MPL T20

Final Result

Sinhagad Supremos beat Raigad Royals by 16 runs to clinch the MPL 2010 championship

Fair Play
Team	Points
Pratapgad Warriors	60
Sinhagad Supremos	60
Raigad Royals	58
Shivneri Lions	58
Panhala Panthers	57
Sindhudurg Sailors	48
Devgiri Emperors	46
Torna Tigers	45

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MATCH REPORTS

Panthers down Lions; both in contention

The Panhala Panthers won a low-scoring thriller keeping their semi-final hopes alive

NAVI MUMBAI: For a team that began with four wins on the trot, this was a shame. Shivneri Lions, the costliest team in the MPL, crashed to 87 before Panhala Panthers overhauled the target – though not without some hiccups -- and staked claimed for a semifinal slot at the D Y Patil Stadium here on Monday.

Panthers held their nerves to win a low-scoring thriller by three wickets in a match dominated by bowlers. Lions struggled on a new pitch when Panthers’ captain Shrikant Mundhe early burst got his team two early wickets and then some tight bowling from the spin bowlers kept the Lions, well, into their dens. Niranjan Chavan’s late charge of 41 in 39 balls took them to 87 for 9 after they were, at one stage, tottering at 49 for 8.

The new opening combination of Ghanshyam Deshmukh and Kaustubh Patil failed to work as Deshmukh guided an away going delivery from Mundhe straight to lone slip. Mundhe also removed Rahul Tripathy in his second over by deceiving him with a slower one. Anupam Sanklecha also kept things tight from the other end as the JMJ Group-owned team crawled to 9 for 2 after four overs.

The Lions never recovered from the early jolts and the middle order found the Panthers’ slow bowlers Prathamesh Pawar, Ganesh Kukade and Kiran Bhosale too hot to handle. Pawar and Bhosale also picked a couple of wickets each.

Rahul Desai, skipper Deepak Shilamkar, Naushad Shaikh and Taranjeet Singh perished while attempting extravagant shots while Patil and Sanjay Pardeshi ran themselves out as Lions were going nowhere at 49 for 8 after 15.4 overs.

Chavan hit a six and two fours through mid wicket off Munde in the 18th over to give some momentum to the innings. He smashed five boundaries and a six to give some respectability to the Lions score. Amazingly, the only other boundary in Lions innings came from Desai in the fifth over. Panthers bowled a total of three maidens, feat in a T20 game.

The Panthers were no better and were made to work hard for their runs by the Lions’ spinners despite a strong start from their top order. Mundhe’s team was reduced from 67 for 2 to 68 for 6 in a space of eight balls as the game turned on its head. But Panthers’ tail, assisted by some luck, overhauled the target in the end with nine balls to spare.

Both the teams now have 16 points after four wins each but Panthers have finished their seven games while Lions play Pratapgad Warriors in the last league game at Poona Club. Both the teams have a chance of making into the semi-finals. Panthers might have done some damage to themselves after losing too many wickets if it all boils down to the net run-rate.

Brief scores

Shivneri Lions: 87 for 9; 20 overs (Niranjan Chavan 41, Kiran Bhosale 2/12, Prathamesh Pawar 2/19) lost to Panhala Panthers: 88 for 7; 18.3 overs (Vipul Jeurkar 27, Manish Desai 25, Deepak Shilamkar 2/10) by 3 wickets

Man of the match: Niranjan Chavan (Shivneri Lions)

Royals’ sweep continues, Tigers demolished

On the opening day of MPL-II, defending champs Raigad Royals lost while the Torna Tigers won. Since then Royals have won everything, Tigers nothing at all

NAVI MUMBAI: Coming back with a vengeance are exactly the words that describe the performance of the defending champions Raigad Royals in MPL-II so far. After a shock defeat to Devgiri Emperors on the first day of the tournament, they have now won six on the trot to finish on top of the points table in the league stage, the sixth win coming over Torna Tigers at the D Y Patil stadium on Monday.

The whole saga began more than a week ago when the Harshad Khadiwale-led team failed to chase a less tha--modest 117 set by Devgiri Emperors on a slow turner at the D Y Patil stadium. Since then the Royals have come a long way, this time comfortably beating bottom-placed Torna Tigers by 23 runs.

For the skipper Khadiwale, though, it hasn’t been a great MPL season and it didn’t get any better on Monday, as he was dismissed in the very first over of the match. However, wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani and Praveen Deshetty, who have been the backbone of the Royals’ batting, did their job once again. Motwani stuck a superb fifty in 47 balls, while Deshetty’s 33 came of 34 balls. The duo’s 75-run partnership enabled Raigad to post 143-6 -- a very good total on this pitch.

