THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION OF FOOTWORK IN BATTING IS THE INCLINATION AND WILLINGNESS OF MIND TO USE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS ITSELF. FOOTWORK PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN SHOT SELECTION AND IS ALSO CRUCIAL WHEN IT COMES TO EITHER PLAYING THE BALL OR LEAVING THE BALL ALONE.
WITH APPROPRIATE FOOTWORK SCORING RUNS BECOMES EASY. BY PRACTISING THE RIGHT FOOT MOVES, THE EFFICIENCY OF MIND AND BODY CO-ORDINATION IS INCREASED WHICH CATERS TO SOUND STROKE MAKING.
PRACTICE:
BATSMAN SHOULD REGULARLY TRAIN ON HIS FEET MOVEMENT TO
1] REACH THE BALL AS WELL AS GET IN LINE OF BALL
2] TO NEGATE THE SWING OR SPIN ON BALL
3] TO HAVE A GOOD BODY BALANCE AND BODY WEIGTH TRANSFER WHILE PLAYING THE STROKE.
A player who can contribute both with the bat as well as with the ball are always special. They can be big assets for any team they play for. Take example of Jacques Kallis, Shane Watson, R Ashwin( in tests), Symonds or Afridi. They are always a vital cog in the team & without their presence, the team almost looks incomplete & even weak to some extent.
SSA Strikers are gifted with one such all-rounder called Sudesh hiremath who fired in all the departments against Collage designs. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, SSA team were in deep trouble after losing both their openers. In fact such was their situation they were struggling at one point of time with 40/4. It was after the 4th wicket right handed sudesh came in & played a fantastic knock of 55. Coming at a time when his team needed a come back, he rightly delivered with the bat & got able support from the lower order too. Sudesh scored a fighting 39 ball 55 which included 7 fours & equal amount of running. He stitched an innings from nowhere with the support of the lower order & from no where SSA happily finished their innings with 212/9 in 20 overs. At one point they were not looking even good enough for 150 but it was because of Sudesh things changed big time. They even exceeded their own expectations of scoring at least 150-160.
Usually a defensive batsman, sudesh displayed a lot of energy between the wickets & kept the scorecard ticking. Collage team were required to score at more than 11 runs per over against a good bowling unit of SSA. Eventually the whole batting line up crumbled & were all out for just 60 runs. Sudesh also contributed with the ball picking up 4 wickets with his effective medium pace. What’s more, the icing on the cake was a hat-trick which he took which completely dismantled the opposition. Hiremath’s all round show helped his side earn a victory. Their 3rd win in their 4th match of the tournament also pushed them into the super eight.
Considering the form Sudesh is in, we can expect more brilliant cameos from him down the order to lift his team in the final four & eventually towards the title. Also it was good to see Sudesh dedicating his innings to his 2 year old daughter & we certainly wish many more fine innings to come from his bat in the coming matches.
It was a high intensity semi-final match of the Dreamz Corporate T20 Tournament between Automotive CC and FSS. Winning the toss, Automotive decided to bat first & play aggressive cricket to post a big target. Their plan was spot on as they batted wonderfully well & exceeded their own plans (of scoring above 150) by scoring 178 in 20 overs.
Right handed opener Rohan Pawar who is known to mould according to the situations played a cracker of a knock damaging almost all the bowlers of FSS. It was a brutal display of glamorous batting by Rohan Pawar who brought his century in just 55 balls & scored 107 (59 balls). Rohan was initially calm till the first half & opened his arms in the second half showing what he is capable of with the bat. Not only was his knock aggressive but he also played the anchor’s role to perfection as he stayed till the 3rd last ball of the innings (19.4overs). Rohan smashed 13 fours and 3 sixes in his stroke laden 59 ball 107.
Rohan targeted each and every bowler & scored runs easily in all the parts of the ground while he was particularly comfortable against the medium pacers. His on-drive in the very first over against the fast bowler was his personal favorite. The opposition also batted well with their openers putting up a good show but it was not enough against the good bowling of Automotive bowlers. Sachin sheth bowled really well where he picked up two big wickets & gave only 17 runs in 4 overs. FSS were restricted to 153/5 & Automotive won the match by 25 runs.
Rohan’s flamboyant knock earned him man of the match award. The ecstatic Rohan dedicated his superb hundred to his parents & especially mom who is unwell. In fact Rohan stated that his every knock and every match he plays is in the dedication towards his mother. Pawar who wakes up at 5:30 every morning & comes from thane to M.I.G for practice is finally getting the fruits of his hard work.
Into the 3rd league match of the Elite division in the Harris Shield Tournament it was a matter of pride for VN Sule to perform while crucial for Anjuman Islam to win the match. Winning the toss first, VN Sule boys decided to bat first with a mindset of posting a heavy trail over the opposition. The skipper & the coach advised the boys to play their natural game and score freely as anyway they are not going to qualify for the further rounds. Instead trying to win the match or at least drawing it was on their wishlist as it would affect the points table of Anjuman Islam team.
