VFCL locked horns against Highflyers in the final match of Friends Premier League (FPL) on 6th March at Yashwant Nagar ground, Mumbai. FPL was a grand success and lasted for over three months, starting from November 2015. Bhadresh Gandhi, the chairman of the tournament played a pivotal role in making this tournament a big hit.
Batting first, Highflyers had a disappointing outing as they were bundled out for a paltry 123 in 19.5 overs. Suraj and Pratik were exceptional as they rattled the Highflyers batting line up by picking up three wickets apiece. Suraj shined as he gave away just 21 runs in his four overs getting rid of three batsmen. He was accurate and consistent with his line and length. Chirag also chipped in with a couple of wickets.
Chasing 124 runs of a final would have been tricky but VFCL played some matured cricket to clinch the FPL championship. Mitul (27) and Aman (33*) stitched a solid 32-run opening partnership and helped the other batsmen to capitalize on this powerful start. Arsalam top scored with 37 runs, with Praful contributing an unbeaten 16 with the willow.
It was a comprehensive win for the VFCL as they achieved the target in just 15.2 overs, keeping eight wickets in hand. Suraj Singh was declared as the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling efforts.
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When you talk about Jitendra Deshmukh, you wonder is it blood or cricket that is running through his body. From being a player to an umpire to a coach to a tournament organizer, Deshmukh has come a long way. This shows that Jitendra’s cricketing cap has not just one but multiple feathers. Currently he is in the MCA Umpire Panel and a pivotal part of JD Sports. Under the aegis of JD Sports, Jitendra organized a corporate level cricket tournament JD Sports Club Corporate Level T20 Cricket Tournament Mumbai. The tournament was played in January 2016 and was a grand success. Corporate giants like Lupin Pharma and ICICI Bank were also a part of the tournament.
When he was player, he played Kanga League and was the captain of Young Zorastrian team. Jitendra has also cleared coaching exams last June and acts as a full-fledged coach today. He has also started two academies at Kamothe, Mumbai from 1st Jan 2016. This is not done yet. He started umpiring from 1990 and it is over 20 years he has been standing as an umpire for various cricket matches.
The coming June seems to be a big event, as there is a London tour coming up for the young and budding cricketers. The tour is organized in the name of Youth Star Cricket Club. A fees of Rs.1,60,000 includes playing eight matches, accommodation, air fare, food, transportation , certificates and the best player contract in London. Many cricketers are eyeing this opportunity. Foreign exposure to the upcoming talent is a great boost to the game.
Jitendra Deshmukh has experienced and lived different facets of cricket and is undoubtedly a genuine ‘All-Rounder’.
Amit Kanitkar had a wonderful day at office as he led his team Reliance to a thrilling win against Petrofac on 28th Feb in Mumbai during the SP Champions League Inter-Engineering Consultancy T20 Cricket Tournament. Batting first, Reliance posted a challenging 144-8 in 20 overs, thanks to vital contributions from Amit Kanitkar (29) and Arun Gupta (28) with the willow. Both these batsmen built a strong partnership and were responsible for taking the team total to 144. Aashish was the pick of the bowlers for Petrofac as he picked up 3-29 in his four overs.
Opening bat Gaurav provided a good start to Petrofac, scoring 29 runs off 32 balls and received good support from the middle order batsmen Rohit (21) and Ranjeeth (27). Petrofac played well, but fell short of mere four runs as their innings was wrapped up at 141-8 in 20 overs. Amit Kanitkar could not be kept out of the game as he rolled his arm over to grab 3-33 in his four overs.
For his brilliant all-round performance, Amit Kanitkar (29 runs and 3-33 in 4 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match.
Saurav Gaur’s blitzkrieg against Notorious was instrumental in achieving a thumping win for WCE on 27th Feb at Smashtrees Ground, Noida, during the 5th Corporate Cricket League match. Batting first, Notorious posted 127-8 in 16 overs. WCE bowlers bowled well to restrict Notorious to a humble score.
In reply, it was just too easy for WCE as they finished the game in style in just 11.2 overs, keeping nine wickets in hand. Opening the batting for WCE, Saurav Gaur was aggressive in his intent and smashed the Notorious bowlers all-round the park. He set the momentum for his team and saw his team home well inside 20 overs. Gaur scored a wonderful 63 off just 33 balls striking at a rate of over 200. His batting was indeed a splendid spectacle.
Saurav Gaur (67 not out off 33 balls) was awarded with the Man of the Match prize for his batting brilliance.
Dinesh Dait was the star performer of the day as he helped his team Mott MacDonald beat NPCC on 27th Feb at Kamat Ground, Mumbai during the SP Champions League Inter-Engineering Consultancy T20 Cricket Tournament. Batting first, Mott MacDonald posted a decent 129-6 in 20 overs, courtesy couple of good knocks in the middle order from Sachin Dalvi (31) and Anil Nagap (28). Sandeep Patharia and Arpit Jain were the pick of the bowlers as they accounted for two scalps each.
NPCC did not get off to the best of starts as they lost wickets at regular intervals. They were restricted to 93-9 in 20 overs, falling short of 36 runs. Dinesh Dait was spectacular with the ball as he finished off with envious figures of 4-17 in his four overs. He was a treat to watch and was filled with confidence. Dinesh had his tail up after every wicket and had the fire in his belly to pick up more and more wickets. Sachin Dalvi was the other bowler who chipped in with couple of wickets.
Dinesh Dait (4-17 in 4 overs), who led Mott MacDonald to victory was declared as the Man of the Match.