Torna, without the services of their most expensive player Kedar Jadhav who is attending the camp for India A that will go to England next week, were never in the chase, especially after left-arm pacer Sandeep Adole got two wickets in the second over.

Opener Saurabh Shingvi fought a lone battle for Torna for the second time in three days, and a 52-run partnership between Rohit Charan and Sandeep Lahane, which came after Torna were well and truly out of the game, only helped in reducing Raigad’s margin of victory.

What an irony it was for the two teams that started in contrasting fashions on the same ground a week ago. While Raigad lost to Devgiri, Torna Tigers got the better of last year’s runners-up Pratapgad Warriors on the first day of the tournament. Royals haven’t lost a game yet since then, while Tigers have won nothing, finishing at the bottom of the table.

Brief scores

Raigad Royals: 143 for 6; 20 overs (R Motwani 50, P Deshetty 33, K Adhav 2/23) beat Torna Tigers: 120 for 8; 20 overs (S Shinghvi 35, S Lahane 27, D Hemnani 3/15) by 23 runs

Man of the match: Rohit Motwani (Raigad Royals)

Sailors bloom late; snuff out Warriors

Ousted skipper Ajinkya Joshi produces another brilliant innings to help the Sailors sail through

DECCAN GYMKHANA: Captaincy and the the pressures it belongs along with it is something that is often talked about in cricket in particular and in sports in general. It is difficult to say whether Sindhudurg Sailors’ captain Ajinkya Joshi was feeling the pressure, but the facts are these - He was replaced as captain by Ameya Shrikhande after the team’s fifth successive loss in as many games. The next two games saw Joshi win the Man-of-the-Match award with Sailors winning both those encounters. The second one came against Pratapgad Warriors on Monday, which knocked the last year’s runners-up out of the event with one game still to play.

In fact, it was not just Joshi, but the entire Sailors’ team played with much more freedom in their last two games, when there was no pressure to perform as they were already out of the reckoning as far as securing a place in the semi-finals was concerned.

Ajinkya Joshi, basically a left-arm spinner who can bat, was Sailors’ leading run-getter last season. When one considers their batting line-up had the likes of Ranji players Shrikhande, Kedar Jadhav, Dhruv Mohan in the inaugural MPL, Joshi’s achievement becomes even more creditable.

On Monday, this talented left-hander opened the batting for Sindhudurg, as he has done for the most part of the past two seasons, and remained unbeaten, scoring 72 runs off 64 balls. Now, that’s called taking responsibility, if anybody thought he wasn’t bearing enough of the burden when he was the skipper. Perhaps, with all other major responsibilities going to Shrikhande, Joshi found it much easier to take the role of batting through the innings, which he did for most part of the game on Sunday as well.

With Joshi’s heroics, Sailors scored a respectable 154 for 2, on a Deccan Gymkhana track that has been slightly on the slower side.

If it was Joshi who carried his bat through the innings for Sailors, Swapnil Gugale did the same for the Warriors during their chase. In fact, Gugale scored seven runs more than Joshi but received scant support from the other end. As a result, the talented right-hander could not see his team through, falling short by nine runs. Warriors missed the kind of performance that Rohit Kakade (40 off 27) produced for the Sailors, as his partnership of 71 runs with Joshi laid the platform for a competitive total.

Brief scores

Sindhudurg Sailors: 154 for 2; 20 overs (Ajinkya Joshi 72, Rohit Kakade 40, Nandan Kamat 1/31) beat Pratapgad Warriors: 146 for 7; 20.0 overs (Swapnil Gugale 79, Rohit Karanjkar 26, Rajendra Patkal 2/15) by 8 runs

Man of the match: Ajinkya Joshi (Sindhudurg Sailors)

Azhar catapults Supremos into orbit

Sinhagad Supremos virtually seal their semi-final berth with comprehensive win over the Devgiri Emperors

POONA CLUB: Arman Shaikh and Azhar Ansari smashed identical forties as Sinhagad Supremos resurrected their campaign in style and virtually sealed their semi-final berth in a MPL-II match at the Poona Club ground here on Monday.

Opener Arman set the tone for the day, going about the chase briskly and after he perished Azhar took over and finished the job as Sinhagad Supremos defeated Devgiri Emperors by seven wickets with 4.4 overs to spare. The comprehensive win propelled Supremos to second position behind the Raigad Royals by virtue of better net run rate. Four teams -- Sinhagad Supremos, Shivneri Lions, Panhala Panthers and Devgiri Emperors – are all tied with 16 points after the end of their league matches. Only Shivneri Lions have a match in hand, against Pratapgad Warriors.