The boys paid heed to the advice & especially this talented right handed opener Kaushal Valsangkar. Kaushal displayed oodles of talent & patience at the crease in his clean & flawless knock of 128 coming of 251 balls. Kaushal showed a solid technique & appeared very confident helping his team to reach a good total of 400. Vaibhav, Rugved and Ayush Zimre also played really well for their respective half centuries. VN Sule succeeded in creating partnerships & that was one of the reasons they reached such a good score.
Kaushal smashed 15 boundaries in his excellent knock of 128 & none of them out of 15 we could say were not classy or graceful to the eyes. No denying the fact that the Bombay gymkhana witnessed promising talents exhibiting their capabilities with the bat & especially Kaushal. Anjuman Islam ended the match in a draw at 150/5 where in Shantanu kadam & Ayush bowled really well to contain the batsman & also pick a few wickets.
The match ended in a draw in a situation where VN Sule had nothing to lose but the draw surely affected the Anjuman Islam team to some extent. Kaushal who played brilliantly has surely left behind a mark of his own in this tournament.
Pitchers are playing consistent & good cricket in the FPL Tournament after winning a match by a huge margin against the Transformers. Winning the toss & batting first, Pitchers got off to a great start with the help of Rajesh Menon & Ajay Gaikwad. Pitchers lost their opener prashant early but came back with a bang. Rajesh and Ajay both stitched a match winning partnership to take their team to a competitive total.
Right handed Rajesh Menon 44 (32 balls) gave a solid start at the top of the order & provided adequate support to Ajay Gaikwad (81 off 51 balls). It was because of these two batsmen the team managed to reach 175 in 20 overs. Rajesh was particularly confident at the crease & smashed boundaries at will (6 fours).
The transformers were given the onus of chasing at over 8.5 runs per over & it was visible on their body language that it was tough for them to chase. The Pitcher bowlers did a fantastic job as they succeeded in restricting the opposition to just 98 runs. Once again, it was Rajesh Menon who took the responsibility of bowling on his shoulders. Rajesh took 4 crucial wickets which never allowed the opposition to score freely as he was consistently breaking partnerships.
His 4/30 in 4 overs & 32 ball 44 was a brilliant display of all round performance which helped his team to win the match by a huge margin of 77 runs. Rajesh was adjudged “man of the match” & he has certainly become a player to watch out for in the coming matches.
Into the 3rd league match of the Milan Corporate Tournament, Welspun were required to perform well after two losses in the first two matches. After winning the toss, Welspun elected to bowl first since they had a good bowling line up. IB-Tech team were not looking confident against the tight bowling of Welspun. It was quite evident as they managed to score only 108 runs in 20 overs with the last wicket getting run out in the last ball of their innings.
The bowlers did a great job maintaining discipline & not allowing IBTech to settle. Vishal Shinde, Nikhil Kotian & Manish Ambavane took 2 wickets each in their spell of 4 overs. Chasing a target at below 6 runs per over in a T20 match is always a formality. Coming in, Welspun skipper Manish (28 off 15 balls) gave an electrifying start smashing the first ball of the match for a six boosting the morale of his team. They lost a few wickets in between but in came Lucky Singh at 3 down. Lucky who is a hard hitting aggressive batsman played a counter attacking knock for his side scoring 45* off just 25 balls. It was pure entertainment by lucky who smashed 4 fours & 3 sixes in his quick 45. His favorite shot was a six towards the covers against the pace bowler of IBTech.
The cross maidan witnessed an entertaining knock from Lucky who is already a popular name in the cricketing circles. Lucky certainly proved to be lucky for Welspun as they won the match by 5 wickets & more than 5 overs to spare. Lucky who was adjudged “man of the match” for his match winning 45* dedicated his innings to fellow team mate Vijay(who came 2 down) who not only gave him a lot of strike but also gave him support & motivation at the crease. The whole team was relieved after winning the match after 2 losses & will step ahead in the tournament with a lot of confidence.
After winning the toss & electing to bat first, Digital Broadcasting team came in with an intention of making a big target. Things took a roll as it somehow did not go according to their way as Digital Broadcasting Team managed only 125 runs in 20 overs. Though they lost only one wicket but it was because of the un-oppressive batting by the openers & some tight bowling which restricted the opposition to a low total.
Rehman Siddique who is a specialist opener for his side perfectly played the openers role to full sublimity. Their strategy was to play normal cricket & chase the score instead of playing reckless shots. The openers gave a very strong start where in skipper Pravin Singh(41 off 31 balls) was really playing well & smashing boundaries with ease. Rehman was giving more strike to his skipper till the time he was at the crease. It was after Pravin singh’s wicket, siddique decided to stay till the end & chase the target for his team. Rehman Siddique scored a sublime 48* off 56 balls which helped his side win the match by 8 wickets and 2.4 overs to spare. Rehman’s blemish-free knock included two sixes over the bowler’s head which were his personal favorites.
Right handed Siddique kept his calm till the end & was just two runs short of what could have been a well-deserved half century. Siddique’s efforts helped his side win the first match of the Milan T20 Tournament & they will certainly move ahead in the competition with poise & confidence.