CGI put on board a daunting 161-7 in 20 overs against Shoppers Stop on 27th Feb at M.B. Union, Mumbai during the Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. Coming in at no.3, southpaw Kunal played well for his 36 runs and received good support from Atul who contributed 31 runs. Sujit was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 2-23 in his three overs. Opening bat Alap provided a steady start to CGI as he made 22 runs off 20 balls.
In reply, Shoppers Stop was bundled out for 120 in 20 overs, falling short of 41 runs. Alap and Rohit bowled well in tandem and accounted for three scalps apiece. After shinning with the willow, Alap rolled his arm over to pick up 3-19 in his three overs. He had an amazing outing as he starred with both, bat and ball.
Undoubtedly Alap (22 runs and 3-19 in 3 overs) was honoured with the Man of the match prize for his match winning all-round performance.
Amey Kadu of Jacobs was simply spectacular with the bat as he played a magnificent innings of 58 runs off 54 balls against BG India during the SP Champions League Inter Engineering Consultancy T20 Cricket Tournament in Mumbai. Jacobs posted a formidable 154-3 in 20 overs. Amey was exceptional with the bat as he played some good cricketing shots coupled with solid defensive technique. He was a treat to watch. Unfortunately he was retired hurt when he was looking to play a big knock. Kadu found able allies in Dharmendra Desai (37) and Vinayak Salvi (31), who chipped in as well.
BG India got off to a disappointing start as both the openers Vaibhav Upadhyay and Samir Thakkar were back in the hut without troubling the scorers. Gaurav Shitole was the top scorer with 20 runs. BG India was done and dusted for a paltry 78 in 17.2 overs, thus losing the match by a huge margin of 76 runs. Rushabh Vora, Vikrant Chavan, Rakesh Khandare and Prashant shined with the ball as they picked up couple of wickets apiece.
Amey Kadu (58 runs off 54 balls) was bestowed with the Man of the Match award for his wonderful batting performance.
Yes Bank faced Walt Disney on 27th Feb at National Cricket Club, Mumbai during the Plate Group semi-final of Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament. Batting first, Yes Bank was bundled out for a modest 108 in 17.1 overs, thanks to some brilliant bowling by Lijo Williams. Lijo finished off with envious figures of 5-23 in 3.1 overs. His five wicket haul was the standout performance of the day. He was disciplined in his line and length and rattled the Yes Bank batting order. Ritesh top scored with 42 runs, but his efforts went in vain as none of the other batsmen could contribute much with the willow.
What was supposed to be an easy run chase turned to be a nail biting finish. Walt Disney chased down the target in 19.5 overs, keeping just the one wicket in hand. Siddharth (29) and Shubendu (28*) saw their team home as there was a sudden batting collapse. Vaibhav was the wrecker-in-chief as he accounted for 4-17 in his four overs. He asked several questions to which they had no answers. It was a cracker of a contest and Walt Disney was fortunate to get the better off it as they make their way to the Plate Group finals of Dreamz T20 Cricket Tournament.
Lijo Williams (5-23 in 3.1 overs) was declared as the Man of the Match for his fantastic bowling display.
Payyade Sports Club posted a formidable total of 428-4 in 70 overs against Islam Gymkhana at New Hind Matunga, Mumbai, during the Young Comrade Shield match on 27th and 28th Feb. The star performer of the game was the India U-19 player Sarfaraz Khan who scored a magnificent double century. He was aggressive and went hard on the Islam Gymkhana bowlers. Fresh from his U-19 World Cup success, Sarfaraz made the most of the opportunity as he made a mammoth 228 runs off 162 balls, hitting 26 boundaries and seven sixes. His innings lasted for 199 minutes which was a perfect blend of rock solid defence and attacking stroke-play. Tanmay Mishra also chipped in with 88 runs off 129 balls (4’s: 9). Hitesh Kadam was the pick of the bowlers as he finished off with the figures of 3-151 in 27 overs, including three maiden overs.
In response, Islam Gymkhana was bundled out for 225 runs in 56.2 overs, courtesy Minad Manjrekar’s five wicket haul. Minad was outstanding with the ball and left the batsmen clueless. He ran through the Islam Gymkhana batting line up and rattled them in no time. He had an envious bowling statistic of 13.2 overs 55 runs and 5 wickets. Abdul Aziz top scored with 84 runs off 150 balls, but failed to take his team home. Sarfaraz was not yet done for the match as he rolled his arm over to pick up 3-41 in his eight overs. Payyade Sports Club was too good for Islam Gymkhana, winning the match by a huge margin of 203 runs.
Highflyers took on TC Challengers in the second semi-final of Friends Premier League (FPL) on 28th Feb at Yashwant Nagar ground, Mumbai. Batting first, Highflyers posted a challenging 152-7 in 20 overs. Coming in to bat at no. 3, Niranjan remained unbeaten on 30 off 24 balls, hitting two boundaries. He found able allies in openers Jigar (25) and Vasant (29). Ganesh Patil was the pick of the bowlers as he grabbed 4-18 in his three overs.
In reply, TC Challengers played well, but fell short of mere four runs as they were restricted to 148-8 in 20 overs. Pramod top scored with 26 runs but failed to take his team through. Rajeev Ranjan was the wrecker in chief as he rattled the TC Challengers’ batting line up accounting for 4-11 in his four overs. He was right on the money throughout the spell and left the batsman clueless. His consistency and accuracy was rewarded as his team made it to the Final of FPL.
Rajeev Ranjan (4-11 in 4 overs) was honoured with the Man of the Match prize for his match winning bowling performance. Highflyers has made it to the final of FPL.
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