In today’s batsman dominated cricket where we see 400 runs scored in a blink of an eye, bowlers are left with limited options; The batsmen win you games however, bowlers, win championships. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy knockout stages, Uttarakhand had reached the Quarter Finals, beating the likes of Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Baroda. The major credit goes to the bowlers for taking their team pass the league stage and the man behind their success is Anand Rajan.
For the uninitiated, Anand Rajan is a well decorated ex-First Class cricketer who represented Madhya Pradesh. With almost a decade of experience, Rajan was a very well established cricketer during his time. His T20 record was as good as it could get, with an average of just 16.68 in 31 games, the speedster was picked for Deccan Chargers and subsequently Sunrisers Hyderabad. He hung up his shoes in 2014 and began a career in coaching.
So far, Anand Rajan has prospered extremely well. Working with the likes of Venkatesh Iyer and Avesh Khan who reside in the state of Madhya Pradesh itself, Rajan has entrenched himself as a fast bowling coach. At numerous occasions, Venkatesh Iyer has credited his success to Coach Rajan on live post-game interviews. During their spare time, Venkatesh Iyer and Avesh Khan work on-to-one with Coach Anand. Apart from them, upcoming fast bowler Rajan Chaudhary, who was picked by Royal Challenger’s Bangalore for 70 lakhs in the Mini Auction is also a disciple of Coach Anand.
I am very happy with the team’s (Uttarakhand) performance this season, especially the bowlers who have worked immensely hard and applied themselves so well. To see the bowler’s do well, it is one of the best views from a coach’s perspective.
Anand Rajan
Under Rajan’s guidance, Uttarakhand were able to perform exquisitely with the ball this season. Bowling out Baroda for just 85 and Himachal Pradesh for just 49, Uttarakhand’s bowlers paved the way for their team in numerous occasions.
Coach Anand Rajan also mentioned how working with the Uttarakhand team has given him the satisfaction as a coach but the fire still burns and is looking out for opportunities to challenge his coaching capabilities.
On January 28, JSW Steel Limited took on BARC Staff Club during their Times Shield ‘E’ Division clash. BARC Staff Club won the toss and elected to bat.
Batting first, BARC Staff Club posted 221/9 in 45 overs. Sagar Kawankar top-scored with a 90-ball 60 for BARC Staff Club. For JSW Steel Limited, Yash Kripal and Amit Mishra were the most successful bowlers, with three scalps apiece.
In reply, JSW Steel Limited chased down the total in 42.3 overs and won the match by four wickets. Parag Jadhav led the run chase from the front with an unbeaten 69 off 101. On the other hand, BARC Staff Club’s Sanjay Singh and Samadhan Kanandai were impressive with the ball, claiming two wickets each.
The successful corporate entity namely Softcore Solutions Pvt Ltd enjoyed a remarkable one day event at Rangoli Turf which was organized by Cricketgraph. The employees from the Softcore Solutions Pvt Ltd competed in a tennis ball cricket tournament at Thane.
During the game, one of the company representatives namely Mangesh Palghare shared some kind words on the well-arranged cricket tournament.
Softcore Solutions Pvt Ltd had trusted Cricketgraph to organize everything from the ground to the scorers. Cricketgraph also provided their in-demand Cricketgraph Match Highlights wherein the games are recorded and uploaded on Cricketgraph’s YouTube channel for viewers to enjoy.
Apart from men, there matches scheduled for the women as well.
Overall, it was a successful event where the satisfied Softcore Solutions Pvt Ltd enjoyed their cricket tournament.
Kunal Vatari of Deccan Cricket Club hit the headlines with his back-to-back centuries in GK Phanse Trophy. The right-handed top-order batter has been prolific and is a vital cog in the team’s batting line-up.
On January 23, playing against Thane Friends Union Cricket Club, Vatari hammered an unbeaten 182. His 131-ball innings saw 20 boundaries and two sixes. Out of the team’s total of 271 in 35 overs, Vatari accounted for close to two-thirds of the runs. Deccan Cricket Club went on to win that match by 98 runs.
Picking up from where he had left, on January 24, Vatari packed a punch with yet another century. He muscled an undefeated 164 off 140, finding the fence 23 times. He guided his team to 337 in 40 overs against Devaidnya Cricket Club. Deccan Cricket Club won that match, too, with a massive margin of 173 runs.
On January 28, Mumbai Division U14 took on Amravati Division U14 during the final of the State Level School U-14 DSO Cricket Tournament. Mumbai Division U14 won the toss and elected to bat at Atma Malik Cricket Academy Kokamthan in Shirdi.
Batting first, Mumbai Division U14 piled up a commanding score of 139/1 in 15 overs. The opening pair of Laxmanprasad Vishwakarma (42 off 27) and Aayush Shinde stitched a 69-run partnership in 8.1 overs. Shinde top-scored with an unconquered 61 off 48, including seven boundaries. After the fall of Vishwakarma’s wicket, Abdur Rahman joined Shinde. Rahman played a 17-ball cameo to score an unbeaten 28. For Amravati Division U14, Sagar Kharche was the lone wicket-taker.
