To be a part of a history is a good thing, to be a part of a record is another good thing but Morarji Veljee Team must have been surely not pleased to find themselves as the team to get all out for the lowest total in Kanga Cricket.
Played between Morarji Veljee Boys and Dilip Vengsarkar Foundation at the Dilip Vengsarkar Cricket Academy, Dilip Vengsarkar skipper won the toss and elected to field first as the wicket had some due for the bowlers. Their decision to bowl first was seemingly accurate as Morarjee Veljee team in an embarrassment of sorts were bundled out for 23runs all out in 15.1 overs. Left arm fast bowler Mahesh Jadhav spelled trouble for them as he came up with amazing bowling figures of 6/11 in 8overs with 4maidens. Mahesh bowled in the right areas with immaculate line and length which reaped rewards for him as well as his team striking in almost every over. Left-arm spinner Prathamesh Goad was equally impressive taking 3/12 in 7.1 overs with 2 maidens. Mahesh simply castled the batsman while he got good support from Prathamesh as both the bowlers ripped apart the batting line up of Morarji team.
Eventually, Dilip Vengsarkar Openers chased it down in 8.5 overs as they won the match with clean whitewash by 10wkts.
It was a unlikely record created in that match with the lowest total recorded on the back of terrific bowling by Mahesh and Prathamesh.
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Played at PJ Hindu Gymkhana ground, NSCI (National Sports Club of India) and Osians Cricket Club took on each other for a crucial T20 clash where in NSCI won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim of making a big target of 170-180+ and put the opposition team under pressure.
However, NSCI were in for a shock as their decision to bat first did not prove to be spot on. NSCI were bundled out for 116runs all out in 16.4 overs where in not a single batsman managed to make much of an impact apart from their opener Kamran Ahmed who top scored with a quick 28ball 48 at the top of the order. Paras Zaveri with 26 runs was the 2nd highest scorer as Osians bowlers really bowled tight and took wickets at regular intervals. Aditya Singh with 4/16 in 4overs was excellent with the ball being the pick of the bowlers while quickster Parth Tolia and Harsh Dhadda taking 2wkts each to make it a collectively good bowling perfomance. Aditya was particularly impressive with the ball as he not only kept on troubling the batsman with good line and length but was also thoroughly economical.
Chasing a mere 117, openers Vishal Shah and Digvijay Kathiwada sealed the chase in utmost style with both the batsman smashing fifties. While Digvijyay scored 52 off 38balls (8fours) it was Vishal who took on the bowlers with pure dominance smashing 52 off just 28balls which had 8fours and 1six. Eventually Osians CC won the match by 7wkts in mere 12.3 overs with as many as 7.3 overs to spare.
It was once again Osians CC showing their might as a team while Aditya Singh who bowled a fantastic match winning bowling spell was declared ‘man of the match’
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While WNS has always been a strong team with good balance, on the other hand Datamatics who are in their debut outing became a team to reckon with and they performed really well with some great wins so far. Hence a tough quarter-finals competition was on the cards with Datamatics winning the toss and electing to bowl first at the Sainath CC ground.
Datamatics bowled really well and their decision proved to be accurate as they restricted WNS team to just 189runs all out in 36.2 overs with Asif Khan and Ketan Kharat top scoring with 38 and 39 respectively. Had they not chipped in with 30’s even a score of 150 was looking difficult for them. Datamatics bowlers did an excellent job with Sagar Nehete being the pick of the bowlers with 4/36 while Prabhas, Ritesh and Ravi chipping in with 2wkts each.
Defending a not so big total, the pressure was more on WNS to give a string fight as Datamatics have so far easily chased down or made such totals with the bat. However, WNS used their wild card as Ketan Kharat fired on a big occasion coming up with one of the best bowling spells of the Times Shield season taking 6/25 in 6.2 overs. Ketan who bowls left-arm spin completely bamboozled the batsman and made them struggle striking in almost every over with his accurate spin and disciplined line and length. Kiran Desai also bowled well taking 2wkts as Datamatics were bundled out for mere 64runs.
WNS win the quarter finals in a dominating fashion as Ketan Kharat with his all-round show definitely owned the match.
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Played between DMCC and Tech Mahindra at the Government Law College Ground, it was the crucial semi-finals between two really promising teams where in DMCC who have a good batting line up elected to bat first and make a big 1st innings total.
