It was a cracker of a contest between Dindhoshi Sports Club and ICC on 7th March at Chereshwar Cricket Ground, Mumbai during the DSC Challenge Cup T20 match. Batting first, Dindhoshi posted a formidable 164-6 in their full quota of 20 overs, thanks to opening bat Sanjay Jadhav (46 runs off 37 balls) and no.3 batsman Aman (50 runs off 40 balls). Both these batsmen played well to help their team put up a challenging target. ICC was outstanding in the field as they accounted for four run outs. Balwant Vyas and Naushad picked up one wicket each.
In reply, ICC fought hard and their efforts paid off when they chased down the target in 19.4 overs, winning the nail biting contest match by three wickets. Amol Kangane was terrific with the bat as he amassed 53 runs off just 36 balls, hitting eight boundaries. He remained unbeaten and saw his team home. Opening bat Jayesh Waghmare (43 runs off 30 balls) provided the right kind of start to the run chase. It was a fantastic batting performance from ICC, which made the run chase look so easy. After shinning with the ball, Balwant Vyas contributed useful 18 runs off 17 cherries with the willow. Aman was the pick of the bowlers picking up 2-32 in his four overs.
Balwant Vyas (18 runs and 1-18 in 3 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his all-round efforts.
GEBS had a disappointing outing on 12th March when they faced ICICI Bank during the JD Sports Club Corporate T20 Challenge Cricket Tournament at Young Muslim’s Cricket Ground, Mumbai. Jitendra Deshmukh, who was a player first, then coach and umpire is the man behind this tournament. He has different feathers to his cricketing cap.
Batting first, GEBS was done and dusted for a paltry 58 in 15.2 overs. ICICI was brilliant with the ball, courtesy Abhishek and Kuldeep’s fantastic bowling efforts. Both these players accounted for two scalps each. There was nothing much in GEBS batting, apart from Rohan Chaughule (12) and Bins Neyyoth (10), being the only two to score in double digit.
It was a cake walk chase for ICICI Bank as they won the match comfortably in just 9.3 overs keeping nine wickets in hand. Sankalp Pednekar remained unbeaten on 36 off 25 balls and found able ally in Yatin (18). The openers formed a strong partnership and set the tone of the match. Pednekar was a batting delight as he blistered four boundaries and two sixes in his wonderful innings.
Sankalp Pednekar (36 runs off 25 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his match winning knock.
Sagar Mhasalkar’s excellent innings of 47 runs off 31 cherries was the talk of the Tecnimont – Akersolutions match on 12th March at Shivaji Park, Mumbai during the SP Champions League Inter-Engineering Consultancy T20 Cricket Tournament. Akersolutions put up on board a humble 137-6 in 20 overs, courtesy A. Shaikh’s (45 runs off 29 balls) fantastic batting performance. A. Bhosle shinned with the ball as he grabbed 3-28 in his spell of four overs.
Chasing 138 runs was not a daunting task for the powerful Tecnimont batting line-up. N. Thakur (31 runs off 32 balls) and Sagar Mhasalkar (47 runs off 31 balls) set up a solid platform in the very beginning which made their team dug out comfortable. Mhasalkar played some wonderful cricketing shots and was harsh on the bowlers as he smacked five boundaries and a six in his entertaining innings. Tecnimont chased down the target 17.4 overs, keeping four wickets in hand. C. Chaudhari, N. Shirke and S. Darekar picked up one wicket each.
Sagar Mhasalkar (47 runs off 31 balls) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his match winning efforts.
The two private sector banking giants; Axis Bank and Kotak Bank faced off in the second semi-final of Kurukshetra T20 Cricket Tournament on 13th March in Mumbai. This tournament is organized by Beyond Infinity, a company formed by two brothers, Piyush Rai (COO) and Devashish Rai (CEO), who are passionate about cricket.
Batting first Axis Bank managed to post a modest 106-7 in their full quota of 20 overs. Kiran top scored with an unbeaten knock of 40 runs, but his efforts went in vain as none of the other batsmen could contribute much with the bat. Premal was the pick of the bowlers as he finished off with the figures of 3-25 in four overs.
