IndiaFirst Life Insurance faced-off against Wrong UNS in the first League Match of the prestigious Jolly Friends Sports Club T20 Cricket Tournament 2018 at Dadar Union, Matunga Gymkhana on the 17th of November.
In the closely fought contest, Wrong UNS Skipper Vikas Bhatt won the Toss and elected to field on a wet pitch. Despite his Team losing a wicket in the 1st over, Vice Captain Ramana Meesala ensured his team got to a flying start (44/1 in 5 Overs) by lacing 33 off 16 Balls that contained 3 fours & 2 big sixes. An economical Spell from off-spinner Prathamesh Raul (4-0-18-2) and 3 wickets from Right-arm Medium Pacer Kushal, along with some good catching and safe fielding put the brakes on the rampage though.
Useful contributions from Pushkar Sharma (28) with 2 boundaries and 1 six & Rupen Chaurasiya (20) kept the innings going. But it was the late Inning cameos from Sanket Teli (16 off 10) & Swaminathan GK ensured that their Team set a fighting Target of 150 off 20 Overs, which at one point seemed like touching a mere 130.
Starting the Chase, Wrong UNS got to a disastrous start with two unnecessary run outs in the backdrop of some hostile fast bowling by Right-arm Bowler Aaraf Shaikh. Thereafter, their innings was steadied by Avinash Shetty and Vikas. A Pulled six by Avinash against Aaraf was a treat to watch. At 100/2, with just 50 needed off 40 Balls and with 8 Wickets to spare, they seemed to be cruising. That was until Off-spinner Babli Sharma (who gave away his Wicket-keeping Gloves to Rupen before coming on to Bowl) got Vikas beautifully caught by Pushkar at the extra cover boundary and Aaraf got his revenge by getting Avinash’s prized Wicket (53 off 34; 3 Fours & 3 Sixes).
Some fine Batting from Prathamesh (24 off 15 Balls) brought the equation down to just 16 off 17 balls with 6 Wickets to go. But an excellent Arm Ball from Babli got him Bowled, in an Over that saw just 1 run in the first 5 balls. A quicker final Ball beat the Keeper for 4 Byes, marking the end of an excellent Spell of 4-0-22-2.
With 13 required off 12 Balls with 5 Wickets remaining, Aaraf put his hands up and conceded just 3 Runs and took a wicket. An excellent diving save by Babli at the Long-off Boundary saved 2 crucial Runs.
Now it was all down to IndiaFirst Skipper Ajish Abdul Rehman, who had bowled 3 overs of good fast bowling till then, to defend 10 runs in the last over. A stupendous diving stop by Rupen that saved a definite 5 wides down the leg side, apart from getting a run-out at the non-striker’s end was one of the many turning points in this seesaw of a match. Overall, it was a good Fielding effort from the entire unit. One more run out later, with 4 required off the last ball, Ajish kept his cool to give away just one bye, ensuring that his Team IndiaFirst Won the Match by a narrow margin of 2 Runs.
Ramana was adjudged Man of the Match for his All-round performance. IndiaFirst plays its next League Match on the 24th.
Ajish Rehman
In a high scoring encounter that saw BD Royals and DAIS Aces locking horns against each other at Air India Sports Club, Santacruz, in the ongoing Zooters International Schools Dad’s Tournament, on Sunday, one could not have asked for a better end than a tie. Both the sides looked exceptional in all departments and finally the cliché “May the best team win” was put to rest as both, BD Royals and DAIS Aces were equally good. Batting first, BD Royals posted a challenging score of 166-3 in 20 overs, courtesy a mind blowing opening partnership of 118 runs in 91 balls between Vinay Jain (61 off 59) and Kumar Adnani (52 off 42). Both these batsmen were timing the ball well and smashing the bowlers all around the park. However the middle perished like a puff of dust and BD Royals had to settle for 166 in 20 overs. Rabindra Jhunjhunwala was the pick of the bowlers for DAIS Aces with 2-20 in his four overs.
