Wellington CC after electing to bat first at Shivaji Park notched up a good total of 205/4dec in 41 overs. Right handed Vaibhav Patil coming at no.3 scored an aggressive 102* off 93 balls setting up the positive momentum. Vaibhav not only smashed some good boundaries (12 in total) but did equally good running between the wickets in his unbeaten ton.
Young Maharashtra CC escaped a narrow defeat thanks to their wicket keeper batsman Harmesh Somaiya. Left-handed Harmesh opening the innings scored 73 of the 127 runs made by his team smashing 10 fours and facing 82 deliveries. This was his back to back fifty and overall 3rd Kanga half century proving to be a very handy wicket keeper batsman.
Young Maharashtra CC were 127/9 at the end of the game’s play as the match ended in a draw.
Young Comrade batting first at Karnatak SA ground could have collapsed for under 150 runs had it not been a fighting knock coming from the bat of Mayuresh Tandel. Despite wickets falling from the other hand with a 2nd highest score of 35 in the team with only 3 batsman managing to score in two digits, Right-handed Mayuresh at no.4 kept his calm and batted fluently as he went on to score a fighting 161 off 176 balls (21 fours) helping his team reach a respectable total of 287 in 67.4 overs. Hundreds are always special but knocks like this when the entire team is in trouble shows the caliber of the batsman.
Karnatak SA chased down the score and won the match by 4 wktson the back of two solid fifties by Eknath Kerkar (79) and Akash Parkar (82) but it was Mayuresh capturing the hearts of many with his valiant ton.
Two of the most promising and consistent batsman in Mumbai cricket in the U16 category-Vedant and Suryansh proved that they are capable to deliver at the big stage too.
Played between Mumbai and Maharashtra at Pune, Maharashtra team won the toss and elected to bat first putting up a total of 309/10 in 131.2 overs. SS Dhas was the top scorer for Maharashtra scoring a crucial 107 while Divyanshu Singh was impressive with the ball taking 5/48 in 24 overs for Mumbai.
Trailing a 300+ score on an unfamiliar wicket is always difficult but Mumbai team posted a massive total of 507/6 dec in 132 overs on the back of two big tons by Vedant and Suryansh. Left-handed Vedant opening the innings scored a flawless 147 off 319 balls (20 fours and a six) while his opening partner Jash Ganiga chipped in with 53 runs. That was not all as Suryansh who is possibly the hitman of the U16 circuit once again displayed his batting histrionics smashing a stunning 195 off mere 119 balls followed by a impressive 112 ball 154 vs Gujarat in the 2nd game.
Once Suryansh gets going, it becomes difficult to stop him as he smashed a record 15 sixes and 12 fours at a strike rate of 163.22 making a test match look like a T20. On the other Vedant was all grace and temperament showing how promising a test batsman he is.
It was on the back of these three boys-Divyanshu, Suryansh and Vedant, Mumbai defeated Mahrashtra in the most dominating manner.
Srujan has been in good nick since the beginning of the season post rains and he has scored runs in all the MCA Tournaments so far including Kanga, Police Shield and now Purshottam Shield averaging 60.00+ in 9 innings so far which is quite impressive.
Fort Vijay after electing to bat first at MIG were all out for 229 runs as none of the batsman were able to convert their good starts. Captain Sahil Madgaonkar was the pick of the bowlers leading the pack with 4 wkts for 27 runs in 10 overs.
The chase of 230 just got easier as Srujan opening the innings carved out a classy 116* off 139 balls setting up the positive momentum for his team. Srujan smashed 16 fours and 2 sixes in a knock which can be described as elegant and solid while he also got good support from Karan Sonavale who scored a fluent 51* (81 balls) as both the boys finished off the chase with an unbeaten 138* run stand steering Parel SC to a 8 wkt win.
This year has been a revelation with so many 40+ players giving us inspiration goals. Be it former Indian Cricketer Abey Kuruvilla, former Goa Ranji player Digvijay Singh or Rajesh Pagdhare participating in Kanga. Another addition into the list is this 52 yr old left arm spinner James Godad single handedly helping his team win the match.
Achievers SC batting first at Dadkar Maidan declared their innings on 181/5 with opener Pratik Mayekar scoring a solid 56 off 68 balls (5 fours, 1 six) being the top scorer for his team. Apart from him, the batsman chipped in with 20’s and 30’s.
Shree Lad Club in reply were all out for 69 runs in what was a collapse with just two batsman managing to score in two digits. Left arm spinner James Godad won the hearts of many coming up with envious bowling figures of 6/13 in 9.4 overs running through Lad’s batting line up. Performing so nicely at an age of 50+ is nothing but an achievement in itself as he helped Achievers SC win the match on 1st innings lead.
Played at JNPT, Navi Mumbai, Thane D The Champions XI after winning the toss elected to bat first managing to score 151/9 in 19.4 overs. Skipper Mangesh Nalavade who opened the innings scored a very crucial 67 off just 44 balls hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes. Had he not scored a half century, chances were high of Thane D collapsing under 100 runs.