Chasing a modest total of 131 set by Devgiri Emperors, the Supremos went hammer and tongs from the start as Arman and Vishant More (19 off 13 balls) got down to the business in right earnest.

The Supremos’ 50 runs were on board in the fifth over with only More back in the pavilion. Arman found gaps all over the ground hitting eight fours and one huge six before he was unfortunately run out while attempting to steal a run. Arman, who scored 42 runs off 23 balls, was caught short of the crease by Amit Patil.

Akshay Darekar was next to go with the total at 75, but Sinhagad were in no rush as they had plenty of overs in hand. The fourth-wicket pair of Ganesh Gaikwad and Azhar Ansari showed no hint of nerves and steered their team towards the victory target.

Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 22, every run coming from ones or twos as he preferred to graft rather than tonk the ball around. Azhar on the other end was ruthless as he plundered 42 runs off 23 balls with five fours and two sixes, including the winning shot that went way out of the ground.

Earlier, apart from Sumit Chavan’s 28-ball 29, Chetan Suryavanshi’s 30-ball 33 and a cameo 33 runs by Kartik Bhatia, none of the Emperors’ batsmen found their bearings. For Sinhagad, Jitendra Patil and Mudassar Mulla took two wickets apiece.

Brief scores

Devgiri Emperors: 131/7; 20 overs (Chetan Suryawanshi 33, Kartik Bhatia 31, Sumit Chavan 29, Mudassar Mulla 2/18) lost to Sinhagad Supremos: 134/7; 15.2 overs (Azhar Ansari 42, Arman Shaikh 42, Kartik Bhatia 1/24) by 3 wickets*

Man of the match: Azhar Ansari (Sinhagad Supremos)

Supremos teach Warriors a lesson

Sinhagad Supremos’ spinner Mudassar Mulla rips through Pratapgad Warriors middle order, Warriors lose by 54 runs chasing 120

NAVI MUMBAI: One of the major talking points of this year’s MPL has been the strip at the D Y Patil stadium. It has been an out and out spinners’ paradise, it’s pace slow and the ball gripping and turning. So it didn’t come as a surprise that a left-arm spinner ran away with the Man-of-the-Match award as the Sinhagad Supremos humiliated the Pratapgad Warriors in the night match on Sunday.

Mudassar Mulla bowled a terrific spell of spin bowling, ripping through the middle-order of the Warriors, to claim four wickets at the cost of just 14 runs. As a result, Pratapgad, one of the weakest batting sides in the MPL, were bowled out for a pathetic 65, chasing 120 for victory.

Earlier in the match, Pratapgad’s IPL star Aditya Dole ran through the Sinhagad batting, claiming four wickets for 12 runs, as Pratapgad restricted the opposition to 119 all out. The Satbhai-led outfit, however, just couldn’t get out of blocks and were struggling immediately at 11 for 2 by the end of the third over. After left-arm pacer Jitendra Patil got the first of his three wickets, it was the spinners all the way. While Mulla kept on getting wickets at one end, another left-arm pacer Akshay Darekar completely choked the flow of runs at his end, conceding just six runs from his four overs.

Off-spinner Ganesh Gaikwad’s (3-0-10-0) spell was equally impressive. Once Nandan Kamat was dismissed of the bowling of Darekar, it was all over for Pratapgad, with Jitendra Patil polishing off the tale in no time. The win kept Sinhagad Supremos alive in this tournament, as a loss here would have ended their hopes of making it to the semi-finals.

For the second time Pratapgad were bowled out under 80 in this tournament, after being dismissed for 77 by the Raigad Royals in an earlier league match.

Brief scores

Sinhagad Supremos: 119 all out; 20 overs (A Ansari 40, G Gaikwad 31, A Dole 4/12) beat Pratapgad Warriors: 65 all out; 17.5 overs (S Gugale 18, P More 9, M Mulla 4/14) by 54 runs

Man of the Match: Mudassar Mulla (Sinhagad Supremos)

Royals finally pin down Lions

Law of averages catches up with the high-flying Shivneri Lions as they lose their first game of MPL-II against Raigad Royals

DECCAN GYMKHANA: It’s not something that happens very often in cricket, but something like that happened twice in the past two days in the MPL. For the second consecutive day at the Deccan Gymkhana, it was a player from the losing side that bagged the Man-of-the-Match award -- Shivneri Lions' Naushad Shaikh on Sunday and Torna Tigers' Saurabh Shingvi on Saturday.

In a game where the winners were assured of a semi-final spot, Raigad Royals survived a terrific Naushad Shaikh spell (4-29 from 4 overs) to reach 139 for 8, before restricting Shivneri to 121 for 9.

