MIG CC batting first on their homeground did lose a few quick wickets in between but it was their skipper and opener Kevin Almeida stamping a strong presence with a knock of 140 runs. Playing his natural game, the left hander scored 140 off mere 135 balls laced with 22 fours and 4 sixes while the rest of the batters batted around him with cameos as MIG reached a total of 295 runs in 60.5 overs. From the Parsee Gymkhana bowlers, Shivam Malhotra and Aditya Dhumal bagged 3 wkts each.
Parsee Gymkhana who boast of an equally strong batting line up found it difficult to get going thanks to fiery spell by Nikhil Date who came up with excellent bowling spell of 6/54 in 16.5 overs (3 maidens). Date alongwith Harsh Tanna ran through Parsee Gymkhana’s top order while Date’s onslaught continued till Parsee Gymkhana were all out for a low total of 148 runs.
Result-MIG Club won by 147 runs
TIMES SHIELD 2019-20 – F DIVISON: Abhyudaya bank VS LIC, date- 1st Feb 2020,Venue- M.B. Union, LIC won the toss and elected to BAT first. The pitch was wet and suitable for the bowlers.
Each of the openers scored 20 each and no.4 batsman Atul Kerkar played a vital innings of 47 runs, he laid a good base and also built partnerships with the middle and lower middle order batsmen here and there. In the lower order, Prashant Bhabal and Abhijit Durafe played brilliantly and stuffed up the score to a decent climb. Durafe scored 38 and Bhabal scored 37 and remained not out. With a combined effort, they reached a total of 227 in 43 overs losing 7 wickets. Abhyudaya bank’spacer Prashant. Kuperkar picked up an impressive figure of 3 for 30 in 9 overs. He was very lethal and extremely economical.Medium pacer Atul Rane also picked up 2 wickets in 6 overs.
Abhyudaya bank lost the first wicket in the very first over then, opener Akshay Pujari had a brief partnership with Pradeep Kachan who scored 23 runs. Pradeep had a small partnership with Sanjay Raut in the middle. Sanjay scored a brilliant 72 and Pujare scored a commendable 40 in the top. The Sanjay-Rajesh partnership was the game changer, it was more than 100 runs and it sealed the match for them. Sanjay played aggressively in the initial period but later played sensible due to the loss of wickets in the middle. To complete the job, Rajesh Vichare scored 60 runs in the middle and fetched the win for the team. They chased down the score in 34.3 overs.
Result- Abhyudaya won the match by 6 wickets.
25TH JANUARY 2020 IN MUMBAI, JOLLY FRIENDS SPORTS SHIVAJI PARK PREMIER LEAGUE 2019-20 : The match between Arero Rocks and SS Travels was played at Dadar Union cricket club, Matunga on 25th January 2020. SS travels won the toss and elected to BAT first. The pitch was akin a medium turner.
SST had a wonderful start and were 65 for 1 at 6.5 overs. Rohit Shirgaonkar scored 26 runs off 20 balls. Opener Rahul Gavit scored a impressive 53 runs off 39 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Amogh Bodas also scored 35 off 35 balls. With continuous and comprehensive endeavors of all the batsmen, they scored a total of 175 runs in 20 overs losing 4 wickets. ARERO bowlers’ star performer was off spinner Rutvik Rajpara who picked up 3 wickets foe 31 runs in 4 overs.
ARERO were off to a flying start with a opening of 82 runs in 6 overs. Manan Zatakia palyed with a comprehensive outlook and scored a gritty 69 runs off 39 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes. He laid a base for a formidable chase and ultimately it did pay off. Jigar Soni played the hand of the second fiddle and gave the maximum strike to Manan. He scored 21 runs off 20 overs. After the dismal of the openers, the team looked to be in a slump due to loss of quick wickets and low scorers. They lost 8 wickets in the course of 73 runs. Ultimately, Krish Trivedi scored 16 off 14 balls at the end to clutch the win at the end moments and the match was dramatically won in the penultimate ball of the match by hitting a boundary. SST’s Ranjit Patki bowled an incredible spell of 6 for 31 runs in 4 overs. Despite his brave efforts, the team fell short of the win.
RESULT- ARERO won by 2 wickets.
Manan Zatatkia was awarded the MAN OF THE MATCH.
Click here for Arero Rocks VS SST Travels Match Scorecard ….
Dadar Union Sporting Club opting to bat first posted a total of 296 runs in 69.1 overs and more than half of the runs were scored by the talented Siddarth Akre. Opener Sagar Chabbaria with 75 runs and no.4 batsman Siddarth Akre stitched a massive partnership to take their team towards a strong position. Akre on the other hand went on to score a fluent 153 off 156 balls laced with 9 fours and 12 sixes. Yes you heard that right! Siddarth took on the bowlers with absolute ease displaying his stroking cavalery despite losing wickets from the other end.