Chasing a daunting target of 167, the openers Kalp Parikh (44 off 44) and Siddharth Gopalkrishnan (85 off 59) gave the perfect start to the innings. Gopalkrishnan would have loved to get a century but perished against the run of play. He smacked 10 boundaries and gave a tough time to the bowlers. Out of the nine dismissals, five were run outs, which amplify that DAIS Aces need to get their running between the wickets in place. Rajiv Hingoo and Niraj Dalal picked up two wickets each. DAIS Aces finished off with 166-9 in 20 overs, forcing a tie. B
Both the sides fought hard and in the end the result was justified. For his scintillating knock of 85 runs, Siddharth Gopalkrishnan was awarded as the Man of the Match. Siddharth elucidated, “It’s amazing to play cricket and feels like going back to your school days. The energy levels among the players are astounding and we had a blast playing the match today. My innings right at the top of the order was crucial and I knew I had to play a big one for my team to have an outside chance in the game. The big boundaries meant that we had to run hard between the wickets. My partnership with Kalpesh is what I will cherish a lot ”.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first against Route Mobile on Sunday at MIG Bandra, Mumbai, IDFC Bank had a horrendous day with the bat as they were done and dusted for a paltry 76 in 19 overs. Mayur Rathod was the lone warrior for IDFC who scored 25 off 29, getting no support from the other batsmen. With the ball, Hitesh Parmar wrecked havoc as he accounted for 3-23 in his four overs. Parmar was outstanding with his lines and lengths and gave no respite to the batsmen.
Chasing a small target of 77 was always going to be easy breezy. Opening bat Shrideep Mangela got off to a flyer and remained unbeaten on 58 off just 29 balls. Shreedip’s knock was laced with 11 boundaries and a six. Watching Mangela bat was a spectator’s delight as he made batting look so elegant. In the end, Route Mobile chased down the target in just seven overs, winning the match by nine wickets.
Kishore Hande was the lone wicket-taker for IDFC. The Man of the Match award was presented to Shrideep Mangela for his blistering innings. Shreedip averred, “Being an opening batsman, I enjoy facing the medium pacers. The wicket was good to bat on, and I was middling the ball really nice. I hope to take this form going into the next match as well”.
Click here for Route Mobile VS IDFC Bank Match Scorecard ….
Over 350 runs were scored in the clash between Toyota and Kathiwada on Sunday at MIG Bandra, Mumbai. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Toyota ripped apart Kathiwada bowling as they amassed a humongous score of 200-3 in 20 overs. Dinesh Pawar (95 off 59) and Aziz Shaikh (87 off 58) came out all guns blazing as they partnered for a hefty 185-run partnership off just 98 balls. Both the batsmen could do nothing wrong as they belted the Kathiwada bowlers for 27 boundaries and three sixes. It was a pure blitzkrieg at MIG on Sunday morning. The Kathiwada bowlers had an ordinary day as they could not stop the two attacking players. Rajiv Mirwani, Harsh Dhadda, and Parth Tolia picked up one wicket each.
Kathiwada gave a tough fight when they came in to bat. Opening bat Vishal Shah set the momentum as he scored a quickfire 38 (29) and in the middle order Megh (53 off 39) contributed with a delightful half century. In the end, Kathiwada were restricted to 168-8 in 20 overs, falling short of 32 runs. Chinmay Madaye was the star performer with the ball as he scalped a fifer to see his team through. Madaye ended with figures of 5-31 in four overs in the high scoring game.
Dinesh Pawar was presented with the Man of the Match for his rollicking performance with the bat. Pawar stated, “The wicket was good to bat on. I enjoyed facing the medium pace bowlers. Having Aziz at the other end was of great help as he motivated me to play a long innings. I am looking forward to continue the same feat in the upcoming fixtures”.
Click here for Toyota VS Kathiwada Match Scorecard ….
Matunga Gymkhana has certainly been one team which has performed consistently in this season as well as since past few years. Into the virtual finals, Matunga Gymkhana elected to bowl first on their homeground being aware of the bowling conditions helping them have an edge over the opposition.
