Strength, heart and perseverance define the game of cricket, however, for Sagar Mishra, these adjectives transform into his attributes. With myriad records in his pocket, the versatile cricketer flaunts his dexterity while bowling and batting but is yet to make his much awaited return to the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team.
Sagar has been consistent in retaining his locus since 2019. He emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the Police Shield picking up 23 wickets in the competition. He was honored as the Man of the Series (Police Shield). He scored a half-century against MIG and also picked up a 4 wickets in the game. He became the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2019-202 Kanga League. He picked up three times 4 wicket haul consecutively against Islam Gymkhana, Regal CC, and PJ Hindu Gymkhana. Scoring 121 runs and 4 wickets against Dadar Union in the Comrade Shield, the all- rounder set his pace before the pandemic.
Post the disastrous covid pandemic, in the 2020-2021 season witnessed determined efforts by Sagar on the field. In the first Police Shield one-day tournament match, the all-rounder scored 81 runs and picked up 5 wickets against Mumbai Police. He scored half a century and a 3-wicket haul in the second match against CCI. In 3 games, he already had 200 runs and 9 wickets to his name. He employed his skillful abilities in the Talim Shield. The cricketer effortlessly scored 110 runs and picked up 6 wickets against Victory CC and 114 runs with 2 wickets in his pockets, in the Purshottam Shield.
Sagar dominated the 2021-2022 season. It was a field filled with opportunities. Initially, in the Vijay Hazare selection match, he scored 130 runs in 114 balls. Mishra was finally called upon in the Mumbai squad for the Vijay Hazare but unfortunately never got a chance to play in the starting eleven.
In the finals of the Purshottam Shield, the batsmen from both teams enjoyed their outings as a total of a mammoth 872 runs were scored in the game. A highly anticipated finals between two titans didn’t disappoint. Victory CC convincingly defeated the MIG with a supreme performance with the bat.
Victory CC won a crucial toss and elected to bat first. Jay Bista took the charge and hammered an emphatic 169. He had a massive partnership with Yash Nahar who also notched up a century of his own, scoring 128. Amey Soman and Kaushik Chikhalikar also contributed crucial half centuries as Victory CC scored an unassailable total of 505 losing 7 wickets in 45 overs. Gaurav Jathar did his best with the ball but could scalp only 3 wickets. With a target of 505, Victory CC already had one hand on the shield by the end of the first innings.
It was MIG’s turn with the bat. Om Keshkamat high scored with 81 as Ashay Palkar stayed not out with 62 in the end. There were numerous other 30-40 contributions but unfortunately they weren’t enough and MIG were short by 138 runs. Although they ended on the losing side, MIG’s efforts in the runchase were commendable as even they crossed the 350-run mark.
With numerous batting performances, the bowler of the day was certainly Rishabh Karwa. Karwa bowled an impressive spell of 4/69 in 10 overs. In a high-scoring match like this, a spell like this has definitely raised eyebrows.
The white-ball Purshottam Shield concluded with the Victory CC lifting the trophy. This can be deemed as a successful update for the tournament from its traditional one and a half day format.
Toss: Victory Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Victory Cricket Club won by 138 runs
Victoy Cricket Club- 505/7 in 45 overs
(Jay Bista 169, Yash Nahar 128, Amey Soman 60, Kaushik Chikhalikar 55, Gaurav Jathar 3/97)
M.I.G. Cricket Club- 367/10 in 40.5 overs
(Om Keshkamat 81, Ashay Palkar 62*, Gaurav Jathar 41, Shreyas Gurav 40, Ankush Jaiswal 35, Vedant Murkar 34, Sheesh Shetty 33, Rishabh Karwa 4/69
In the semi-finals of the Purshottam Shield, Victory CC advanced to the finals as they won the game by 123 runs against Parkophene Cricketers. Victory CC dominated the game from the first ball itself. After electing to bat, they set a mammoth target of 356 to chase for Parkophene. Southpaw Jay Jain scored a superb 90 as his name counterpart and Ranji Trophy batter Jay Bista hammered 88 alongside him. Apart from this partnership, Suraj Shinde also contributed crucial 56 runs.
Parkophene Cricketers could muster only 232 in 41 overs. Ninad Kadam scored a fighting 74 but it wasn’t enough. Rishabh Karwa and Vijay Gohil claimed 3 wickets as they won by a margin of 123.
