Srinath Chavan has been one of the most impressive finds in the Ambedkar Tournament. He has a superb free flowing bowling action and bowls at really impressive line and length. What’s more left arm spin bowlers in India has been amongst the rare breeds and when we get to see such talented prodigies performing so well, these are just the positive indicators for Mumbai Cricket.
In the first match against AP College, Sathaye College won the toss and elected to field first as they have a solid bowling line up. Made to bat first, AP College were bundled out for mere 59runs as their left-arm off-spinner Srinath came up with mesmerizing bowling figures of 7/11 in 7 overs(3maidens). Srinath bowled some unplayable deliveries and was able to hit the right lengths on consistent basis which helped him reap rewards. It was on the back of his wonderful bowling spell that his team Sathaye College chased down the score in mere 9 overs winning the match by 7wkts.
In the 2nd match vs SIWS, SIWS won the toss and elected to bat first. However, SIWS were totally unaware of their in-form Srinath who is looking really good with the ball. Srinath once again came up with match winning bowling figures of 5/28 in 7 overs which restricted SIWS to just 79all out in 27 overs. Sathaye College once again chased down the score in mere 10.4 overs and won the match by 8wkts. Srinath was the standout performer in both the matches and he certainly looks promising to achieve bigger things in cricket if he keeps bowling like this.
CRICKETGRAPH
This year’s Purshottam has been nothing short of a thriller as we got to see amazing matches, some scintillating knocks and some breath-taking bowling perfomances. After fighting against numerous teams and a lot of hard work, it was the all important finals between DY Patil and New Hind SC where in DY Patil batted first after winning the toss at PJ Hindu Gymkhana.
Living up to their reputation of a strong batting line up, DY Patil once again notched up a mammoth 609runs for just 5wkts before they declared their innings after facing 100 overs. Opener Shoaib Shaikh who took 2stunning catches in the match once again gave a solid start with his 82(121balls, 13fours, 1six). No.3 bat Aman Khan who has been giving good starts throughout the tournament finally got a deserving ton scoring 107 off 101balls (17fours, 2sixes). Aman played his natural game as always while Shubham Ranjane who is now amongst the top run getters of the tournament continued his purple patch with the bat as he again notched up a match winning knock of 163 off 147balls(13fours,7sixes). Abhishek Nayar(84) and Yogesh Takawale(81) also contributed with crucial 80’s at the middle order taking their team total to a big one.
In reply, New Hind SC were bundled out for just 147 runs as spinner Pravin Tambe continues to shut the critics down that age hardly matters when you have talent. Tambe demolished the opposition’s batting line up with 6/28 in 10.3overs(4maidens) and that too at a crucial stage like finals. DY Patil won eventually won the match on 1st innings lead and Tambe’s bowling played a big role in it. Pravin Tambe was also declared the ‘best bowler of the tournament’ as he has been amongst the top wicket takers this season. Shashank Singh on the other hand was declared the ‘best batman’ in the tournament where he scored a lot of runs including 2 double centuries.
CRICKETGRAPH
This is a tournament where the players get to showcase their cricketing skills and resilience. This is also a tournament where a player is keenly watched by a lot of eyes from different corners. And talking about these two kids-Anish and Ronit, they are already making a name for themselves at a very young age since they have been performing well almost since last one year or so.
Played at the National CC between Team A & Team B, Team B won the toss and elected to bat first where in almost every batsman contributed with the bat. Talented Akash Singh who is another promising player was the highest scorer at the middle order scoring an unbeaten 94* off 212balls (12fours,1six) displaying really solid batting and some good shots. Moin Khan, Atharva Bhosale and Khush Jain were the pick of the bowlers taking 2wkts each. Team B eventually reached a very good total of 363/9dec in 112 overs with the help of Akash’s anchoring knock.
Chasing 364, Team A had solid openers at their disposal with Anish More and Roneet Thakkur both giving a good start. While Anish scored 45 off 112balls (8fours), Roneet on the other hand scored 103 off 142balls which included 20fours. Roneet looked solid and played some flamboyant shots as both the players amassed a 122run stand. Team B reached 248/7 in 80overs before the end of the game’s play where the match was declared drawn. Even though no results could be extracted but Akash’s rock solid batting and Roneet’s flamboyance with the bat were the shining sparks in the match.
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the Cross Maidan, one of the most revered tournaments in Mumbai Cricket was in full flow between two promising teams namely Osians and Naval Docket where in Osians won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting the opposition to a low total and get the upper hand.