It was an easy run chase for Kotak as they achieved the target in just 12.4 overs, keeping eight wickets in hand. The openers Nishikant (43) and Rugved (53*) went off to a flyer and helped their team to get to the target comfortably. Both these batsmen batted exceptionally well. Rugved was a treat to watch. He not only accelerated when required but also picked up singles at regular intervals.
Rugved (53 not out off 38 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his fantastic batting efforts. Kotak will face Sodexo in the final of Kurukshetra T20 Cup.
ICICI Bank locked horns against Aditya Birla Financial Services on 6th March in the final match of Woods T20 Mega Corporate Challenge 2016 in Mumbai. Batting first, Aditya Birla posted a humble 108 runs in their full quota of 20 overs. Apart from the opening batsman Aditya (47 runs off 52 balls), none of the other batsman looked in shape to play a big knock. Towards the end Ali played a solid cameo scoring 30 off just 22 deliveries and helped his team go past the 100-run mark. Ajay and Anant shined with the ball as they picked up three wickets apiece.
Chasing 109 runs in the final was like a dream come true for ICICI Bank. Though they didn’t get off to the best of starts, Anant (34*) and Harshad (44*) ensured that there were no further hiccups after they lost lost opener Sankalp (17) early in the innings. Anant and Harshad played well-together, and were a treat to watch. They not only hit boundaries but also picked up singles to keep the scoreboard ticking. In the end, ICICI registered a comprehensive victory by eight wickets as they chased down the target in 18.2 overs.
Anant (34 not out and 3-10 in 4 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his match winning all-round performance. He also won the Best Batsman award. Denil Sawla was announced as the Best Bowler of Plate Group.
In India, there are three things that are most talked about; Politics, Bollywood and ofcourse Cricket. Cricket is not just the game but a life line of millions of people in the country. If you want to narrow it down to a single city, let us take the economic capital of India, Mumbai, you will feel that it is cricket and not blood that is flowing through the body of the Mumbaikars.
JITO Mumbai Premier League (JMPL), is the brainchild of Prithviraj Kothari, who has come up with this brilliant idea. The main aim of this unique but extremely exciting concept is that Mr.Kothari wants to bring the Jain community in Mumbai together. A sense of unity and brotherhood is guaranteed when you play a team sport. It is a well-organized tournament commencing from 27th March 2016. The Jain community across the city has reciprocated with tremendous participation. The selection of teams was a formal process as there were net sessions conducted to test the cricketing abilities of the participants. The selection was done across three days; first day all the interested participants underwent the selection trials, second day just the top 30 were tested and the third day the final 16 were declared. There are about 150 players playing the tournament, who are divided into 8 teams from 10 different chapters. The matches will be played on Wilson Gymkhana Cricket ground. This is not it.
As Jain community is known to produce great businessmen, conducting a tournament without cash prizes is probably unacceptable. Mr.Kothari has left no stone unturned as he has announced attractive rewards for the winning team, Man of the Match and Man of the Series. A whooping sum of Rs.7lakhs will be distributed as cash prizes, which includes Rs.5lakhs to the winning team and Rs.1lakh each to the Man of the Match and Man of the Series.
Though we have the likes of IPL coming up in the next month where we see cricketers from all-round the globe descend to this cricket crazy nation, but something like JITO Mumbai Premier League, which will bring people from the same community together perhaps will garner more attention of the Mumbaikars and It would be exciting to see if this initiative produces a cricketer from a business community, who can go on to represent one of the IPL or the national team itself.
Cricketgraph.com team wishes all the very best to the entire JITO team.
Omkar Maldikar was the hero for Omni Marines when his team locked horns against Syntel in the final of Shiraz-e-Hind 40-over cricket tournament on 12th March in Mumbai. Batting first, Omni Marines posted a challenging 210 in 39.5 overs as they were all out just inside 40 overs. Coming in at no.3, Omkar looked in sublime touch as he scored a patient 49 off 52 balls. He played the anchor and lasted till the end. Maldikar’s strokeplay was a treat to watch. Akash Dhumal contributed 34 runs with the willow and gave good company to Omkar in the middle. Siddhesh Parkar was the pick of the bowlers as he finished off with 4-52 in eight overs.