In reply, Amravati Division U14 were restricted to 65/9 in 15 overs, and they lost the match by 74 runs. Yash Dongardive fought hard with the bat and scored 24 off 31 for Amravati Division U14. On the other hand, captain Vedant Gore wreaked havoc with the ball for Mumbai Division U14, claiming 5/4 in three overs, including one maiden.
Mumbai Division U14 blew away Amravati Division U14 with their cricketing excellence and clinched the championship.
Khar Gymkhana faced New Hind SC in the Quarter Finals of the Young Comrade tournament. After winning a crucial toss, New Hind SC elected to bowl first. Khar Gymkhana managed to pose a total of 175 as they were bowled out in the 46th over. Off-spinner Akshay Jambhekar claimed 5 wickets as his teammate Parikshit Valsangkar took 4 wickets to give the upper hand to New Hind SC.
On a tricky wicket, New Hind lost 6 wickets but Aayush Zimare anchored one end, scoring an unbeaten 81 to take his team to victory in the 42nd over. With a 4-wicket win, New Hind advance to the Semi-Finals of the tournamen.t
Toss: Khar Gymkhana won the toss and elected to bat
Result: New Hind Sporting Club won by 4 wkts
Khar Gymkhana – 175/10 in 45.4 overs
(Mehboob Shaikh 42, Hiken Shah 38, Rohit Shukla 30,
Akshay Jambhekar 5/83, Parikshit Valsangkar 4/65)
New Hind Sporting Club- 176/6 in 42 overs
(Aayush Zimare 81*, Karan Shah 32, Siddhant Adhatrao 30,
Ajay Mishra 3/43)
Young Comrade CC took on Parkophene Cricketers in the Quarter Finals of the Young Comrade. After electing to bat first, Young Comrade CC were bowled out for just 137, courtesy of Vishal Dabholkar who claimed 7 wickets conceding only 31 runs.
With the invaluable addition of Sarfaraz Khan to the team, Parkophene set out to chase the total. The domestic star hammered an unbeaten 77 to chase down the total before the beginning of the 30th over.
Toss: Young Comrade Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Parkophene Cricketers won by 6 wkts
Young Comrade Cricket Club- 137/10 in 36.1 overs
(Omkar Yadav 46, Vishal Dabholkar 7/31)
Parkophene Cricketers- 140/4 in 29 overs
(Sarfaraz Khan 77*)
In the Quarter-Finals of the Young Comrade between Victory CC and Cricket Club of India the former prevailed convincingly. After winning the toss, Victory CC elected to bowl first which proved the right decision. CCI were bowled out of for just 217 in the 63rd over. Despite half centuries from Ajinkya Patil and Aarya Satpute, CCI could manage a subpar total. Thanks to a spirited spell from Shashank Attarde of 5/70 giving his team the upper hand in the first innings of the game.
With little to no stress, Victory chased down the target in the 42nd over itself. Jay Jain scored 58 for CCI as first-inning hero Shashank Attarde shined with the bat as well by being unbeaten on 89 and seeing his team through to the semi finals.
Toss: Victory Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field
Result: Victory Cricket Club won by 7 wkts
Cricket Club of India- 217/10 in 62.1 overs
(Ajinkya Patil 51, Aarya Satpute 50, Shashank Attarde 5/70)
Victory Cricket Club- 219/3 in 41.5 overs
(Shashank Attarde 89*, Jay Jain 58, Aditya Rajhans 39)
New Hindu Cricket Club locked horns against Wellington Cricket Club during the Mumbai Junior Shield. New Hindu won the toss and elected to bat at Cross Maidan, Mumbai, on January 22.
Batting first, New Hindu were bundled out for 234 in 44.5 overs. Aadit Degaonkar (46) and Rohit Yadav (48) were the top contributors with the bat for New Hindu. For Wellington, Sagar Shah was the most successful bowler with 57/4 in nine overs.
In reply, Wellington were bowled out for 152 in 34.2 overs, and they lost the match by 82 runs. Aryan Desai (37) and Abhinav Singh (31) fought hard but failed to see their side home. For New Hindu, Rishi Shah was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 19/3 in 6.2 overs, including one maiden.
West Zone Inter-University
The practice camp of the team was held at Anubhuti school cricket ground,Jalgaon,under the guidance of Prof.Dr.Sachin Zope and Jain Sports Academy Head Coach Suyash Burkul.
Following is the 16 member squad who will represent North Maharashtra University in the upcoming West Zone Inter-University Cricket Tournament,to be played in Sikar, Rajasthan.
1.Tushar Chordia (Captain)
2.Shubham Sharma (Vice Captain)
3.Sanket Pande
4.Tanesh Jain
5.Piyush Sohane (WK)
6.Saurabh Singh
7.Rishabh Karwa
8.Bharat Sharma
9.Siddesh Deshmukh (WK)
10.Nachiket Thakur
11.Amey Koli
12.Tuljesh Patil
13.Rugved Baviskar
14.Arvind Thapa
15.Tanmay Shah
16.Pratik Shinde
