Many eyebrows were raised and without any further ado, Lara justified his decision. He said that his team’s bowling had bowled most no. Of dot balls and given least number of boundaries in the tournament so team was far superior to batting that is why he did not want to put his bowlers under pressure again, because somewhere he knew that the team’s batting had not clicked”. In the final match, bowling worked according to the plan and Lara’s team was able to restrict the opponents for a humble 129. However a few injuries and a brilliant bowling spell from Rana did not allow Brian’s team to clinch the MCL Cup.
Sandeep Dahad has achieved a lot in the field of cricket. He has been one of the best Level-C BCCI qualified coaches with specializations in Fast bowling ,Batting and Fielding. The Former Bowling all rounder was also India’s Youngest Ranji Coach Guiding his State Team – Tripura to their historic Semi-Final appearance in Plate group Ranji Trophy which is evident from the fact that he was associated with MCL, where the retired international cricketers came together to play the game. Despite rubbing shoulders with the cricketing legends and sharing dressing room with them, Mr.Dahad is still amazingly passionate about coaching and as humble , grounded as anybody else. We at cricketgraph.com wish this great personality all the very best for all his future endeavors.
In what turned out to be a cracker of a contest between Ghatkopar Jets and Mumbai Police City Riders on 2nd May in the opening match of Mitsui Shoji T20, the organizers and even the spectators could not expect better than that. 20 runs required of the final over. The tension was mounting in both the camps, but thanks to Prasad Patil, who was as cool as a cucumber made it look so very easy at the end. The first two balls bowled by Shahid Shaikh went for massive sixes and then the equation looked to be achievable. Patil finished off in style with a six and the Ghatkopar Jets were soon seen celebrating at the Police Gymkhana. City Riders had posted a daunting 191-7 in 20 overs, courtesy Vinayak Bhoir’s (59 runs off 31 balls) wonderful half century. Wrecker-in-chief Prathamesh Pawar picked up 4-27 in his four overs and was undoubtedly the best bowler for Jets.
The Jets batted exceptionally well and in the end chased down the target with one ball to spare. They won the match by three wickets. Prasad Patil was the star performer, scoring an unbeaten 70 off just 34 cherries, striking at rate of over 200. Prasad smacked six boundaries and five sixes in his entertaining knock. Jehan Mubarak (42 runs off 22 balls) and Prathamesh Pawar (34 runs off 24 balls) made some useful contributions as well. Amir Khan and Vinayak Bhoir bowled well in tandem to grab two wickets each.
Prasad Patil (70 not out off 34 balls and 1-18 in 2 overs) was announced as the Man of the Match for his brilliant batting heroics
Rajawadi Cricket Club posted a mammoth 322-3 in 45 overs against Combined Cricket Club on 1st May at Azad Maidan, Mumbai during the Dr. H.D.Kanga Knock-Out Tournament organized under the aegis of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Opening bat Ritesh Patil exuded oodles of self-confidence as he cruised to a solid 142 coming off just 126 balls. Patil’s innings was composed of 15 boundaries and a six. He was lethal and smacked the bowlers all-round the park. Sharvay Keskar (64 runs off 60 balls) played well and gave good support to Ritesh. Coming in at no.4, Kapil Chaudhary remained unbeaten on 51 off 50 balls. Jalil Khan, Pritam Kori and Ankit Kanadia picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Combined Cricket Club was bundled out for 269 in 42.3 overs, thus losing the match by 53 runs. Sunil Nair was brilliant with the ball as he finished off with figures of 4-45 in seven overs. Nair bowled a tight line and length for which he was duly awarded. Suraj Bharadwaj and Dipesh Hemdev chipped with couple of wickets each. Ankit Kanadia was the best batsman for Combined Cricket Club scoring 91 runs off 81 balls, and was unfortunate to miss out on a well-deserved century.
Ritesh Patil (142 runs off 126 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his scintillating ton.
It was a low scoring affair at Young Friends ground, Mumbai, on 30th April when Akumentis locked horns against Subseapro during the Chanawala Challenger T20 Tournament. Batting first, Akumentis posted a modest 125-6 in 20 overs. Coming in at no.3, Pradnyesh Shinde top scored with 40 runs off 31 balls, smacking five boundaries. Shinde played some good looking cricketing shots and helped his team to cross the psychological 120-run mark. Anupam Tyagi and Satish picked up couple of wickets apiece.
Though Subseapro bowled well to restrict Akumentis for a humble score, they failed to chase down the target. Subseapro made 121-6 in 20 overs, falling shy of just four runs. The middle order fought hard but failed to take their team home. Nikhil played a patient knock of 28 runs off 33 balls and remained unbeaten at the end of the innings. Akumentis bowled well in tandem, with five out of the six bowlers grabbing one wicket each.
Pradnyesh Shinde (40 runs off 31 balls) was awarded with the Man of the Match award for his wonderful batting performance.
Riding on Mayuresh Tandel’s (69 not out off 45 balls) batting heroics, Reliance posted a strong total of 156-3 in 20 overs in the Champions semi-final of Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. After the opening pair of Rohit (8) and Zaheer (17) departed cheaply, Mayuresh stood up to the challenge and ensured that his team was able to put up a respectable target on board. Tandel played some good looking cricketing shots and rose up to the occasion. He was a delight to watch. Ajay and Sagar picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Datamatics managed to score 125 and were bundled out in 19.4 overs. They lost the match by 31 runs. Coming in at no.8, Mangesh (21 runs off 17 balls) showed some grit and determination but it was too late in the day for Datamatics. After shining with the bat, Mayuresh rolled his arm over to pick up 2-19 in his four overs. Maghan, who opened the bowling for Reliance had a wonderful outing as he grabbed 3-21 in his four overs and was also involved in one run out.
Mayuresh Tandel (69 not out off 45 balls and 2-19 in 4 overs) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his exceptional all-round performance.