Regal CC on the other hand were cleaned up for 65 runs thanks to a tearaway spell by fast bowler Siddarth Raut who came up with exceptional bowling figures of 7/32 in 8.4 overs. Raut who is eager to make a comeback into higher levels of cricket has made a strong case for himself with such match winning spell which helped his team Dadar Union win the game by a massive margin of 231 runs.
Played between DMCC and DTDC at the scenic BKC Ground, DTDC after being put to bat first were all out for 187 runs in 44.2 overs. Rakesh Naik at the middle order top scored with 45 runs while Siddhesh at no.3 scored 34 runs. From DMCC, Prathamesh and Asjad bagged 2 wkts each while the rest of the bowlers also did a fairly decent job.
DMCC in reply chased down the score in 40.4 overs winning the match by 6 wkts. Opener Lalit S (44) and no.3 batsman Vaibhav Patil (65*) laid the foundation for a successful chase while Vaibhav was well supported by Rahul C who remained unbeaten on 31*as DMCC crossed the victory line winning the finals of the D Div Times Shield and emerging as the Champions.
Into the all important finals between WNS Global Services and Mumbai Fire Brigade at the Dadaji Konddev Stadium Thane. Mumbai Fire Brigade after opting to bat first posted a more than decent total of 225/7 in 35 overs. Opener Sandesh Paralkar (54) and no.5 batsman Milind Arekar (52) top scored for MCGM while experienced spinner Ketan Kharat with 3/51 in 7 overs was the pick of the lot.
Chasing 226, WNS Global chased it down in just 32.4 overs winning the finals by 7 wkts. After a brilliant opening start with Aditya Nikam scoring a whirlwind 58 ball 80 (10 fours, 2 sixes), the positive momentum was further carried on by Shardul Bhave (52*) and Ashutosh Ghagre (32*) who sealed off the chase in style.
Aditya Nikam for his consistent batting certainly emerged out as the star of the tournament while Ketan Kharat and Kiran Desai with 7 wkts each were the highest wicket takers. With the bat, Aditya Nikam and Dnyansagar Patil were the highest scorers while the entire troop performed well under the captaincy of Kiran Desai.
Arch Mavericks opting to bat first at Chereshwar Club, Trombay posted a total of 167/8 in 20 overs. Well amidst that healthy total were quite some ups and down but they eventually stood themselves up in no time. After a decent opening start, Arch Mavericks did lose a few quick wickets at the middle order with half of the team back to pavilion with just 80 runs on the board. However, Nikhil Jain at no.7 changed the course of the game as he went on to score a blazing 54 off just 32 balls (6 fours, 1 six) as he batted almost till the very end getting dismissed on the 2nd last ball of the innings taking his team’s total from 80/5 to 167/8 in 20 overs.
RIAMS XI at one stage looked good with Sarosh Mishra and Sajid Shaikh smashing some hard hitting shots but it was Shamal Palod’s wicket on the very 1st ball and a spell of 3/27 in 4 overs which proved to be the turning point in the game. Apart from him, Vimal Hansraj (2/16 in 4 overs) & Sunil Jadhav (2/4 in 1 over)also chipped in with timely wickets restricting RIAMS XI to 90 runs all out in 14.3 overs.
Result- Arch Mavericks won by 77 runs, Nikhil Jain declared man of the match
Nikhil Jain speaking with Cricketgraph shared “ The wicket was damp initially and we were aiming to first bat out the initial 6-8 overs till it becomes dry. After a good opening start, we lost quick wickets in the middle, also Vimal Hansraj’s run out was quite a dent to our innings. As we always say when runs are flowing and batsman is going good, the only thing through which you can shake the team is with a run out and Vimal’s wicket was quite an ideal example” From the bowlers, Shamal took a wicket on the very 1st ball which created a positive momentum, Sarosh and Sajid were hitting the ball very hard but our bowlers did a fantastic job as we restricted RIAMS XI to just 90 runs all out”
Played at the Chereshwar Club, Trombay, Royal Falcons opting to bat first posted a total of just 100/8 in 20 overs which in most of the cases is difficult to defend. Royal Falcons at one stage were not looking good even for a 3 digit total but it was Prasad Roge (32) and Harsh Visaria (25*) down the order stitching 59 runs for the 8th wicket. From SSA Strikers, Dasrath Redij and Gaurav Koli bagged 3 wkts each.
Royal Falcons who have been one of the strong teams this season ensured that they did not gave up looking at their low total. The bowlers did a fab job restricting SSA Strikers to mere 76 runs all out in 16 overs. Nitesh Pradhan was the star bowler coming up with a crucial spell of 4/15 in 4 overs coupled with a maiden while Paresh Ghanekar with 3/15 in 4 overs was equally effective.