Rehman Siddique who was adjudged ‘man of the match’ dedicated this innings to his team & wishes to continue his good form in the coming matches.
17 year old Saurav Nautiyal displayed his fine talent with the bat as well as with the ball against Hyderabad in Nagpur. His coach, Sultan, had advised him to just stick to the crease & not to be worried if the wickets tumble from the other side. Saurav followed his coach’s advice to perfection as he remained unbeaten on 107* till the end of the innings. His knock was a perfect mixture of controlled aggression and practical approach towards batting.
Though he brought up his century in just 82 balls & was unbeaten on 107*(85 balls) never once did he appeared to struggle against any bowlers. Saurav smashed 5 brilliant sixes in his knock of 107 out of which 4 sixes were towards the mid on & mid off & all his boundaries came towards the cover region. It was also exciting to see the battle between the opposition bowler Afridi & Saurav. Afridi had taken a wicket & also bowled a maiden over, he was trying to test Saurav to the hilt. Saurav who is not the one to bog down came with an aggressive reply in his next over where he smashed afridi for 4 consecutive boundaries. The left handed Saurav scored more than 60% of his team’s total of 175 in 30 overs.
It was a great day for Saurav as he also bowled really well. Saurav took 2 wickets for just 25 runs. He was not only economical but also troubled the batsman with his line & length. Saurav also dismissed the opposition captain which was a big wicket. At the age of 17, Saurav is already touching 130 kmph with the ball & it appears to be quite promising. If he manages to keep his fitness levels & form steady on a consistent basis, Saurav can become a genuine fast bowler too apart from being a great batsman in the coming days.
Though his team lost a close match against Hyderabad, but the heroics of this boy caught everyone’s attention.
Final matches are always nail biting & they come with a lot of pressure. Sachivalaya Gymkhana Oval Ground witnessed one such similar encounter between Future Stars and Bhosale Cricket Academy. Both the teams had performed well in the tournament to clash in the finals. Winning the toss, Bhosale Academy put Future stars to bat first with an aim of restricting them to a low target in 10 overs.
However, that was not the case as Future Stars played exceedingly well scoring 110 runs in 10 overs. Major credit must go to the talented right handed batsman Ravi Chaudhary who has been promising & consistent in this tournament. Fresh from a man of the match award in his last match, Ravi carried on from where he left with a refreshing quick fire half century. Opening the innings, Ravi smashed 5 fours & 2 big sixes en-route his glorious knock of 58 which came off just 37 balls. Ravi also got able support from Shivam who scored a 17 ball 23(1 six). Their coach Abdul Ahad wanted aggressive batsman to come up the order & he had shuffled the batting line up a bit which reaped great dividends.
Chasing 112 meant Bhosle Academy were put in a do or die situation. They needed to score at over 11 runs per over & eventually Future Stars got the better of them restricting them to just 52 in 10 overs. The fast bowlers of Future stars bowled well & spinners succeeded in retaining them. They won the tournament & the boys were elated to lift the trophy. Ravi Chaudhary who has been a star performer both with the bat & the ball in this tournament has made his team proud.
Their coach Abdul Ahad who has worked really hard to train the boys & motivate them must be proud of his boys and his team’s success in the tournament.
What’s more, the icing on the cake to finish the tournament on a happy note, Adidas gave 3000/-Rs vouchers to the players of the winning team. The runner-ups also got vouchers ranging from 1 to 2k from Adidas to cheer up the boys.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is ringing the right bells in cricket at such an early age displaying oodles of confidence & unparalleled talent in the Vijay Merchant Under 16 Tournament. Winning the toss & electing to bat first, Mumbai were off to a good start from the openers. Jaiswal who came in at no.4 also played a crucial hand in his 117 ball 57 to take Mumbai to an acceptable total of 234.
Maharashtra were all out for 155 in reply to Mumbai’s 234. Yashaswi bowled his heart out for a superb bowling spell picking up 5 for 54 in 20 overs. Jaiswal was so effective with his leg spin, majority of the batsman were not able to figure out his bowling. It was tough decoding his spin & he helped his side to get a lead of 79 runs. Already with a lead of 79 runs Mumbai were in full confidence in the 2 innings as they again batted well to make 238. Once again left handed Yashasvi scored a match winning knock at the middle order smashing 65 off just 73 balls. Opener Varun Lavande also played well for his 82 but it was Jaiswal’s knock which helped his team cross 200+ or else they would have been bundled out for a low score.
Maharashtra were given a target of 317 & the pressure was quite evident on their faces. Jaiswal again rattled the entire batting line up of Maharashtra & exhibited excellent leg spin scalping 6 wickets for just 86 runs and reducing Maharashtra to just 161 all out in 74.2 overs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal who has time & again shocked the world with his precious talent both with the bat & the ball once again showed what he is capable of & how he holds the ability to single handedly win a match. Young Jaiswal is surely an asset for the sport of cricket & he certainly has a bright future & a long way to go.