In reply, it was an ordinary batting performance from World Sports as they were done and dusted for a mere114 in 26.4 overs. They lost the game by a massive 96 runs, handing a comprehensive win to Omni Marines. Omkar Maldikar and Yash Jadhav were the wreckers-in-chief as they rattled the World Sports batting by grabbing four wickets apiece. They bowled well in tandem and did not allow World Sports to inch closer to the target. Opening bat Amol Gandhe top scored with 25 runs.
Omkar Maldikar (49 not out and 4-31 in 7 overs) was deservingly awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his outstanding all-round performance.
Riding on Fahim Qureshi’s splendid innings of 42 runs off 35 balls, Global Connect posted a daunting 195-7 in 20 overs. Fahim found an able ally in his opening partner Prakash Lad who contributed a quickfire 36 off 21 cherries. Both these batsmen provided solid start to Global Connect and laid the foundation for the batsmen to follow. Qureshi was a treat to watch as he played some good-looking shots in his entertaining innings. Towards the end, Saurabh played a cameo scoring 23 runs off 7 balls and helped his team go past the 190-run mark. Hardik and Sarang shined with the ball as they picked up couple of wickets apiece.
In response, Marcura played well for their 153-9, but fell short of 42 runs. After shinning with the ball, middle order bat Sarang top scored with 40 runs at a strike rate of close to 200. He attacked right from the start and dominated the Global Connect bowlers. Vishal Singh was the pick f the bowlers as he grabbed 3-21 in his four overs, and received good support from Sachin and Prashant who had two wickets to their name.
Fahim Qureshi (42 runs off 35 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his match winning efforts.
Capgemini posted a mammoth 174-8 in 20 overs against Orange on 6th March during the Milan Mega Corporate T20 Cricket Tournament match at Cross Maidan, Mumbai. Opening bat Jitendra Panchal top scored with 46 runs off 35 balls and found able allies in middle order in the form of Aditya Mhatre (35 runs off 30 balls) and Grijesh Singh (36 runs off 19 balls). Grijesh Singh turned the match around with his blistering knock which included four boundaries and a six. He was a treat to watch. It was a wonderful batting performance from Capgemini. Orange bowlers bowled their hearts out but were outdone by Capgemini batsmen. Akash Gupta, Nitin Deshmukh, Rishi Mapara and Pramod Harish picked up couple of wickets apiece.
In reply, Orange was restricted to 146-3 in 20 overs, thus falling short of 28 runs. The openers Shreyas Rao (54 not out off 49 balls) and Nishant Kashikar (20 runs off 22 balls) provided a solid start to Orange, but could not take their team home. It was more of a cautious batting effort than an aggressive performance. Though they had seven wickets in hand, Orange team could not fire to achieve the target. Capgemini bowlers did a wonderful job to restrict Orange to win the match by 28 runs.
Grijesh Singh (36 runs off 19 balls) was declared as the Man of the Match for his quickfire cameo.
Opening bat Murtaza top scored for Liberty Videocon with 45 runs off 60 deliveries against Sulzar Pharma on 5th March in Mumbai during the Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. Videocon put up a decent total of 139-5 in 20 overs. Rohan (18) and Abhay (32) also played well to take their team past the 130-run mark. Toward the end of the innings, Rahul hit a six and a four but was out for 10 off 4 balls. Ashish was the pick of the bowlers picking up 2-11 in his two overs.
Sulzar Pharma played well for their 127, but was bundled out in 18.4 overs, thus falling short of mere 12 runs. Opening the innings, Jignesh was exceptional with the bat as he amassed 84 runs off 51 cherries. He remained the lone fighter as none of the other batsmen could capitalize on the solid start provided by Jignesh. His efforts went in vain as his team lost the game. Rahul and Amol were brilliant with the ball, picking up three wickets apiece. They bowled well in tandem and ensured that their team defended the target.
Rahul was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his fantastic all-round performance.