Result-Royal Falcons won the match by 24 runs, Nitesh Pradhan declared ‘Man of the Match”
Played at Worli Sports Club Ground, Islam Gymkhana team opting to bat first posted a handsome total of 348/9 in 70 overs. Abdulaziz opening the innings went on to score a brilliant 160 off 156 balls laced with 20 fours and 6 sixes. Abdul in the initial phases provided consolidation with partnership with Mihir Agarwal and Hashir Dafedar while he accelerated gears at the right time for Islam Gymkhana. The turning point in the match would certainly be the 170 run partnership he had with Hashir Dafedar (60 off 75) as Islam Gymkhana were in a commanding position. No.10 bowler of Islam Gymkhana, Danish Rainey down the order scored his career best score of 41*
From the bowlers, off spinner Sumedh Tare with 4/31 in 9 overs was the pick of the lot.
Speaking with Cricketgraph- Abdulaziz Syed who has made a comeback to Cricket post 2 yrs hiatus said “The wicket was certainly not the easiest to bat on, there was movement on the wicket and the ball was moving, initially the 1st 10 overs, after we lost an early wicket, I just tried to dodge the 1st 10 overs with a good stand with Mihir. Later on, Hashir gave excellent support as we stitched a 170 run stand for the 3rd wicket. Once we got settled and I got my eye in, i started to dominate the bowlers as I went on to score a good knock for my team without any lives”
Worli Sports Club in reply were all out for 230 runs in 65.5 overs thanks to their left arm spinner Harsh Mishra who came up with excellent spell of 5/61 in 19.5 overs. Harsh was simply spot on providing his team with wickets at regular intervals while fast bowler Danish Rainey (2 wkts) also bowled well as Islam Gymkhana won the match by 118 runs.
ICICI Sports Club winnings the toss invited Ajanta Pharma to bat first at Bharat CC, Shivaji Park.. Ajanta’s openers Omkar Rilkar & Ganesh Kadam gave a steady start of 42 runs in 9.3 overs. Ganesh got bowled to Aniket KS on 22 (28). Prashant Prindavankar walked in at No. 3. Prashant & Omkar carried the game nicely ahead till 95 runs. Partnership of 53 runs between Omkar & Prashant helped Ajanta to build up a strong base. Prashant 27 (41) got leg before to Nikhil S and then skipper of Ajanta Hanumant Matkar walked in & join with Omkar Rilkar in the situation of 95 for 2 in 20.5 overs.
Omkar & Hanumant moved ahead confidently with plenty of 1’s & 2’s. Both of them set a tremendous fitness example to the team & put an Ajanta’s total on 179 for 3 in 35.3 overs. Omkar 67 (103) was leg before to Aniket KS. Dhaval Panchal the next batter joins with skipper. Both, most experienced players of Ajanta Pharma and have played professional cricket in the past and playing currently as well.
It was a perfect time for Dhaval to walk in and accelerate the inning & he did it quite well. Dhaval scored quick 36 runs in 22 balls along with 4 hard hitting boundaries. Hanumant & Dhaval jointly made a partnership of 47 runs in just 4.3 overs and pushed Ajanta to 226 runs in 40.3 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Ajanta’s hard hitters Jayesh Mhatre & Krishna Humane tried their best to raise the decent total on the board.
Skipper Hanumant Matkar’s knock was remarkable as he remained unbeaten scoring 80* in 57 balls with classic copy book 7 boundaries helping Ajanta to put a final total of 257 runs in 45 overs. Aniket KS of ICICI SC bowled tight 9 overs (9-1-33-2)
Nilesh Singh & Vishal Pawar gave a solid start for ICICI which set up a positive momentum. Nilesh hammered 6 boundaries in his 38 (54) while both the batters stitched a 51 run stand in 12.3 overs not before Akshay Amibke cleared the way for Vishal Singh by taking his wicket with a leg before. In the same over Nilesh got bowled by Akshay in what was a quick arm ball.
Akshay Ambike, Prashant Prindavankar & Krishna Humane bowled very tight line and restrict ICICI SC on 144/10 in 37.5 overs. There was a brilliant catch by Krishna Humane at long on. Krishna bowled nicely (7-1-28-0). Prashant Prindavankawhor’s spell also was awesome (9-0-39-2). Star of Ajanta was certainly Akshay Ambike put ICICI on backfoot by his outstanding spell (9-1-23-4).
Words from skipper of Ajanta Pharma Hanumant Matkar:
We had planned before the match day that we are going to play on our strength. On match day, only one thing I told to my team that we are working hard and we don’t want to returned empty hands. After losing the toss, ICICI Bank invites us to bat first, which was part of our plan. As we have played many matches on Bharat C.C, we all knew that how good is the wicket to bat on. According to plan we were focusing on singles and doubles and put bad balls to boundary line. Our batters did a great job and we had scored a big total of 258 runs on the board.
We have good bowling options and they bowled very good spell when it was required. I must say we have good batting and bowling combinations and they are doing their best job. I have set a tag line for times shield (guys chodna nahi) hope we will continue to do our best on big day i.e the finals.