Their decision to bowl first was majorly spot on as they restricted Naval to a chaseable total of 252/10 runs in 44 overs. Experienced Middle order bat Mangesh Vaity was the top scored with a stable half century (52) coming from his bat while the rest of the batsman failed to convert their starts. Right-arm fast bowler Siddarth Sharma from Osians with 4/54 in 9 overs was the most impressive of the lot bowling at nice line and length to trouble the opposition while Vishal Shah also chipped in with 2wkts.
Chasing a target of 253, opener Aryan Hemdev set the tone for the innings as he went on to score a timely 86 off 107balls filled with good cricketing shots which were pleasing to the eyes. Aryan left behind a good momentum in his team’s favor while Nirav Bheda at no.5 finished off the remaining job with his unbeaten 59* off 43ballswith Aditya (20*). Aryan almost completed half of the job while Nirav finished the pending work with his stoic 59*(7fours,1six). Osian’s win the match by 6wkts and it was definitely on the back of some good bowling by Siddarth and crucial half centuries by Aryan and Nirav.
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the Bharat CC, Shivaji park, two talented teams namely N.G Acharya and Jai Hind College took on each other where in KG Acharya college won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big 1st innings total.
Batting first KG Acharya scored 103runs in 23 overs where in opener Nihar was the highest scorer with a gutsy 23. The rest of the batsmen struggled to score runs and kept on losing their wickets at regular intervals. The bowler who impressed one and all with his tight bowling was Nekh Karkal. Left-arm spinner Nekh came up with stunning bowling figures of 6/11 in 6 overs. Nekh kept on giving breakthroughs without allowing the batsmen to free his arms which reaped rewards for him as well as his team.
Jai Hind Chased down the target easily with Karan (31) and Omkar (27) being the top scorers. Jai Hind won the match by 5wkts and it was surely Nekh Karkal’s impressive show with the ball which stood out in the match.
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the youth’s own union(cross maidan), two big teams not only in terms of reputation but also in terms of talented clashed against each namely Mithibai College and Anjuman Islam College where in Anjuman Islam won the toss and elected to field first in order to restrict them to a low total.
Mithibai batting first scored 204/8 where in opener Dhruv jawhar was the highest scorer with a timely 72. Dhruv batted with quite some confidence as he smashed some really good shots till his stay at the crease. Dhruv who scored 72 off 102balls smashed 10fours while all-rounder Dev also chipped in with 35runs with the bat. Apart from them, most of the batsman struggled to score runs but 200+ score is always defendable.
Anjuman on the other were skittled out for just 78runs. Thanks to their all-rounder Dev who took 3/12 in 5 overs with his off-break along with their fast bowler Vedant Sarkhot bagging 2wkts. The rest of the bowlers also did a commendable job as they troubled the opposition with their tight bowling. Mithibai college win the match by a big margin of 126runs where in Dev and Dhruv were definitely the standout performers.
CRICKETGRAPH
When two of the most mighty and powerful teams of Giles Shield and school level cricket clash with each other, a intense competition is bound to happen. It was a mini Aus vs Eng at the Parsee Gymkhana when IES VN Sule and Don Bosco clashed against each other for the all important semi finals. On a batting track, IES Vn Sule rightly elected to bat first as they have a solid batting line up including the in-form Harsh Salunkhe.
Batting first, IES declared their innings at 289/3 in 104.5 overs where in opener Yash Rajan smashed one of the solid tons you can come across. Yash scored 104* off 245 deliveries (14fours) showing a high level of patience and calm which many cricketers of today’s generation lack. On the other hand Harsh Salunkhe who needs no introduction by now scored his 3rd ton of Giles Shield this time amassing a 224 run stand with opener Yash. Harsh as always looked class apart smashing bowlers with will as he remained unbeaten scoring 148* off 210 balls smashing 24fours in his knock. IES declared their innings on 289/3 with Aaryaraj Nikam being the pick of the bowlers with 2/33.
290 is definitely not an easy task to surpass and especially when your both the openers are out for 0 & 1 as the momentum completely changes and shifts towards the bowling side. However, Sahil Jadhav stamped his class with an effortless 135 off 175balls(17fours) coming at no.4. Sahil also got good support from no.5 bat Shubham Shinde as he got involved in a 161 run stand with Sahil scoring 71 off 102balls (12 fours) while Nayan Goyal remained unbeaten on 34* taking Don Bosco to 300/6 dec in 63 overs surpassing IES VN Sule’s core. Don Bosco won the match on 1st innings lead and also win the crucial semi-finals on the back of Sahil Jadhav’s 135 & his 161 run stand with Shubham. On the other hand we can’t ignore the wonderful batting of IES opener Yash Rajan and Harsh Salunkhe’s elegance with the bat.