After a solid platform was set by Rohit Motwani (25) and Praveen Deshetty (31), who shared a 40-run second wicket partnership, Shaikh started working his magic by first rapping Deshetty on the pads in front of stumps. He then got rid of the dangerous-looking Sangram Atitkar (16 off 15 balls), as the batsman went for a late-cut, but was too late in bringing down the bat to see his bails go for a walk. Shaikh then disturbed the furniture of two more Raigad batsmen, Rohan Bhosale and Sandeep Adole, as Shivneri made sure the opposition didn’t get past the 140-run mark.

Shivneri reply, though, was very weak, as they scored just 21 runs in the six overs of powerplay. That eventually took the required run-rate to 10 runs per over, and the Shivneri batsmen were forced to take big risks almost every over. Big-hitting Taranjit Singh smashed two sixes and a four to keep Shivneri within striking distance, but with Atitkar scoring a direct-hit from mid-wicket to send back Taranjit, the task became a bit too much even for a side that had not lost a single game in the tournament so far.

Skipper Deepak Shilamkar made a valiant effort to keep pace with the required run-rate that was now stood at two runs to a ball, but with Sandeep Adole uprooting his middle stump in the 19th over, the game was well and truly over.

Shivneri are still favourites to make it to the semi-finals though, as they need just one win from their two remaining games. And even if they lose both, they still might make it, provided their net run-rate is good enough.

Brief scores

Raigad Royals: 139 for 8; 20 overs (Praveen Deshetty 31, Rohit Motwani 25, Naushad Shaikh 4/29) beat Shivneri Lions: 121 for 9; 20 overs(Ghanashyam Deshmukh 30, Deepak Shilamkar 27, Sunil Patel 2/12) by 18 runs

Man of the Match: Naushad Shaikh (Shivneri Lions)

Late assault leaves Panthers bloodied

Kartik Bhatia smashes a sensational 8-ball 24 as the Emperors overcome Panthers challenge

NAVI MUMBAI: This was one of those matches which look like they will go right down to the wire when the hero of the day steps up to the plate and smashes all within sight. The Emperors’ Kartik Bhatia did just that on Sunday when he played a quick fire cameo, smashing 24 runs off eight balls to help the Devgiri Emperors post a six-wicket win over Panhala Panthers in the closing stages of the league phase of MPL –II.

Electing to bat, Ganesh Kukade and Prathamesh Pawar shared a brisk 48-run stand for the eighth wicket in 28 balls to power Panhala Panthers to 119 for seven after they were struggling at 71 for 7 at one stage.

Devgiri’s reply began sedately as the openers Kunal Marathe and Sumit Chavan started slowly but picked up pace after the fifth over to share a half-century partnership. The two, however, did not quite manage to score quick enough as the duo wasted too many deliveries. Marathe was the first to go in the ninth over after scoring 33 in 29 balls and giving the Emperors an ideal start. Chavan followed immediately after playing a watchful innings of 17 in 25 balls.

Amit Patil (13) and the big-hitting Solomon Chopade (15) fired briefly but fell in pursuit of quick runs as the asking rate hovered over six per over. The stage was set for Bhatia to come in and work his magic. He started with a straight six off Prathamesh Pawar to ease the pressure and bring the equation down to 17 to win off 18 balls.

Bhatia enjoyed a bit of luck when he was almost caught by Tushar Srivastav off Anupam Sanklecha but the fielder touched the rope and Bhatia added another six to his total. The over yielded 15 runs and Bhatia, who earlier bowled tightly and picked one wicket, fittingly hit the winning runs off rival skipper Shrikant Munde. Skipper Chetan Suryavanshi remained unbeaten on 13 at the other end.

Earlier, Kukade hammered 30 off 17 balls that included four boundaries and a six while Pawar chipped in with 18 off 12 balls towards the end. Both the batsmen were severe on Kishore Bhikane who ended up with expensive figures of 1 for 41. Left arm spinner Akshay Tandale was the stand out performer with ball picking three wickets after conceding just 13 runs. Ketan Kasture, Bhatia and Ravi Jadhav also kept things tight.

The Panthers’ top order failed to smother the spin and threw away their wickets while playing some big shots. Opener Tushar Srivastav was aggressive hitting 21 runs off 17 balls that included a big six but couldn’t push on from there. Skipper Shrikant Munde (14) and Ravi Jadhav (18) struggled in the middle of the innings and then threw their wickets away after getting starts.

Brief scores

Panhala Panthers: 119 for 7; 20 overs(G Kukade 30, T Srivastav 21, A Tandale 3/13) lost to Devgiri Emperors: 121 for 4; 18.1 overs (K Marathe 33, K Bhatia 24, P Pawar 1/19) by 6 wickets

Man-of-the-match: Kartik Bhatia (Devgiri Emperors)

Sailors find a fair wind – finally!