Toss: Victory Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Victory Cricket Club won by 123 runs
Victory Cricket Club- 355/6 in 45 overs
(Jay Jain 90, Jay Bista 88, Suraj Shinde 56)
Parkophene Cricketers- 232/10 in 40.3 overs
(Ninad Kadam 74, Dev Patel 46, Rishabh Karwa 3/53, Vijay Gohil 3/54)
Shivaji Park Youngsters locked horns against Old Podarites Cricket Club in the first round of Cosmopolitan Shield on November 20 at DPC Matunga, Mumbai.
Winning the toss and electing to field first, Shivaji Park Youngsters bowled out Old Podarites Cricket Club for 127 runs in 32 overs. Eklavya Khade was the lone warrior in the fight as he scored an imperious 55 not out off 92 balls. On the other hand, Mustafa Shaikh was the most successful bowler for Shivaji Park Youngsters, as he accounted for 28/3 in nine overs. The left-arm spinner rattled the opposition with his consistent lines and lengths and bowled one maiden over too. Captain Sachin Nag too chipped in with a couple of wickets.
In response, Shivaji Park Youngsters overhauled the target in 26.4 overs with six wickets in hand to knock-out Old Podarites Cricket Club from the competition. Opening batter Maitrik Thakkar led the run chase from the front with a stellar 69 not out off 73 balls. Thakkar hit 10 fours and cleared the boundary rope once. On the other hand, Manas Mukadam was the only wicket-taker for Old Podarites Cricket Club. Mukadam claimed 47/4 in nine overs, including one maiden.
MIG comfortably walked to the finals of the Purshottam Shield as they won by 104 runs against Parel Sporting. Parel SC won the toss and elected to field first but this move didn’t go their way as MIG managed to score a supreme total of 322 in just 45 overs. Wicketkeeper Vedant Murkar hammered an incredible 156 ensuring a massive total for his team. He was well supported by Vishant More who contributed 82 in the process.
With a superior bowling performance, MIG was able to restrict Parel SC to 218 in 45 overs losing 9 wickets. With this victory, MIG went on to face Victory CC in the finals of the Purshottam Shield.
Toss: Parel Sporting Club won the toss and elected to field
Result: M.I.G. Cricket Club won by 104 runs
M.I.G. Cricket Club- 322/8 in 45 overs
Vedant Murkar 156, Vishant More 82, Viraj Gamre 3/45)
Parel Sporting Club- 218/9 in 45 overs
(Sahil Phegade 53, Ashutosh Ghagre 50, Usaid Cutlerywala 31)
On the back of Yug Hingu’s scintillating hat-trick, St. Joseph’s School registered a 126-run win over M.D. High School in Harris Shield. The game was played on November 15 at Oval Maidan, Mumbai.
Batting first, St. Joseph were bowled out for 173 in 34 overs. Ziyaan Chandinwala top-scored with 29, with Chinmay Rane making a valuable contribution of 26. On the other hand, Pratham was the pick of the bowlers for M.D. High School, as he claimed 38/4 in nine overs.
In reply, M.D. High School were bundled out for a paltry 47 in 13 overs, thanks to Yug Hingu, who wreaked havoc with the ball. Hingu scalped 6/3 in two overs as he picked up the wickets of consecutive balls to record a hat-trick. For M.D. High School, Pratham (15) was the only batter to score in double digits.
The Indian Railways had a dominant run against the Mizoram as well as Services in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Railways vs Mizoram:
Railways obliterated Mizoram as they hammered 399 in 50 overs losing just 4 wickets. It all started off well with the openers who had an opening partnership of 123. Railway’s most consistent batter this season, Shivam Chaudhary scored a quick 77 but was dismissed in the 21st over. His opening partner Vivek Singh though, went on to get an incredible hundred (136 off 124). Mohammad Saif carried the innings in the middle stages as the 3 number batter contributed 62 to set a stage for the finishers. Wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav (56 off 23) and Shubham Chaubey (42 off 16) gave the Railways a thrust at the back end of the innings. Yadav hit 5 sixes as Chaubey slammed one less. Mizoram had no response as they struggled for 50 overs and managed only 145 losing 5 wickets giving the victory to the Railways by 254 runs.
