A strong sporting infrastructure at grassroot level often results in producing great sportspersons. Following that vision, renowned Cricket Coach and Former Mumbai Ranji Legend Sulakshan Kulkarni has tied hands with Shri Saint Gajanan Maharaj College Of Engineering, Shegaon , Maharashtra to promote grassroot cricket in India by coming up with a state of the art Cricket Academy.
The inauguration of the Cricket Academy was conducted on 2nd December, 2021 at Shri Saint Gajanan Maharaj College Of Engineering, Shegaon , Maharashtra. Sulakshan Kulkarni who has represented as many as 5 states in a domestic career spanning almost 2 decades has also had an equally decorated career as a cricket coach working with numerous domestic teams making him one of the prolific cricket coaches in India. Sulakshan Kulkarni has been the brainchild behind this initiative and he was strongly supported by Shri Shrikant Dada Patil, Chairman of Shri Saint Gajanan Maharaj College Of Engineering. The initiative of coming up with this Cricket Academy seemed like a natural progression considering Sulakshan Kulkarni shares a great relation with the Chairman Shri Shrikant Dada Patil since many years.
Prashant Vaidya, Former Indian Cricketer & Former Vice President of Vidarbha Cricket Association graced the event as the Chief Guest at the Inaugration. Prashant Vaidya gave blessings and motivated the young students present at the academy.
The Shri Saint Gajanan Maharaj College Of Engineering – Sulakshan Kulkarni Cricket Academy consists of a state of the art cricket ground (80 yards boundary) amidst a beautiful green outfield & serene atmosphere. The ground also consists of true bouncy wickets resulting in great cricket training for the players. The Academy also boasts of gym and accommodation facilities to ensure residential as well as non residential students are trained in the best possible environment. Apart from that, the Academy consists of highly qualified Cricket Coaches under the aegis of Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.
Wicket keeper batsman Ravindra Modi hit an amazing 64 ball 177 runs in the YCC KCD T20 40+ Cup 2021-22 to guide KCD Emarald to a 99 run victory over KCD Aura in high scoring match. KCD Aura winning the toss chose to bowl first. Where KCD Emarald batting first scored 302 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs. KCD Aura chasing the monstrous score of 303 were restricted on 203 runs losing 7 wickets.
Ravindra Modi’s masterclass innings of 177 runs was the highlight of the match. His innings included 16 fours and 16 sixes as he batted with a stunning strike rate of 277. This earned him the ‘Player of The Match’ Award. The pitch was easy to bat on and the hit was clean, as a result, both the teams managed to score 200+ runs in their respective innings. The outfield was also fast which helped the batters to score easily.
YCC is a 13 year old club founded by the business fraternity of chemical market. YCC started with just 4 teams and now the count has rised to 9 teams. The YCC KCD T20 40+ Cup 2021-22 was the first ever tournament for the age group above 40 years. The tournament included 4 teams.
Sagar Mishra- a left arm spinner and a middle order batsman has been proving his all-round prowess right from his early days, whether it was smashing 6 sixes in an over in Times Shield in 2016 for Western Railways to topping the charts of top all-rounders in almost every season of different MCA Tournaments, 28yr old Sagar who last played a first class match 6 years back has still not given up any hopes and continues to work hard to break it into the domestic circuit. Sagar has been selected in the Mumbai’s squad for Vijay Hazare this season and his performance in the Police Shield seems to have come at the right time.
In the opening match of Payyade vs New Hind Sporting Club on their homeground, Payyade Sports Club notched up a total of 291/9 in 70 overs with Sagar Mishra scoring almost half of the team runs. Coming at no.4, Sagar went on to top score for Payyade smashing 140 off 154 balls which had 11 fours and 5 sixes. Sagar backed it up with a brilliant bowling performance of 4/44 alongwith Dhrumil Matkar’s 4/59 which eventually restricted New Hind to 162 all out in 41.5 overs handing over a massive 129 runs win to Payyade Sports Club.
Played at the Fatima Cricket Ground in Vidyavihar, Mumbai, RRoaring Lions opting to bat first scored a total of 141/9 in 20 overs with opener Neeraj Doshi top scoring with 35 runs. It was a disciplined bowling performance from Yes CC bowlers with Meer being the pick of the lot with 3/27 in 4 overs followed by Bhushan who took 2/21 in 4 overs.
Chasing 142, Yes Cricket Club went on to win the match by 8 wickets courtesy an unbeaten 128* run stand between Daiwat Rane and Rishikesh for the 3rd wicket. Daiwat coming at no.3 continued his good form with the bat as he went on to score a match winning 79* off 60 balls smashing 10 fours while he received good support from Rishikesh who scored 35* off 34 balls. It was a commanding win for Yes CC team while Daiwat Rane was declared “man of the match”
Scorecard Link: http://jfsc.in/match_details.php?match_id=240588&team_id=129983&tab=scorecard
Just fresh from scoring impressive hundreds in Vedh U12 Cup and Vengsarkar U12 Tournaments, Ved Tendulkar continues his good form with the bat this time scoring crucial knocks for Vijay Indap Cricket Academy in U12 Aimees Cup Boys Tournament.
