Maharashtra Cricket Academy after opting to bat first registered a total of 177 runs in 30 overs. Gafoor Shaikh top scored the innings with an impressive 85 runs while Ankit Mishra (30) and Prashant (35) chipped in with cameos. From the bowlers, Manoj Mahtra proved to be too difficult to decode for MCA batsman as he came up with envious bowling figures of 5/20 in 6 overs being the pick of the bowlers. Gopal sir with 3/30 in 6 overs was the 2nd best of the lot.
Chasing 178, GMCC chased down the score successfully and won the match by 3 wkts. Zain Arab (65) and Zahir Khan (42) laid the foundation for the chase while all-rounders Gopal (30) and Manoj M (30) came up with crucial cameos to steer their team to a finals win. Even though his team ended on the losing side, Ankit Mishra bowled a stunning spell coming up with bowling figures of 6/18 in 6 overs with a maiden.



The under 14 Total Cup is one of the great opportunities provided by the MCA for the Under 14 Cricketers to showcase their skills to the hilt. Let’s take a look at some of the boys who topped the charts in the latest edition of the tournament which ended on 24th May 2019.
Top 3 Run-getters in the tournament-
- Tushar Singh (Sunil Gavaskar XI)-369 runs @123.00 in 4 innings
- Shree Chaudhary (Vidarbha CA XI)-241 runs @80.00 in 4 innings
- Prateek Yadav (Sunil Gavaskar XI)-200 runs @66.00 in 4 innings
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Top 3 Wicket-takers in the tournament-
- Nishit Balla (Sunil Gavaskar XI)-16 wkts in 4 innings @5.00 & econ of 1.35
- Ravi Gupta (Dilip Vengsarkar XI)-9 wkts in 3 innings @14.00 & econ of 3.41
- Pallav Dandekar (Dilip Vengsarkar XI)-8 wkts in 4 innings @15.00 & econ of 2.31
On 9th June , the final of the Pulse Corporate Pink Ball tournament was played at the Sydenham college cricket ground , Oval Maidan. Netmagic IT and RBL Bank were the two teams going head to head for the final. Netmagic IT had won 4 games to reach the final.
RBL won the toss and decided to bowl first on a green , pace friendly wicket. The Netmagic IT captain , Dattaram Param opened the innings and was brilliant ! The right handed batsman scored 57 runs from 47 balls. He was well supported by Ritesh Punyarthi , who carried his form from the semi final win , where he scored 31. Ritesh scored an unbeaten 29 to take the team to 150/8 at the end of 20 overs. For RBL Bank , Avdhoot Chavan was the best bowler as he took 3/36, while Aditya Mandhare bowled an economical spell of 2/15.
Chasing 151 to win , the RBL Bank batsman never got going. Aditya Mandhare scored 15 and Ramesh Remo scored 19 as all the other batsman failed to get a start. RBL Bank were all out for 83 as they suffered a 67 runs loss in the final. Shashank Perru the right arm pacer took 2/17 while Ritesh Punyarthi , the right arm chinaman , took 2/15.


Dattaram Parab was the Man of the Match for his captains knock . Aditya Mandhare was the Man of the Tournament for his 165 runs and 6 wickets.