Skipper Ajinkya Joshi helps the Sindhudurg Sailors register their first win in six games in MPL-II

POONA CLUB: It took a long time coming and it won’t help as far as making it to the next stage, but for Sindhudurg Sailors, their first win in MPL-II must have come as a huge relief.

The Sailors, whose MPL-II campaign has gone horrendously wrong, finally got their bearings right thanks to laudable performance by their captain Ajinkya Joshi as the bottom-placed team registered their first win by beating the Torna Tigers at the Poona Club ground here on Sunday.

Joshi first helped his team get ahead with the ball and then top scored with a half-century as the Sailors finally managed to make it shore after floundering for so long. For Torna Tigers, it was yet another humiliating experience as their much-vaunted batting line-up failed to put up a challenging total and eventually lost the match by six wickets.

The Tigers looked decidedly uninterested and their batsmen had a tough time negotiating the Sailors’ onslaught despite opener Virag Awate who hit a quick fire 29 before he was dismissed by Joshi. The Sailors’ captain also dismissed Manoj Pardeshi and Rohit Charan in quick succession to leave the Tigers tottering at 48 for four. Tigers lost two more wickets, that of Virag Awate and Viral Shah, and they were reduced to 66 for six in the 13th over and at that time it looked that the Tigers would struggle to make it to the three figure mark.

However, Karan Nandye (40 off 30) and Kiran Adhav (20 off 19) stitched together a 53-run partnership to save their team from the blushes and managed a modest total of 123 for 8.

The target wasn’t one that required the Sailors to go ballistic from ball one and they began their response on a right note with Joshi, going in as an opener, laying down a strong foundation. His opening partner Ameya Shrikhande departed too early after scoring a mere nine runs as Virag Awate ran him out. But Joshi stood firm and with Rohit Kakade posted a remarkable second wicket stand of 71 runs off 67 balls.

The left-handed Joshi and Kakade (43 off 31 balls) almost took the team to within touching distance of the target, when the skipper departed, Ranjit Chavan taking the catch at mid-wicket off Kiran Adhav. Joshi scored a stylish 53 off 51 balls with three fours and a six. The match was pretty much over by then and the remaining batsmen had very little. The new batsmen struggled a bit but Kakade stood firm at one end, and saw to it that his team didn’t fail this time around.

Sailors were 119 and needed five more runs to win with eight balls remaining. It looked like it might get close but Kakade had other ideas as he finished off in style, hitting a lofty six over long off.

Brief scores

Torna Tigers: 123 for 8; 20 overs(Karan Nandye 40, Virag Awate 29,Ajinkya Joshi 3/20) lost to Sindhudurg Sailors: 125 for 4; 18.5 overs (Ajinkya Joshi 53, Rohit Kakade 43, Karan Nandye 1/18) by 6 wickets

Man-of-the-Match: Ajinkya Joshi (Sindhudurg Sailors)

Royals plunder continues; Supremos go down

Raigad Royals race to their four consecutive win cruising past lacklustre Sinhagad Supremos

NAVI MUMBAI: It seems defending champions Raigad Royals have really taken their loss in the opening match of their campaign in MPL-II to heart. Maintaining the intensity that had seen them crash through everyone before them, the Royals scored a their fourth consecutive win as they beat off-colour Sinhagad Supremors at the D Y Patil stadium here on Saturday.

In yet another low-scoring match at the D Y Patil Stadium, the Royals cruised to their fourth consecutive victory by successfully defending 121 as they restricted the Supremos to a meager 87 for 9 following an impressive bowling display and smart fielding. The 34-run win considerably enhanced their chances of clinching a semi-final berth as just one more win will seal their place regardless what happens in their other matches.

With a modest 121 to defend, the Royals needed early wickets and Nikhil Paradkar provided them just that boost by removing the openers in his first two overs. Arman Shaikh, fresh from two consecutive half-centuries, was out on a golden duck when he lost his balance and stumper Rohit Motwani removing the bails in a flash.

His partner, Raviraj Patil, who is yet to fire in the tournament, played an uppish drive straight to Khadiwale at covers. Mansingh Nigade (11) then couldn’t keep a square cut off left arm seamer Sandeep Adole down only to be snapped up by Rohan Bhosale at point. At the end of the power play, the Supremos were struggling at a poor 33 for 3.

Ganesh Gaikwad (18), displayed some promise, but left soon after when he misread a straight delivery from Sangram Atitkar and edged a drive straight to Digambhar Waghmare at point.