DMCC batting first were not off to a flying start where the top 4 lost their wickets early but it was their middle order which brought them back into the game from nowhere. While Ajinkya Kadam scored a 69ball 60(7fours) at no.5, it was DMCC’s inform and aggressive batsman Mayur Pankhalkar who turned the tides in his team’s favor with a solid century at no.6 smashing 101 off mere 81balls (5fours, 3sixes).Both the batsman stitched a match winning partnership and pushed their team total to 244/7 in 45 overs. Mayur smashed excellent shots in his blazing ton while Ajinkya was equally impressive in his valiant half century.
Defending a fairly decent total of 244, DMCC bowlers did an excellent job restricting the Tech Mahindra batsman as the opposition was all out for mere 158/10 in 34.1overs. The bowlers did an excellent job bowling tight and in the right areas with almost everyone coming up with good performances. Mohhamad K was the pick of the bowlers with 3/39 while Shreyash Hadkar bagged 3wkts and Ajinkya also chipping in with a wicket making it an all-round perfomance.
DMCC qualify for the semi-finals on the back Mayur and Ajinkya’s solid batting along with tight bowling perfomance from all the bowlers.
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Played at the Oval Ground, It was a high profile match between two big teams namely Mumbai Cricket Association and Bangalore Cricket Club where in MCA won the toss and elected to field first on the back of their strong bowlers and trouble the visiting team.
Bangalore Cricket Club batting first managed to score 126/9 as MCA’s decision to bowl first seemed to be spot on. Off-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers coming up with impressive bowling figures of 3/22 in 8overs with 3maidens while Abhay Sonawane and Deepak Patil also bowled well taking 3 and 2wkts respectively. It was all in all a good bowling perfomance from the MCA boys which restricted BCC to a low total.
Chasing a meagre total of 127, right handed attacking opener Arun Yadav who has amassed a lot of runs in 2017 with some brilliant hundreds got back to runs with a thumping 79* off mere 42balls. Arun who played at a strike rate of almost 200 smashed 9fours and 5sixes as he took on the bowlers with pure dominance sealing of the chase in mere 12.3overs.
MCA won the match by 7wkts in style on the back of Arun Yadav’s swashbuckling innings and a collectively good bowling perfomance.
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Played at the New Hind Stadium, it was now time for the crucial quarter finals between the consistent HT media and the promising JSW where in JSW won the toss and elected to bowl first with an aim of restricting HT Media to a low total.
Little did they knew about the strength and depth of HT Media’s batting line up. Despite their openers failing to give a flying start, it was their dependable & solid batsman Vaibhav Patil at no.3 who took on the responsibility on his shoulders to help his team reach a decent total. Vaibhav’s controlled aggression led him to score a fantastic 118 off mere 97balls which included 15fours and 2 sixes. Vaibhav also got excellent support from Rahul Yadav who scored a quick 49ball 51 taking their team total to 230/10 in 37.4 overs. From ISW, it was Omkar, Chirag and Ishan bagging 2wkts each.
Defending a not so big total of 213, Kunal Nikam and skipper Kawaldeep took the care of the bowling department taking 4wkts each. Skipper Kawaldeep’s excerpts to Cricketgraph “Match was underway with ISW getting off to a flying start with 2 overs 20runs, then third over I got an opener bowled and since then there was a partnership building between me and Kunal, I took the ball & it was reverse swinging & we struck in almost every over’
Both the bowlers bowled an excellent spell bowling in the right areas which helped them restrict JSW to just 203runs all out. Kawaldeep’s bowling figures read 4/55 while Kunal Nikam came up with bowling figures of 4/30.
It was a yet another dominating win for HT Media where in the entire team once again gave their best efforts to win the game. Skipper Kawaldeep further added: Batting wise, Vaibhav Patil played a crucial innings since we lost two quick wickets. He and Rahul stabilized the innings and a crucial partnership was stitched between them. Hadn’t he scored we wouldn’t have reached the total, credit to his batting mainly and then our bowling which helped us reach the semis now!”
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One of the most relevant and active categories of Cricket at local level is Club Cricket as this is the phase where cricketers give their best representing clubs in Mumbai and giving their best to make a cut in the state and national level teams.
Club Cricket is a base, it’s a platform where cricketers get an opportunity to showcase their skills in various tournaments. Also one more fact if not many are aware is that 99% of the players who play at the club level are all professional cricketers and they have aims to make a career in cricket and represent Team India and if not team India than at least represent State level teams in Ranji.
Hence, lauding the performances of club level cricketers is a very essential thing and it was much needed too. With a star studded panel comprising of of Sir Umesh Patwal (Ex-coach of Afghanistan National team and current coach with Nepal Cricket Team), Mrs. Sangeeta Kamat(MCA Women’s selector) and Sir Nitin Surve( Ex-Ranji Cricketer)., the awards were conduced successfully on merit.