Railways vs Services:
Railways’ batsmen stood up to the occasion once again as they scored 347 at a blistering rate against the Services. after losing out on his century the last game, Shivam Chaudhary achieved the magical 3 digit mark against the services as he finished with 125 run to his name. He was well supported by his opening partner Vivek Singh who contributed 48. Mohammad Saif also chipped in a crucial 86 in the middle overs in 71 balls. After the batter’s had their dun, it was skipper Karn Sharma’s turn to display his batting prowess. Sharma faced only 14 deliveries but caused severe damage by hammering 4 of them outside the park. He went on to score 40 with a dominant strike rate of 286.
After causing carnage with the bat, Sharma didn’t spare anyone with the ball as he went on to pick 5 wickets in his quota of 10 overs giving away only 39 runs. Pacer Yuvraj Singh picked up 4 quick wickets to end the innings. Services were wrapped up in just the 43rd over as Railways won by 103 runs.
The CFF Fire Flyers took on DreamXI inthe ongoing JFSC Super Cup as the latter prevailed in a competitive game of cricket. After winning the toss, CFF Fire Flyers asked the DreamXI to bat first.
Batting first, DreamXI could set the target of only 136 in 20 overs losing 9 wickets. After a dismal performance from the top 5 batsmen, number 6 batter Vinay Bothra and number 7 batsman Kalpesh Dalvi contributed crucial 38 and 35 respectively. A partnership of 60 gave them a fighting chance in the game. On the bowling side, Kanish claimed 2 wickets in 4 overs at an economy rate of 6 but the pick of the bowlers being Rajesh who in his 4 overs gave away just 18 runs and managed to pick two wickets as well. For his spell, Rajesh was awarded the Tierra Economical Bowler of the Match.
The CFF Fire Flyers had a shaky start as they lost 3 for just 54. However, skipper Vaibhav revived the runchase with a match-winning knock of 55 off just 45 deliveries. He was well supported by Sanjay who contributed crucial 23 runs. The CFF Fire Flyers completed the set total with 10 balls to spare, losing 6 wickets in the process. Rahul Mhatre bowled a fighting spell of 2/21 but it wasn.t enough to contain the batsmen of CFF Fire Flyers.
The captain of CFF Fire Flyers, Vaibhav was awarded the Player of the Match as Vinay Bothra from DreamXI was announced the Ten Five Best Performer Of the Match for his all-round contributions.
Riding on Jatin Jetwa’s power-packed 185, St. Xavier’s High School posted a mammoth 303 in 45 overs against St. Stanislaus during the Harris Shield tournament. Jetwa took the opposition bowlers to the cleaners with his incredible hitting. On the other hand, for St. Stanislaus, Aryan Sethi was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped 58/3.
In reply, St. Stanislaus could only score 187 as they were bundled out in 34 overs. They lost the game by a massive margin of 116 runs. It was Aryan Sethi again with the bat for St. Stanislaus who stood tall. His gritty 94 went in vain as his team failed to chase down the total. On the other hand, St. Xavier’s Jatin Jetwa (34/3) and Bhavik (30/3) were the most successful bowlers.
St. Xavier’s Jatin Jetwa’s brilliant all-round performance steered his team to a 116-run win over St. Stanislaus in Harris Shield.
On November 20, the BCCI announced a 15-member India Women’s U19 squad for the home series against New Zealand. India will host New Zealand for a five-match T20I series. It will be played from November 27 to December 6 at the MCA Ground in BKC, Mumbai.
Among the players announced for this T20I series is Hurley Gala. The 16-year-old cricketer is the only player from Mumbai to make it to the India Women’s U19 squad. Gala is a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a right-handed batter. Considered one of the best all-rounders at the U19 level in the country, she featured for India A in the recently concluded Women’s U19 T20I Quadrangular series. She was a part of the winning team that clinched the Quadrangular series. India B, Sri Lanka, and West Indies were the other three teams that featured in the competition. The series was played in Vizag from November 13 to 19.
In view of the inaugural ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa next year from January 14 – 29, the New Zealand series will prove to be a good preparation. After the home series, India Women’s U19 team will travel to South Africa to play five-match T20I series from December 27 to January 4.