There was no respite for the Supremos though. Skipper Azhar Ansari went for a non-existent run while Bhilare couldn’t keep a sweep down and was gobbled by Nitish Salekar off left arm spinner Dhawal Hemnani. That left the tail to get 56 runs off six overs, an improbable task on a slow wicket. From here on it was only a matter of time before they crashed to their third defeat in five games.

Man-of-the-match Hemnani took three wickets towards the end after Paradkar had struck at the beginning of the inning.

Earlier, after winning the toss, the Royals decided they wanted to have the first shot on a pitch that looked like it had enough in it to keep both the seamers and the spinners interested.

The Royals started quietly but Rohit Motwani (20) took off in the second over hammering medium pacer Mehul Ingle for three boundaries before he was caught by Ansari at mid off while attempting a fourth ambitious drive. Skipper Harshad Khadiwale (14) was bowled by left arm spinner Akshay Darekar just when he looked like getting away.

Ansari then produced a smart piece of out fielding when his direct hit brought an end to Pravin Deshetty’s brief stay. He was left stranded at the other end when non-striker Rohan Bhosale didn’t respond to his call.

Ansari rotated his bowlers well to unsettle the Raigad batsmen and used five bowlers inside the power play, including three overs of spin. It took Bhosale to bring some amount of serenity in the Raigad camp. He, along with the in-form Sangram Atitkar (13), kept the Raigad innings afloat with a 31-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Atitkar and Nikhil Paradkar (10) failed to convert their brief starts into anything substantial. Bhosale, though, was clinical giving the spinners some respect initially and then unleashing with a effortless straight six off pacer Jitendra Patil in the 12th over. He couldn’t quite up the pace after that and eventually fell in the penultimate over while attempting a paddle sweep off Mehul Ingle. Raigad ended up with 121 for 7 after 20 overs.

Brief scores

Raigad Royals: 121 for 7; 20 overs (R Bhosale 34, R Motwani 20, M Ingle 2/26) beat Sinhagad Supremos 87 for 9; 20 overs (G Gaikwad 18, A Ansari 12, D Hemnani 3/18) by 34 runs

Man-of-the-match: Dhaval Hemnani (Raigad Royals)

Emperors torpedo Sailors last stand

The Sindhudurg Sailors lose their fifth straight game to crash out of contention

POONA CLUB: The Sindhudurg Sailors’ campaign in MPL-2 can well be a case study about how hard it is to get out of a rut. Five games down the line in this MPL and the Sailors are yet to register a win and all chances of making it to the semis have gone out of the window.

The latest chapter in this tale of woe for the Sailors came with their loss against the Devgiri Emperors on Saturday.

Batting first, the Emperors set up a challenging total thanks to superb two innings by Sumit Chavan (51 off 47 balls) and Amit Patil (49 off 41). The Devgiri Emperors were at their attacking best after electing to bat as they took advantage of some sloppy bowling to pile up 157 for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

The Sailors sparkled for bit while chasing but they just did not have enough firepower to pull through eventually falling short by 18 runs. Man-of-the-match Chavan and Patil took up the task of ensuring that the Emperors reached a competitive total as the two batsmen exploited tactical errors made by the Sailors. At a crucial point in the game, Sindhudurg brought in part-time bowler Ameya Shrikhande to bowl for three overs, in which the Emperors plundered 27 runs. For the Sailors, the only bowler to make an impression was skipper Ajinkya Joshi who managed to grab three wickets in his spell, conceding 22 runs.

The Sailors started their chase in right earnest despite losing skipper Ajinkya Joshi in the third over and stayed close to the required run for a fair amount of time. Ameya Shrikhande and Rohit Kakade played sturdy innings in a period of play that had the Emperors unsettled. Kakade struck one boundary and a six to score 27 off 25 balls before he was finally dismissed by Ketan Kasture in the 12th over.

The Sailors were still on course as Mandar Dedge, who came in next, kept the scoreboard moving. The floodgates, however, opened after Shrikhande (36 off 41 balls) fell to Kasture, who caught the batsman off his own bowling. Dedge was the last hope for Sailors, but soon the required rate started ballooning as the overs evaporated.

That was the turning point of the match and from then on the Sailors fell away and while the target wasn’t unreachable they had no one to blame except themselves for their poor shot selection.

The numbers at the end may not quite reflect it but till about the 16^th over it looked as if the Sailors were on course of their first win of the season but it was not to be.

The Emperors struck back and gained control over the match. Wickets fell quickly after the 16th over and the match went beyond Sailor’s reach. Soloman Chopade claimed two wickets in the final over – but his chances of a hat trick were spoiled with Amit Patil dropping Rajendra Patkal’s catch at the deep mid-wicket, before the Sailors folded up for 139.