For the Best Batsman Category in Club Level- Run machine of DY Patil Shubham Ranjane bagged the best batsman award. Shubham has been piling on runs with pure dominance and has scored some brilliant knocks. Shubham‘s double hundred in Times Shield to his outstanding performances in Purshottam, Police and Padmakar shield tournaments made him win the trophy. What’s more Shubham has showed abilities to deliver in crunch situations. His 129* in the semi-finals, his 166* in the Police Shield Finals or his 163 in the Purshottam Finals are a testimony to his abilities.
1ST runner-up- KSA’s Eknath Kerkar has also been a consistent performer and has many a times single handedly helped his side win the matches with his aggressive batting. Eknath scored 564 runs in 6 matches this season.
MIG’s Sumit Ghadigaonkar was the 2nd runner up and he is most remembered for his back to back double tons in the Police Shield and a brilliant 193 in the Padmakar Talim Shield’18 showing his appetite for making big hundreds.
Best Bowler at Club Level- Pravin Tambe(DY Patil) who by now needs no introduction bagged the Best Bowler Trophy. Taking a whopping 40wkts in 13matches at a nice average and economy rate made him stood out from the rest. What’s more, he still gives most of the players a run for the money when it comes to fitness and passion for the game despite being 40+ in age.
Mumbai’s most popular speedster Badree Alam from Parkopheen Cricketers with 28 wkts in 10 matches was the 1st runner up while the experienced Santosh Shinde of Mumbai Police Gymkhana was the 2nd runner up taking 26 wkts in 11 matches.
Best All-Rounder at Club Level- Most of the people will associate Shashank with his amazing batting form at club level this season but not many know that he is also a very utility bowler and a good fielder. Shashank bagged the best all-rounder award with 974runs and 15 wkts in 12 matches making him one of the most prolific all-rounders.
Shashank was in such a brilliant form this season that there was a phase in between where he scored 3 tons in 4 innings out of which two were in Purshottam and one was in Police Shield.
Parag Khanapurkar who is one of the most experienced all-rounders at Club level was a tough competitor to bag the awards smashing 568 runs while also taking 18 wkts in 10 matches
Chirag Khurana who is known for his aggressive batting was the 2nd runner up and he is a proven all-rounder too with 482runs and 11 wkts in 6 matches this season
Most Popular Player Cricket Awards in Club Category – Badre Alam (Parkophene Cricketers Team) bagged the most popular cricketer award with a margin of 383 facebook votes and why not when he can rattle the batting line-ups with his thumping pace and good line and length!
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, T-shirts by ATTITUDE, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
31st March 2018 was a little step towards making a mark in local cricket, it was a movement in itself where a platform was set out to appreciate all the cricketers at all levels and not just the International stars. It was time to make each and every talent know their worth by recognizing and felicitating their performances.
Mumbai’s Own Cricket Awards by NATRAJ PENS and Cricketgraph ensured even Women’s category of cricket was covered in the awards ceremony as this has been one area which needed equal attention and appreciation.
The illustrious panel consisting of Sir Umesh Patwal (Ex-coach of Afghanistan National team and current coach with Nepal Cricket Team), Mrs. Sangeeta Kamat(MCA Women’s selector) and Sir Nitin Surve( Ex-Ranji Cricketer) ensured the recipients were selected on merit and Women’s category had one name which swept away both the awards and it was none other than the pride of India-Jemimah Rodrigues. The talented all-rounder who is making quite a mark with his blazing batting and wily bowling clinched not only the “Best Batsman’ award but she also won the most popular ‘Women’s Cricketer Award”.
Best Batsman in Women’s Category-
Jemimah Rodrigues (Mumbai U/19 Team)- The Indian sensation amassed over 1532 runs at an average of 65.00+ in 25 matches while she also bagged 23 wkts making her one of the most utility assets to have in the national side as well as for the Mumbai team. What’s more her grace and aggression while batting is nothing but a feast to the eyes while her 202* off mere 163 balls against Saurashtra was nothing but a stuff of pure brilliance. Once she gets going, she scores big and it’s quite evident from her career graph. Even her knocks of 178 & 153 vs Gujarat & Rajasthan were nothing but commendable.
Jemimah also bagged the most popular player cricket award by a massive margin of 1000 votes which is just a testimony to her popularity. She is certainly winning the hearts all over Mumbai as well as India.
1st Runner up Aachal Valanju who has scored 776 runs in 19 matches has also been one consistent batsman who has notched up a lot of fifties this season.
