T20 Challengers Trophy organized by Maria Sports Academy ends on a high

Maria Sports Academy organized T20 Challengers Trophy in May, having two groups A and B, with eight teams each. League matches were played between the teams and the top four teams from each group played the four finals, namely, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

The Platinum Final in the “A” group was played between TIFR vs Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd. on June 2 at Azad Maidan, Mumbai. Batting first, TIFR posted a mammoth 209-3 in 20 overs, with opening bat Pranav Barge scoring a delightful unbeaten century (104 off 58). The 16-year old’s innings was peppered with 11 boundaries and five sixes. His opening partner Sachin Pawaskar joined the party with a stroke-filled 64 (44), smashing seven boundaries and three sixes. In reply, Total Oil managed to score 145-6 in their full quota of 20 overs, losing the match by 64 runs. Wicket-keeper batsman Ripen Chaurasiya top scored with 60 but failed to get any support from his colleagues. Mohsin Shaikh and skipper Shashikant Kadam, who is well above 50 years of age, and was injured with five stitches, bowled well in tandem to account for couple of wickets apiece. Barge was awarded the Man of the Match for his scintillating century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The “B” Group Platinum Final was played between OmniGlobal and Cipla on June 2 at Azad Maidan, Mumbai. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Cipla restricted OmniGlobal to a paltry 130-8 in 20 overs, courtesy Vishal Bhoir who wrecked havoc with the ball scalping 4-18 in his four overs. Bhoir consistently pitched in good line and length, making it difficult for the batsmen to get away with him. Omkar Maldikar was the highest scorer for Omni Global scoring 32 off 30. In response, Cipla chased down the target easily in 19.1 overs, winning the final by five wickets. The opening pair of Siddhesh Gulekar (35) and Akshay Patil (31) laid a solid foundation for the middle order to come in and finish the game. Rahul Bhadreshwara was the pick of the bowlers for Omni Global picking up 2-26 in his four overs. Vishal Bhoir was bestowed with the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Silver Final of “A” Group was played between Tech Mahindra (Andheri) and MSEB, which the former won by three wickets. Sandeep Mundaye from Tech Mahindra won the Man of the Match for his all-round performance in the form of picking up four wickets and scoring a useful 15. 

The Bronze Final in the same group was played between tech Mahindra (Malad) and SS Travels, which the latter won by five wickets. Prem Chand from SS Travels bagged the Man of the Match for scalping three wickets.

 

The tournament witnessed many wonderful performances. Though Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd. did not win the final, the team had a lot to cheer about as they received Best Batman and Best Bowler awards. Neel Kadam (Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd.) who scored as many as 237 runs in four matches and Deepak Joshi (Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd.) who picked up nine wickets in four matches were awarded the Best Batsman and Best Bowler of the tournament respectively.