Kalpesh Sawant helps win Shivaji Warriors while Sagar Kerkar Shines with a 59ball126 and Aman continues his good form with a brutal 20ball 62 in the ongoing Mitsui Shoji T20 Tournament
One of the biggest T20 leagues of Mumbai finally seems to be gathering steam as the tournament which is just into its 3rd day has produced some wonderful matches & outright good individual performances alongwith entertaining knocks. The 5th of May witnessed 2 matches where Shivaji Warriors had to face Thane Marathas in the morning & the in-form Bandra Heroes in the 2nd match.
The 1st match completely belonged to Shivaji boys where they smartly elected to field first at the Police Gymkhana Ground, restrict them to a low total & win the match comfortably. Their strategy did work out well as Thane Marathas were all-out for 109 in 16.3overs. Vijay Reddy with a 30ball 23 at no.3 looked good but hardly anyone fired apart from their no.9 batsman Mukesh Gupta who chipped in with a 18ball 29. Dhrumil Matkar was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/23 followed by 2wkts each for the Sawant duo-Kalpesh & Parth. Chasing 110 was a mere formality for the Shivaji boys as they won the match by 6wkts & chased it down in just 15overs. Opener Kalpesh Sawant chipped in with a quick 29 followed by a 30ball 29 by Sunil & an unbeaten 19ball 27* by Akshay Jhambhekar. Shivaji Park Warriors won the match by 6wkts & all-rounder Kalpesh Sawant was declared ‘man of the match’ for his all-round contribution.
What followed was a 2nd match against Bandra heroes which was a paisa vasool game for both the teams as it was a high scoring game with some good display of clean hitting. Bandra heroes elected to field just like how shivaji boys did in the in 1st match but they weren’t aware of what was about to come as Shivaji warrior opener Sagar Kerkar(RHB) made complete mayhem of the bowlers smashing a aggressive 126 off just 59balls at a strike rate of 218 which included 14fours & 6sixes. Right-handed Akshay Jhambekar also played a fine knock of 74 which helped them reach a very big total of 216/3 in 18overs (2overs cut short due to time constraint). Chasing 219 is an extremely tough task but the form in which Bandra Heroes are made even 218 looked easier. Bandra opener Aman Khan made mockery of the bowlers as he scored a tantalizing 62 off mere 20balls. We can only imagine had he faced a few more overs, he would have scored the fastest hundred ever! The rest of the batsman also chipped in with 20”s with Shoaib Siddique once again contributing with a fine 48* off 36balls to help Bandra win a thriller of a match.
Bandra boys won the match & Aman Khan was declared ‘man of the match’ for his unbelievably quick 62. Bandra Heroes are certainly making it clear that they are the toughest team to beat & are certain favorites for this year’s tournament.
CRICKETGRAPH