Click here for RBL Bank Team VS Netmagic IT Final Match Scorecard ….
The Under 23 Summer Camp tournament was conducted for women cricketers by MCA and it certainly proved to be a productive platform for hundreds of aspiring women cricketers coming from different corners of the city. Let’s take a look at the top performers-
Top Scorers-
- Esha Oza (RHB, from SRT Center)- 139 runs @46.33 & strike rate of 97.89
- Simran Mhatre (RHB from BKC Center)- 110 runs @36.67 & strike rate of 72.85
- Kajal Upadhyay (RHB from Police Gymkhana)-73 runs in 3 innings @ 24.33 & strike rate of 53.68
Top Wicket-Takers-
- Vidhi Mathuria (SLA from Thane Center)-9 wkts in 3 innings @6.00 & econ of 3.44
- Reshma Nayak (RAM from BKC Center)- 7 wkts in 3 innings @6.00 & econ of 2.20
- Esha Oza (OB from SRT Center)-6 wkts in 3 innings @5.00 & econ of 2.19
Inbox Woods is one of the biggest corporate tournaments in Mumbai which witnesses the highest number of participating teams and exciting performances. Let’s take a look at the players who topped the charts.
Highest Run-Getters-
- Shiv Narayan (Golden Horses Team)-349 runs in 8 innings @49.86 & Strike rate of 167.79, Best Score-93 with 3 fifties
- Imran Querishi (Friends XI)-332 runs in 8 innings @47.43 & Strike rate of 172.02, Best Score-92 with 3 fifties
- Rohit Sawardekar Incubate Sports)-294 runs in 8 innings @42.00 & Strike rate of 135.48. Best Score-96 with 3 fifties
Top Wicket-Takers
- Muzammil Shah- 14 wkts in 9 matches @11.57, econ of 7.71 & best bowling figures of 4/25
- Shaban Shaikh-13 wkts in 7 matches @9.77, econ of 6.20 & best bowling figures of 4/17
- Vijay Poojari- 13 wkts in 9 matches @15.38, econ of 5.88 & best bowling figures of 4/14
The final of the Milan Memorial League T40-40 was played at the Sunder C.C , Cross Maidan on 8th June 2019. Ajanta Pharma and TCS were the 2 teams in the final.
TCS won the toss and decided to bat first. TCS could only manage to score 149 runs but on a dry wicket that was a fighting score. Jayram top scored with 39 runs of 26 balls and Vinayak scored 27 of 26 balls. For Ajanta Pharma , Gitesh was the star with the ball. The right arm medium pacer made full use of the conditions as he ended with the brilliant figures of 4/13 from his 8 overs , which also included 4 maidens.
Ajanta Pharma needed 150 runs to win the final but got off to the worst possible start. They were 15-4 and 45-5 at one stage. Captain Hanumant who was the hero in their semi final win against Reliance, got out LBW on the very first ball he faced. With the match seemingly going away from them Dhaval Panchal stepped up and scored a brilliant 57 of 54 balls. Ajanta Pharma still needed 47 runs with just 2 wickets in hand. Krishna Humane scored 36 of 57 balls , while Gitesh Pandere scored 12 and both remained not out as they guided Ajanta Pharma towards a thrilling win ! For TCS , Raj took 3/31 but to no avail.

Dhaval Panchal was the Man of The Match for his match winning 57 runs.

On 2nd June 2019, Deutsche Bank CIB and Deutsche Bank GM went head to head in the final of the Dreamz Champions Trophy – Elite White Ball 2018-19. The final was played at Sassanian , Azad Maidan. Deutsche Bank CIB had won 4 games to reach the final.
Deutsche Bank CIB won the toss and chose to bowl first. Put into bat first , Deutsche GM were all out for 107 runs. Akash Parmar was the only player fighter , as the Right handed batsman scored a fighting 45 runs of 40 balls which included 2 sixes and 2 fours. Mandar Chaudhary , the leg spinner , was brilliant with the ball for the Deutsche Bank CIB as he took 4/21 .
Deutsche CIB needed just 108 runs to win but on a spinner friendly wicket it was not going to be an easy chase. Akash Parmar was again brilliant with the ball as he took 2/16. The off spinner was getting the ball to spin and causing problems for the batsman. He was well supported by Abhishek who took 2/17. The Deutsche CIB innings was stabilised by Nikhil Wadekar and Vineet Angne who scored 33 and 40 runs respectively. The scores were tied and Deutsche CIB needed a run to win of the last ball. Ketan Gharge was stumped on the last ball and the game ended in a tie. Deutsche CIB were declared the winners as they lost less wickets than Deutsche GM.

Akash Parmar was the Man of the Match for his all round heroics ! Deutsche CIB were crowded the champions.