It was certainly a right decision to bowl first as they bundled out Parsee Cyclists for a mere 100 runs as the experienced left arm spinner Yogesh Dicholkar bagged a yet another fifer taking 6/38 in 12.4 overs. Yogesh has been one terrific bowler coming up with wickets every time whenever his team required him to fire.
In reply, Matunga Gymkhana declared their innings at 207/7 in 36.1 overs with the dangerous Ninad Borkar the middle order once again smashing a quick 64 ball 82 (11 fours, 2 sixes). The hard hitting batsman Ninad Borkar is now the highest scorer of E Div while Yogesh tops the bowlers charts at no.2 as Matunga Gymkhana won the match on 1st innings lead. With this win, they also won the E Div Kanga league 2018.
Some of the crucial contributors from Matunga Gymkhana-
Ninad Borkar- 381 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 147.10 and average of 54.43
Ishan Amin- 254runs in 9 innings at an average of 31.75 and strike rate of 74.00
Amit Patil- 209 runs in 8 innings at an average of 34.83 and strike rate of 105.86
Yogesh Dicholkar- 38 wkts in 10 innings at an econ of 3.20 and average of 10.00
There are players, there are outstanding players and then there are legends. 50 yr old Abey Kuruvilla, a veteran of 82 first class games and the man who has played alongside Tendulkar, Dravid and Azharuddin in the 90’s in Tests and ODI’s is giving inspiration goals to many youngsters by still playing cricket with full passion.
Abey who was in the news earlier for scoring 84 and taking 4 wkts a few weeks ago in the Kanga is now again making the headlines smashing the 2nd fastest ton for this year’s Kanga across all divisions. Kandivali CA after being all out for 107 runs received a solid reply from Pandurangwadi team as openers Yogesh Pawar (78 runs) and Abey Kurivilla stitched a massive 160 run stand in mere 16.1 overs. Abey on the other hand went on to score a brilliant 103 in just 54 balls laced with 11 fours and 6 sixes. For Abey- the humble giant, no ground seems to be big enough as he thrashed the bowlers with ease as Pandurangwadi reached a score of 231/5 dec winning the match on 1st innings lead.
Muslim United after being made to bat first at Dadkar Maidan were all out for 192 runs thanks to Atif Attarwala who displayed a tearaway spell of fast bowling bagging 5/33 in 11 overs. Atif has been on song this season bowling accurately and has managed to give consistent breakthroughs to his team becoming the pace spearhead of Parkophene team.
In reply, it was a mere formality for Parkophene Cricketers to chase the score as they won the match by 6 wkts with the in-form Prasad Pawar once again coming good while chasing with a solid 56*.
It was a match dominated by Parkophene with Atif being the highlight performer of the match. His coach Mr. Dinesh Lad has guided him through many ways since his cricketing days and his hardwork is certainly paying off.
Rizvi team after being made to bat first at the Worli Sports Club did felt some early jitters with the Top 3 batsman not managing to fire. However, Mohit Tanwar at no.4 steadied the ship scoring 68 off 96 balls while the consistent Owaish Shaikh at no.8 scored a very crucial 70 off 140 balls (4 fours). It was on the back of these two half centuries Rizvi team reached a defendable total of 269/10 in 95.5 overs.
On the other hand, U14 Karnatak team were bundled out for 190 runs, thanks to the all-rounder Mohit who came good with the ball too taking 6/48 in 24 overs with 7 maidens. Mohit gave an all-round performance right in the high pressure finals as Rizvi team not only won the match by also won the U14 Ajit-Naik Tournament ’18.