Brief scores

Devgiri Emperors: 157 for 9; 20 overs (Sumit Chavan 51, Amit Patil 49, Ajinkya Joshi 3/22) beat Sindhudurg Sailors: 139 for 8; 20 overs (Ameya Shrikhande 36, Mandar Dedge 34, Kishore Bhikane 2/21) by 18 runs

Man-of-the-match: Sumit Chavan (Devgiri Emperors)

Sayyed does a Miandad!

With four required off the last ball the pacer clears the boundary as the Panthers clinch a thriller against the Torna Tigers

DECCAN GYMKHANA: For Wahid Sayyed, his three seasons in first class cricket have been like a riding a crazy rollercoaster. He has been banned for suspect action, has had to contend with a knee operation which kept him out of the game for several months apart from trying to make his mark. Sayyed, indeed, has seen a lot in his very young cricket career already. And while the 25-year-old right-armer has won quite a few matches with his pace bowling in the Invitation League and at the club level on Saturday, he won a game for the Panhala Panthers with skill that is not his primary one – his batting.

Needing four runs for a win off the last ball of the match, Sayyed smashed Torna Tigers’ left-arm spinner Sunil Yadav out of the park over covers sparking wild celebrations in the Panthers camp at the Deccan Gymkhana ground.

Having won two and lost two games in the MPL so far, this was the kind of game that could well have decided whether the Panthers would make it to the semis or not. Earlier, with their team struggling at 78 for 5 in the 13th over, it looked like another disappointment was in store for the Panthers after having lost to the Pratapgad Warriors in their previous game.

However, skipper Shrikant Mundhe and Anupam Sanklecha took on the Torna bowlers bravely, smashing 42 runs in just 20 balls together. Mundhe, who was Panhala’s hero in the last season, hit four fours and a couple of sixes in his 46 that came off just 30 balls, while Sanklecha cleared the fence only once - though by five-seven metres - in his 8-ball 11.

After their dismissal, Ganesh Kukade played a crucial 12-run unbeaten knock, including two-fours, before Sayyed’s heroics clinched the game for the Panthers.

It’s not very often that a player from the losing side walks away with the Man-of-the-Match award, but it happened in this game, with the award going to Torna opener Saurabh Shinghvi.

After having failed in the first four games, Shinghvi scored a terrific half-century, sharing an 85-run opening stand with Virag Awate (34). Shinghvi’s 52 came off just 34 balls, and included six fours and two sixes. He also bowled a smart spell of left-arm spin, conceding just seven runs in two overs while claiming two wickets.

Brief scores

Torna Tigers: 145 for 5; 20 overs (Saurabh Shinghvi 52, Virag Awate 34, Wahid Sayyed 2/27) lost to Panhala Panthers: 148 for 8; 20 overs (Shrikant Mundhe 46, Vipul Jeurkar 39, Karan Nandye 2/20) by 2 wickets

Man of the Match: Saurabh Shinghvi (Torna Tigers)

Resurgent Lions rule

Last year’s bottom-scrapers, Shivneri Lions, win their fourth match in a row and retain top position on the table, as they beat the Sinhagad Supremos

NAVI MUMBAI: The Shivneri Lions were not exactly the side to beat in the inaugural season of the MPL, losing more matches than they won but a change of ownership and a new head coach, has completely transformed the outfit. On Friday, they won their fourth straight game to cement their position at the top of the table.

For a team that has just a couple of Ranji players, and hardly any big names from state cricket, Shivneri’s performance so far has been nothing short of extraordinary, beating much stronger sides like the Torna Tigers and the Sindhudurg Sailors.

“As a team, everyone has been given a role. Even I have been assigned a particular role and I think we are gelling well. Most of the boys are doing their job well,” Shivneri’s 22-year-old skipper Deepak Shilamkar explained.

And as far as doing the job is concerned, pace bowler Sajin Sureshnath has been someone who has done it with distinction in almost every game. On Friday against the Sinhagad Supremos, he showed that pace bowling is not all about running through the opposition. He bowled an incredibly accurate spell, conceding just nine runs in his four overs.

That pretty much set the tone for the evening, and his new-ball partner Sanjay Pardeshi once again swung the ball away from right-handers beautifully to take 3 wickets for 24 runs. With most of the other bowlers conceding seven or less runs per over, Shivneri managed to restrict Sinhagad to a modest 113, which was a fighting total on the slow, turning D Y Patil track, but far from being insurmountable.

There was a change in fortunes for Rahul Tripathy too. For three consecutive games, the promising 19-year-old all-rounder had failed to deliver, especially with the bat. On Friday, he chose to set the record straight. He walked in to bat at the fall of Ghanashyam Deshmukh’s wicket in the very first over, and walked out undefeated, in the last over of the innings, with Shivneri Lions having scored full points. Tripathy batted right through to the end score 48 off 54 balls, which was enough for a side chasing a total under 120.