Click here for Deutsche Bank CIB VS Deutsche Bank GM Final Match Scorecard …..
With the growing craze for cricket, the varying formats, including T20 Cricket, the level of competition has forced every cricketer to perform consistently and constantly at his best which tends to take a toll on their health.
It is often said that “Prevention is better than cure”. Injuries and sports go hand in hand and are a part and parcel of an athlete’s life. So here are a few injury prevention strategies:
Warm-up
Warm-up prepares the body for exercise. The type of exercise to be performed determines the type of warm-up. The most effective warm-up consists of both general and specific exercises. General exercises may include jogging, general stretching and mobility, and activation exercises. Specific exercises include stretches and movements appropriate for the particular activity about to be undertaken.
The possible benefits of warm up prior to physical activity include:
1. Increased blood flow to muscles
2. Increased oxygen delivery to muscles
3. Decreased number of injuries due to increased range of motion in the joints
4. Decreased stiffness of the tissues leading to decreased likelihood of tears
5. Increased cardiovascular response to sudden strenuous exercise
6. Increased relaxation and concentration.
Taping and Bracing
Taping (or strapping) and bracing are used to restrict undesired, potentially harmful movements and allow desired motion. There are two main indications for the use of tape and braces:
1. Prevention- taping is used as a preventive measure in high-risk activities (e.g. ankle taping in fast bowlers).
2. Rehabilitation- taping is used as a protective mechanism during the healing and rehabilitation phase.
You must have seen the South African pace bowler Dale Steyn taping his elbow while bowling in recent times.
Bracing
Bracing has several advantages over taping. A sportsperson can put a brace on by himself or herself and, although the initial cost of a brace may be high, a good-quality, strong brace lasts a considerable time and may prove to be
cheaper than repeated taping. Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar regularly used an elbow brace during his tennis elbow injury.
Protective Equipment
Protective equipment has been designed to shield various parts of the body against injury without interfering with sporting activity. Remember Phil Hughes, the Aussie Batsman died during a match when the ball hit the back of his neck!
After that incidence the helmets have been modified and added with an extra protection at the back of the neck.
Other protective equipments include pads, elbow guard, gloves, groin guard, thigh and chest guard. Suitable equipment All the equipments used for playing must be suitable and comfortable for the player. Equipments of appropriate size and shape help the player to perform with minimal discomfort.
For Example: Running shoes or spikes
I have often encountered players wearing the same spikes for almost 4-5 years. Their spikes are almost worn out and flat which decreases the grip of the shoe with the ground surface leading to instability during running, causing injuries. The optimum shoe to prevent injuries is one that matches the player’s specific body and foot features.
Appropriate Surfaces
We as cricketers have to play on different grounds comprising of different soils. Some grounds are soft while, some are really hard. Hard surfaces can lead to increased ground reaction force (it is force that the ground exerts on foot after the foot landing) leading to pain in the shin bone. I have seen many players practicing on cement wickets and coming with shin pain. Whereas soft surfaces leads to loose landing of the foot which can cause serious ankle injuries.
A surface which feels easy to grip and run easily is considered to be an appropriate one.
Appropriate Training
Training to gain the optimum fitness is an important component. In an era where fitness has become the most prime factor in the cricketing world, appropriate training can help you achieve it. Be it overtraining or undertraining, both can cause injuries. Hence doing the right kind of training at the right time with good workload management can help you reduce the rate of injury in a better way.
Adequate Recovery
Adequate recovery is essential if the athlete is to benefit fully from training and prevent injuries from occurring. A number of methods are commonly used to fasten the recovery process. These include:
1. Warm-down (active recovery)
2. Cold water immersion (ice baths)
3. Massage
4. Lifestyle factors
5. Nutrition
6. Psychology
It is always better to do Prehabs (prevention rehab) and be injury free rather than sitting out and doing rehab which at times become frustrating as you have to be away from the sport. But do you actually think about it that much? If not, then its time to think about it! Hope this one will help you in prolonging your cricketing career! Cheers to many more years of injury free cricket.
Corporate Cricket despite going on in huge numbers is one of the less popular categories of Mumbai Cricket. There are exciting matches, brilliant individual performances as well as sparkling talents witnessed in the corporate cricket tournaments. Pulse White Ball T20 League for corporates is one such tournament which has been quite successful in providing some thriller matches and impressive individual performances, let’s take a look at the top performers-
Top Run Getters-
- Pratik Gharat (Inditrade)– 325 runs in 5 innings at an average of 81.25 & Strike Rate of 193.45
- Ashish D (Jack & Jones)-146 runs in 3 innings @48.67 & Strike Rate of 131.45
- Nirbhay Gharat (Inditrade)-112 runs in 3 innings @56.00 & Strike Rate of 153.42
Top Wicket-Takers-
- Yogesh Shinde (IDBI Federal Team)-8 wkts in 3 innings @6.13 & Econ of 4.08, Best-4/11
- Vijendra Yadav (Inditrade)-7 wkts in 4 innings @8.43 & Econ of 4.92, Best-4/13
- Vikash (Vodafone)-7 wkts in 4 innings @13.29 & Econ of 5.81, Best-4/14
The Manohar Savant Trophy has been conducted since many years by MCA and it has been a platform for the young budding cricketers to showcase their skills. This year was no exception as we got to see some promising performances, let’s take a look at the top performers from the latest edition of Manohar Savant Trophy’19.
Highest Run-Getters
- Vedant Murkar (RHB) from Bengal Center-153 runs in 3 innings @76.50 & strike rate of 69.86
- Sahil Jadhav (LHB) from Dilip Vengsarkar Center-146 runs in 3 innings @73.00 & strike rate of 60.58
- Manal Kawle (RHB) from Bengal Center-109 runs in 3 innings @36.33 & strike rate of 55.61
Highest Wicket-Takers
- Aakash Sharma (SLA) from Bengal Center-10wkts in 3 innings @4.00 & econ of 2.21
- Rithik Sharma (OB) from Dilip Vengsarkar Center- 8 wkts in3 innings @9.00 & econ of 2.81
- Aaradhya Shinde (SLA) from Bengal Center-8 wkts in 3 innings @7.00 & econ of 3.05