On the other hand, Navi Mumbai Advocates Team were all out for 100 runs on the back of some really tight bowling by Thane D bowlers. Sushil Bhalerao (3/22) and Sameer Surve (2/11) were the pick of the bowlers as Thane D Champions won the match by 51 runs in a commanding manner. Skipper Mangesh Nalavade was declared man of the match for his crucial contribution of 67 runs.
Young Mohmeddan CC after electing to bat first were all out for 221 runs in 52.5 overs on the back of middle order batsman Kadir Patel’s brilliant 113 off 93 balls. After 2 wkts down for just 5 runs and half of the team out for 89 runs, it was Kadir at no.5 changing the momentum in his team’s favor hitting the bowlers with confidence smashing 14 fours and 5 sixes. Opening batsman Jay Bista surprisingly was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wkts for just 3 runs.
Victory CC in return were off to a thumping start with Jay Bista (37) and Kaushik setting the tone for the chase. Opener Kaushik Chikhalikar anchored the chase with an unbeaten 89*off 118 balls (11 fours) while he got good support from Azhar Ansari who chipped in with a quick 34 ball 59 (6 fours, 4 sixes) as Victory CC successfully chased down the score and won the match by 6 wkts.
Parsee Gymkhana after being made to bat first on their home ground enjoyed their batting scoring a healthy total of 384/9 in 70 overs. Opener Akarshit Gomel scored a sturdy 88 (152 balls) despite a few early wickets. However, Suryakumar Yadav who came at no.4 not only stitched a 166 run stand with Gomel but also went on to score a blazing 152 off mere 124 balls. Suryakumar was in T20 mood smashing 22 fours and a six thrashing the bowlers with complete dominance.
CCI had a big task of chasing 385 runs against the quality bowlers of Parsee Gymkhana on their own ground. However, it was the experienced campaigner Vinit Indulkar taking hold of the situation anchoring the chase with a brilliant 107 (125 balls). Opener Vinit also got good support from Paul who scored a quick 42. Apart from them it was the middle order consisting of Sujit Nayak (62 off 66 balls) and Prashant Naik (85* off 92 balls) scoring crucial half centuries at no.4 and 5 which helped CCI cross the victory line and winning the match by 5 wkts and 4.1 overs to spare.
To fire under pressure in the all important finals requires a lot of temperament, a cool head and experience. It’s always believed that experienced cricketers play a huge role in cricket and Pardeep Sahu just proved what it means to have a campaigned bowler in the side as the skipper led from the front in the finals.
Parkophene Cricketers after being made to bat first at Police Gymkhana were off to a good start with their top order chipping in with runs. However, it was Adeeb Usmani at no.5 turning the script of the game with his match winning 134. Adeeb got his 134 in mere 114 deliveries giving the final blow to the opposition with 12 fours and 7 sixes displaying his big hitting abilities at such a crucial stage of the game. Quickster Badrey Alam was quite impressive taking 5/98 in 20.5 overs.
Payyade SC in reply were all out for 241 runs with Skipper Parag and Shubham hitting valiant half centuries. From the bowlers, it was Pardeep Sahu being the pick of the bowlers taking 5/54 in 12 overs. Parkophene Cricketer in 2nd innings declared their innings on 247/6 with Suved top scoring with 83 giving a target of 353 runs to Payyade team. Payyade did gave a tough fight but it was again Pardeep Sahu coming up with crucial 5 wkts in 2nd innings giving timely breakthroughs with his impressive leg breaks as Payyade were all out for 271 runs.
Parkophene Cricketers won the match by 96 runs and with that they also win the finals of the Police Shield lifting the title on the back of great team performance throughout the tournament.
Crucial Contributors from Parkophene Cricketers
Prasad Pawar-400 Runs in 6 innings at an average of 80.00 and Strike Rate of 92.00
Adeeb Usmani- 216 runs in 5 innings at an average of 43.50 and Strike Rate of 105.88
Pardeep Sahu- 16 wkts in 4 innings at an average of 18.00 and econ of 4.75
Atif Attarwala- 11 wkts in 6 innings at an average of 18.00 and econ of 3.92
National CC after electing to bat first were once again off to a flying start on the back of Jiniv (52 off 70 balls) and Shrideep. The opening combo of Jiniv and Shrideep seems to be working really well for National CC where in Shrideep went on to score a classy 172* off 194 balls. Just fresh from a match winning 95, Shrideep was all grace and calm while also dealt with the loose balls with authority smashing 17 fours and 3 sixes en-route his massive ton. Sachin Gill at no.8 scored a crucial 67 as team total was pushed to a very healthy score of 372/8 in 70 overs.
In reply, DPC Sports Club were restricted to only 194 runs in 54 overs with almost every bowlers of National CC chipping in with wickets.
National Cricket Club won by a margin of 178 on the back of solid batting by Shrideep and a collectively good bowling from the bowlers.