2nd Runner-up Charu Todankar could have given a really tough fight to Jemimah had she played a few more matches. In whatever matches she played, Charu was quite impressive amassing 213 runs in 3 matches while also bagging 4 wkts. Her 80 ball 132 against Salgaonkar Sports Club Team in knock out stage is something which is still fresh in many cricket lovers minds.
Best Bowler in Women’s Category-
Fatima Jaffer has been an exceptional bowler and has had a consistent season so far. She has performed at every level with consistency and her line and length are also improving with every match. With 57 wkts in 26 matches, she definitely stood out amongst all the bowlers.
Janvi Kate was the 1st runner-up bagging 12 wkts in 5 matches. Had she played more matches, she could have given Fatima a tough fight.
Akshi Gaurav who is a genuine wicket taking bowler has given some excellent performances this season and she was the 2nd runner up with 24 wkts in 16 matches.
Best All-Rounder in Women’s Category-
Sheryl Rezario with 286 runs and 12 wkts in 11 matches definitely makes her one of the most utility all-rounders. She possesses the ability to change the game single handedly and has had a good season so far. She rightly clinched the best all-rounder award.
Sayali Satghare was the 1st runner up with 107 runs and 14 wkts making him a strong contender.
Vrushali Bhagat is also one player who has given some great performances and she was the 2nd runner up with 173 runs and 8 wkts.
The winners were presented a certificate by NATARAJ PENS & Cricketgraph, a stunning BR Sports English Willow bat/a box of BR Sports Leather balls alongwith Fast & Up Gift Hamper. It was a wonderful evening and this event certainly raised the stakes of local cricket and took the grassroot level cricket to a recognized level.
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Organized by Nidhi Sports Academy, the tournament has been quite a success with some nail biting matches. In the match between Jolly Brothers CC and NSA Heroes at JNPT where in Jolly Brothers won the toss and elected to bat first.
However, Jolly Brothers batting first couldn’t make much of an impact making just 123/5 in 20overs. The openers failed to give a flying start with Rohit Desai and Sumeir Zaveri at the middle order top scoring with the bat. Rohit Desai scored a gritty 42 while Sumeir Zaveri scored 30 taking the team total to atleast 123. From the bowlers, Off-spinner Preet Nanda was impressive with the ball taking 1/8 in 3overs.
Chasing a modest total of 124, NSA Heroes chased it down successfully despite a shaky start by the top order. Talented Rugved More who has scored a lot of runs in various tournaments over the last one year smashed an unbeaten match winning 49* off just 32balls smashing 6fours and 2sixes while Kunal Tendulkar gave nice support with an unbeaten and a quick 25* sealing off the chase in style.
NSA Heroes won the match by 7wkts and 2.1 overs to spare while Rugved who fell just 1run short of a deserving half century was declared ‘man of the match’.
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FCC Tournament’s has always been a platform for cricket lovers to display their talent. The tournament every year witnesses some amazing performances, breath taking matches and some amazing talents who amaze us with their exceptional hitting abilities and mesmerizing bowling.
This year’s edition has also started with a bang where the opening ceremony was attended by CHIEF GUESTS namely:
- ALPA CHAVAN –Social activist and reformer from Shivsena, Dombivli
- Vinayak Joshi – Ex Western Railway Ranji player and Level 1 MCA coach
This year has also been great with some exciting matches so far, some were close while some were dominating but all in the tournament stays a pure entertainment and a big success.
In the match between Warriors CC and Taloja CC at Asahi Glass Ltd, Taloja,, Warriors CC who won the toss elected to bat first with an aim of making a big total on a batting track which had some support for the bowlers. Warriors CC batting first made 140/4 with Samir, Rohit and Devesh chipping in with quick 30’s.From the bowlers, Pratik was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/21 in 3 overs while the rest of the bowlers also supported well.
Chasing a total of 141,Prasad who opened the innings took on the bowlers from the start smashing a 37ball 63* anchoring the chase. Prasd was dominating with the bat smashing 8fours and a six while he got excellent support from Parikshit who also scored an elegant 56* in mere 33balls hitting 4sixes and 5fours in it. It was on the back of their excellent partnership Rangers CC won the match in the most dominating manner by 8wkts while attacking opener Prasad was declared ‘man of the match;
Other Match Details-
Match 1
FCC PHANTOMS VS SIEMENS CORPORATE TEAM
FCC Phantoms- 103/9 in 15 overs
Siemens-104/8 in 14.3 overs
Man of the Match – Vinod – MoM from SIEMENS
Match 2
DATAFRIENDS vs SHM-ULHASNAGAR
Datafriends- 99/8 in 15overs
SHM-ULHASNAGAR-87/9 in 15overs
Man of the Match – SAGAR NEHETE from DATAFRIENDS
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