In the match vs Yuva Multi Blue Team, Indap CC without losing a wicket posted a handsome total of 182/0 in 20 overs courtesy a brilliant 118* off 71 balls by Ved Tendulkar. Ved opening the innings smashed 23 fours and 2 sixes while received good support from his opening partner Divyesh Hadkar who remained unbeaten on 49* off 54 balls. Yuva Multi Blue in reply managed to score 145/3 in 20 overs handing over a 37 run win to Vijay Indap CC. Ved Tendulkar for his unbeaten hundred was declared “player of the match”
In the match which followed vs Boys CC at Union Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyan, Indap CC posted a modest total of 118/5 in 20 overs and it was Ved again leading from the front as a skipper after losing both the openers on ducks. Ved came in at no.3 and scored a gutsy 51 off 36 balls pushing his team towards a respectable total. Boys CC in reply were all out for 112 runs with Pratik being the pick of the lot taking 4/27 in 4 overs. Indap CC won the match by 6 runs and Ved was declared “player of the match” for his crucial half century.
Played at the Green View Cricket Ground in Hyderabad, M-11 team after being put to bat first scored a total of 195/10 in 44.5 overs. More than half of the team runs were scored by Vikranth Reddy who came at no.3 to score 114 runs off 106 balls (16 fours, 2 sixes). The rest of the batters suffered in the hands of Iqbal Academy bowlers with Ukarsh, Aryan Reddy & G Prem bagging 2 wickets a piece. Aryan Reddy with 2/5 in 1.5 overs was the pick of the lot.
Chasing 196 looked like a mere formality for Iqbal Cricket Academy as both the openers chased it down with absolute ease in a span of just 31.1 overs. Iqbal Cricket Academy won the match without losing a single wicket as openers Aryan Reddy and G Prem wrecked havoc over the opposition bowlers. Aryan scored a well made 93* off 85 balls (12 fours) while G Prem scored 80* off 102 balls (8 fours) to anchor their team towards a memorable win.
Aryan Reddy for his all-round performance was declared “man of the match”
Scorecard Link: https://cricheroes.in/scorecard/2557024/individual/M-11-(U-14)-vs-Iqbal-Cricket-Academy-(T25)
MIG Cricket Club opting to bat first posted a healthy total on board notching up 397/9 in 70 overs. Anand Bais who is also a First Class Cricketer performed exceedingly well for MIG notching up an impressive knock of 118 runs. Anand brought in all his experience to top score for MIG while India U19 all rounder Atharva Ankolekar once again displayed his batting prowess scoring 103 runs. CCI’s Krutik Hanagawadi who made his T20 Debut for Mumbai in 2019-20 season impressed one and all with a spell of 5/99 being the pick of the lot amongst CCI bowlers.
Cricket Club of India in reply got all out for 192 runs in 50.4 overs with Akash Anand (50 runs), Krutik Hanagawadi (38 runs) & Aarya Satpute (37) being the notable contributors with the bat. Atharva who already grabbed attention with a century was the pick of the bowlers too taking a fifer returning with match winning bowling figures of 5/72 providing crucial breakthroughs as MIG Cricket Club went on to win the match by a massive margin of 205 runs.
When a ordinary person does something extra-ordinary, that person is called “Special”. Imagine you are physically disabled and still asked to do a job or an activity which only a regular person can do on daily basis? Would’nt that be tough? Yes it certainly would be and here we bring an interesting story of a professional cricketer Ravindra Sante who is nothing but an inspiration for the determination and fighting spirit he shows on the cricket field.
Born to a regular middle class family in Dombivali, Ravindra was declared physically disabled with his right hand when he was hardly 6-7 months old, Ravi was brought up in a modest environment where he did not have access or any knowledge about professional leather ball cricket almost till he turned 18 yrs old. As a cricket loving teenager, he kept playing all forms of cricket right from gully cricket to maidan cricket and even represented his college team despite his right hand almost of next to no use due to his disability.
At the age of 19, he finally got the kick of professional leather ball cricket, he joined Boys Cricket Club under Coach Rajan Dhotre, he received training, started playing practice matches and then eventually progressed to higher MCA Affiliated clubs like Ours Cricket Club and Sainath Cricket Club which is one of the top division clubs of Mumbai Cricket Association. The crucial moment in his life came when corporator of his area arranged a handicap cricket match where he performed well, the organizer of the match Vikas Mhatre later took Ravindra to then Indian Handicap Team Captain Ravi Patil. Captain Ravi invited him to practice at Virar & Ravindra would wake up daily at 4:30am in the morning, reach there by 5 and practice there daily. Santes”s skills got noticed and soon he got selected for Maharashtra team at state level where he played Nationals in Ranchi giving impressive performances.