Crucial Contributors from the team-
Skipper Abhinav Singh (RHB)– 331 runs in 7 innings at an average of 47.29 and strike rate of 88.00
Mohit Tanwar (RHB)- 281 runs in 6 innings at an average of 46.89 and strike rate of 89.78 & 10 wkts
Sryans Mishra (RHB)– 254 runs in 6 innings at an average of 84.27 and strike rate of 62.41
Owaish Shaikh (RHB)- 184 runs in 6 innings at an average of 30.67 and strike rate of 66.43
Tejas Chalke (RHB)- 163 runs in 8 innings at an average of 27.07 and strike rate of 51.10
Vinayak Nayar (RHB)- 144 runs in 6 innings at an average of 28.80 and strike rate of 40.91
Anurag Singh (SLA)- 24 wkts in 6 innings at an average of 6.00 and econ of 1.77
Nishit Balla (SLA)-15 wkts in 6 innings at an average of 10.00 and econ of 2.81
Aman Ansari (RAM)- 13 wkts in 5 matches at an average of 11.00 and econ of 2.58
The second match of the day witnessed Fazlani United and BD Smashers locking horns against each other at Air India Sports Club, Santacruz, Mumbai. Batting first, BD Smashers was bowled out for 129 in 19.2 overs, courtesy all-round bowling effort from Fazlani United. Mohammad Farhan Attarwala, Wajid Motorwala, and Shams Lakhani bowled well in tandem to bag couple of wickets apiece. Suchit Shah (42 off 40) of BD Smashers got off to a confident start but failed to find company at the other end. Apart from Ambish Shah (16) and Shamit Desai (18), none of the other batsmen looked in good shape.
Chasing 130, which is neither a small target nor a big score, could have been tricky but opening bat Abdul Latheef ensured that he set a strong foundation for the batsmen to follow. Latheef scored a delightful 40 off 39 balls that was laced with six boundaries and a six. Abdul stitched a solid partnership of 67 runs in 59 balls with Shams Lakhani (15) right at the top of the order. Fazlani United finished off the game in style winning by five wickets with two balls to spare. Shamit Desai and Suchit Shah were the pick of the bowlers for BD Smashers accounting for two wickets each. For his match winning knock, Abdul Latheef was bestowed with the Man of the Match.
Abdul elucidated, “Getting a chance to play cricket after a certain age seems almost impossible, but I am glad that Zooter has been thoughtful and come up with such a novel tournament for fathers. Winning the first match always gives a lot of confidence and I am happy that I could contribute for my team’s success. As a team we have been sincerely practising and we are hopeful that we will do well in the tournament”.
Click here for Fazlani United VS BD Smashers Match Scorecard ….
The inaugural match of Zooter International School Dad’s Tournament was played between Utpal Warrior and Mount Litera on Saturday at Air India Sports Club, Santacruz, Mumbai. The encounter between the two sides turned out to be a lopsided affair as Utpal Warrior got the better of Mount Litera in no time. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Mount Litera had a sub-par day at office as the team was sent packing for a parsimonious score of 73 in 17.4 overs. Shreepad Khedekar was the only batsman to score a double digit, with rest of the batting line-up collapsing like a pack of cards. Left arm spinner Vishal Mervana, who is a Financial Consultant, was the wrecker-in-chief as he rolled his arm over to pick up 3-14 in his four overs. Mervana bowled a disciplined line and length and yielded rich dividends out of the wicket.
Utpal Warrior did not get off to the best of starts as they lost Krishna Rana on the very first ball of the innings. The other opening bat Minesh Shah (21 not out) ensured that he played the anchor role and batted through to see his side home. Though wickets kept falling at the other end Shah stood his ground to chase down the target. Kaustav Ganguly and Shreepad Khedekar scalped two wickets each. In the end, Utpal Warrior completed the game in 10.4 overs, winning by five wickets.
Vishal Mervana was awarded as the Man of the Match for his match winning bowling performance. Mervana expressed, “As a kid I used to play cricket, but getting a chance to enjoy the sport in your mid life is rare. Thanks to Zooter for organizing such a wonderful tournament for dads where people like me who are ardent lovers of the sport get an opportunity to express themselves in the field. I am delighted with my performance as well as my team’s performance that helped us win the match today. The wicket was good to bowl and our fielders backed the bowlers pretty well. All in all it was a fabulous team effort”.
Click here for Utpal Warrior VS Mount Litera Match Scorecard ….