Harsh Salunkhe in Giles Shield So Far-
Matches-7
50’s-2
100’s-2
Average-67.50
Runs- 540
Best-154
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the Police Gymkhana, it was the all important finals between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh where in both the teams have fought their way hard to reach the finals. Winning the toss, Delhi decided to bat first with an aim of making a big score and putting the opposition under pressure.
Batting first, Delhi were all out for 215runs in 34.4 overs where in the bowlers did a good job of restricting the batsman. Left-handed opener Suryansh Sharma was the only one who looked solid at the crease as batsmen from the other hand were not able to sustain their wickets. Suryansh made 89 off just 67balls smashing 12 fours and 2sixes which played a big role in taking his team total to cross the 200 run mark. Suryansh counter attacked the bowlers and kept the scorecard ticking. From U.P, all the bowlers chipped in with a wicket or two with Shivansh, Rahul and Prince being the pick of the bowlers with 2wkts each.
Defending a total of 214, U.P felt the pressure of chasing in high octane finals as they were skittled out for just 118runs in 29.1 overs. Right arm fast bower Ikshit Nishal was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/27 in 7 overs which did the maximum damage. Delhi win the all important finals and it was definitely Suryansh and Ikshit who played a big role to steer their team to a win.
Prize Distribution Ceremony- Under the presence of respected Dilip Vengsarkar and Vinod Tawde among other dignitaries
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the JK Raymond’s ground between two talented teams namely Century Rayon and Bhise Associates, Century Rayon won the toss and elected to bat first considering the fact that the wicket looked favorable for the batsman.
Batting first, Century Rayon notched up a more than defendable total of 293/6 in just 35 overs putting Bhise Associates under pressure. Opener Sachin (31) gave a good start while Anand Bhalera at no.3 scored an aggressive 59 off 44 deliveries (7fours, 1six) developing the positive momentum. However, it was the experienced Vinay Kene at no.5 who did the maximum damage with his sparkling ton. Vinay scored 107* off mere 83balls (8fours, 2sixes) and kept the scorecard ticking. Not only did he smashed some good shots bisecting the fielders but also did excellent running between the wickets. It was his onslaught down the order which pushed the team total to a very healthy 293runs.
Chasing a total of 294runs, Bhise Associates were bundled out for mere 107runs in a whitewash defeat. The bowler who won the hearts of his team mates was definitely Pradeep Pandey coming up with stunning & match winning bowling figures of 5/9 in 5 overs with 2 maidens. Pradeep bowled at amazing line and length and was nothing short of impressive while Vinay Kene took 2/11 in 2.4 overs making it a perfect all-round perfomance. Century Rayon won the match by 186 runs and Vinay Kene was declared ‘man of the match’. Pradeep’s bowling was equally commendable in the match.
CRICKETGRAPH
Played at the Western Railway, Cross Maidan, two really talented teams namely Regent CC and Koli Combined XI took on each other where in Regent CC won the toss and elected to bat first as the wicket has been improving for the batsmen off lately at the Cross Maidan.
Batting first, Koli Combined bowlers did a good job restricting Regent CC to a just above modest total of 194 runs in 42 overs. Even though hardly any batsmen failed to make an impact, talented opener Patrick Allen showed his class by staying solid at the crease for his 74ball 59 (7fours, 1six). Patrick looked confident unlike his mates who were not able to convert their starts. Siddant Vaity with 4/37 was the pick of the bowlers in his spell of 9 overs. Siddhant looked quite impressive with good line and length while the rest of the bowlers also chipped in with a wicket or two.
Defending a modest total of 195 runs, the match was in the hands of Koli Combined to chase it down with ease. However, experienced spinner Prakash Aswani bowled a match winning spell of 5/26 in 8.2 overs to restrict the opposition to 177runs and help his team win a thriller of a match. Prakash kept on bowling in the right areas and troubled the batsman consistently which reaped rewards for him as well as his team and this is not the first time Prakash has performed like this. Regent CC won the match by 17 runs and it was definitely Patrick with the bat and Aswani with the ball who created the maximum impact to defeat the Koli Combined team.
CRICKETGRAPH