The further transformation in his life came when he got to interact with Coaches at Sainath Sports Club namely Vivek Kadam, Bharat Mestri and S.N Pagdhare sir. Though, being a top division club, Ravindra got to play less matches at Sainath, but it was the guidance he recieved from those 3 coaches which motivated him & other players to play regular club level cricket. Ravi shared ” Vivek Kadam and other coaches at Sainath taught us and instilled belief in us that we can play normal regular cricket, Patghare sir also pushed us hard, he even made MCA Cards for us & that is how we started playing club cricket”
His all-round skills and ability with the bat and ball in hand got so popular, that by 2014, Ravindra got a call up to represent the Indian Team (Disabled) & that is where life took a big turn. It was a dream come true moment for him, holding the Indian Cricket kit, holding the English willow, entering the Indian Team Bus, wearing that Indian Jersey, those were many firsts for him! However, Ravi did not have a memorable debut getting out cheaply for 21 runs only to return back in the 2nd match to score a record 33 ball 100 for India in South Africa!
Since then, Ravi also represented India in Physical Disabled Cricket Cricket World Series 2019 at England and he alongwith the entire team made the country proud bringing the Cup home emerging as World Champions! Ravindra played 5 matches in World Series taking 7 wickets alongwith 2 half centuries including a crucial half century vs England in the finals where India eventually became the World Cup Champions.
Story of Ravi has been nothing but inspiring but that’s not the end of it, Ravi continues to play professional cricket at regular club level in Mumbai playing alongside regular teams and regular players! What’s more, in 2019, representing Central Railways team, Ravi even bagged 2 fifers and that too seven wicket hauls in Times Shield which is one of the oldest marquee tournaments of Mumbai Cricket.
Ravi remembers taking 7/40 vs JP Morgan & 7/23 vs Navi Mumbai Police in the 2019 Times Shield stunning the cricket world with his grit and determination. Ravindra also has a fifer vs Gaud Saraswat CC in Kanga League”19 representing Bohra Cricketers apart from bagging a man of the match award in T20 Samat Cup in 2020. Ravindra has played in almost all the major MCA Tournaments and cut down to 2021, he plays for Bohra Cricketers and his team has already qualified to the semi finals of MCA Madhav Mantri Centenary One Day Tournament’21 at C&D Division.
The story of Ravindra inspires each and every sportsman to have a fighting spirit and never give up no matter how challenging the situation gets! Here’s wishing the World Cup Winner & our very own Mumbaicha porga Ravindra all the luck for a great cricketing career ahead.
Islam Gymkhana opting to bat first on their homeground posted a total of 295/9 in 70 overs with opener Kaustub Pawar (67 runs off 110 balls), Salman Ahmed (61 runs off 106 balls) & all-rounder Salil Agharkar (54* off 38 balls) scoring half centuries. From the bowlers, left arm pacer Darshan Mangukiya with 3/67 in 14 overs was the pick of the lot.
Chasing 296, Automotive CC displayed a good fighting spirit on Islam Gymkhana’s homeground falling short of just 6 runs on what could have been a great win. Young U19 prospect Rugved More who already impressed one and all in Madhav Mantri topping the leading run scorer charts in C &D Division continued to show promise, this time scoring 55 runs off 59 balls opening the innings for Automotive. Mayur Sanap who came at no.3 almost proved to be the game changer scoring a brilliant 124 off 135 balls (11 fours, 4 sixes).
Automotive CC eventually got all out for 289 runs in 66.1 runs courtesy a brilliant spell of fast bowling by Nadeem Shaikh who returned with match winning bowling figures of 5/77 in 19 overs with 7 maidens as Islam Gymkhana won the match by 6 runs.
Into the quarter finals of the C & D Division tournament, Matunga Gymkhana after being put to bat first on their home ground batted well scoring 269/5 in 40 overs. Opener Ishaan Amin scored an impressive 114 runs off 93 balls laced with 18 boundaries while also stitched 148 runs stand with no.5 batsman Deepak Bandgar who scored an unbeaten hundred batting till the end. Deepak Bandgar scored 104* off 101 balls which had 10 fours and 4 sixes.
Chasing 270 in 40 overs in opposition’s homeground, the pressure was certainly on Bohra Cricketers. However, Bohra Cricketers displayed a lot of grit and determination defeating Matunga Gymkhana on their homeground chasing a total at more than 6 runs per over. The openers Harsh Mogaveera and Pradeep Kshirsagar turned the game around stitching a 159 run stand for the 1st wicket. Harsh scored 59 runs off 54 balls while 52 yr old Pradeep Kshirsagar brought in all his experience under pressure smashing a match winning 89 off 85 balls laced 10 fours and 3 sixes.
It was a close encounter where both the teams gave their everything into the match as Bohra Cricketers crossed the victory line in 38th over winning the match by 2 wickets.
In more ways than one, this could be one of the memorable wins of Bohra Cricketers as they consist of an exciting playing XI right from a 19yr old opener Harsh Mogaveera scoring a matured knock of 55 runs to 32yr old Ravindra Sante who plays regular club cricket despite his disability to 52yr old Pradeep Kshirsagar anchoring the chase like a pro and the entire chasing down a big total in a high pressure quarter finals on opposition’s homeground!