Brief scores

Sinhagad Supremos: 113 for 4; 20 overs (A Shaikh 59, A Ansari 17, S Pardeshi 3/24) lost to Shivneri Lions: 117 for 6; 19.5 overs (R Desai 36, R Tripathy 48, A Darekar 3/26) by 4 wickets

Man of the Match: Rahul Tripathy (Shivneri Lions)

Royals strike sinking Sailors

Sindhudurg Sailors stare at early exit after four losses; Raigad Royals on a high with three wins out of four

NAVI MUMBAI: It was a match in which a win could have drastically affected how either team were placed on the points table. In the end, it was the Royals who rose to the challenge winning their third game on the trot having lost only one. On the other hand, the Sindhudurg Sailors look like they will be going home early after their fourth straight defeat in MPL-II.

For the Royals, skipper Harshad Khadiwale played a captain’s knock and chipped in with two wickets too as they defeated the Sailors by a massive 69 runs in a Cottonking Maharashtra Premier League match at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday. Defending champions Royals moved to 12 points after four games following their third win on the trot. Their only loss came against the Devgiri Emperors in their first game.

The Royals, powered by a 71-run stand between openers Khadiwale (33) and southpaw Rohit Motwani (38), made a decent 135 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. The Sailors’ bowlers did well to restrict Royals to a manageable total. The Royals were cruising at one point and looked set for a big score but, once again, their batsmen only flattered to deceive. Ameya Shrikhande briefly tried to counter-attack but Paradkar and pacer Sunil Patel managed to keep the Royals quiet.

The chase started disastrously for the Sailors when they lost opener Rohit Kakade in the first over to spinner Nikhil Paradkar and then never quite recovered. They ended up with the lowest score of the tournament -- 66 all-out in 16.5 overs. The Sailors were 22 for 1 when man-of-the-match Nitish Salekar was introduced in the fifth over. He got enough purchase from the wicket to swing the ball away from the batsmen making scoring very difficult and soon the Sailors found themselves in deep trouble at 35 for 6 in the eighth over.

Ashish Suryavanshi resisted for a while with 14 off 27 balls but a Royals’ victory was inevitable. Salekar ended up with impressive figures of 3 for 9 in four overs while Patel, Khadiwale and left arm spinner Dhawal Hemnani picked two wickets apiece.

Earlier, Raigad Royals made a change in opening combination with stumper Motwani coming in place of Pravin Deshetty. The ploy worked as the pair put up 71 runs for the first wicket in eight overs. But after Motwani fell to a chip shot off Ashish Suryavanshi at long off, the Royals slumped to 106 for 6 after 15 overs as the Sindhudurg bowlers made a remarkable comeback in the match.

Khadiwale perished in similar fashion to Motwani off Ajinkya Joshi in the next over and the remaining batsmen failed to build on the start the Royals had had. Joshi, Suryavanshi and P Madhavan claimed two wickets apiece for the Sailors.

Brief scores

Raigad Royals: 135 for 7; 20 overs (H Khadiwale 33, R Motwani 38, A Joshi 2/21) beat Sindhudurg Sailors: 66 all out; 16.5 overs (A Suryavanshi 14, N Salekar 3/9) by 69 runs

Man of the Match: Nitish Salekar (Raigad Royals)

King Soloman runs Tigers ragged

Emperors’ Soloman Chopade scores a whirlwind 92 in a total of 176; all that ends up being a little too much for the Torna Tigers

DECCAN GYMKHANA: Going by looks, Soloman Chopade is a small-built player, neither very tall, nor quite muscular. But give him a bat and a belter of a track and you could well get to see how hard he can hit a cricket ball. On Friday, the talented right-hander smashed the Torna Tigers to all parts of the Deccan Gymkhana ground to produce the highest individual score of MPL-II, and helped his team, the Devgiri Emperors, to get to the highest team total in this year’s tournament.

In all, that effort proved to be too much for the Torna Tigers, who suffered their third loss in four games in the MPL, which means that, every game from now on is a must-win for them.

Batting first, the Emperors stuttered at the start after the loss of openers Sumit Chavan and Chetan Suryavanshi with just 23 on the board, Chopade and Amit Patil, then began the repair job and it wasn’t long before they were caning the Tigers’ bowling to all parts. Though they came together with powerplay almost over, they were still able to find the boundaries at regular intervals, and later on, almost at will. Chopade’s magnificent 92 not out came off just 65 deliveries, with 11 hits two the fence and two over it.

“The pitch was absolutely flat. This is the best pitch we have played on in the MPL so far this season,” Chopade later said, “I just tried to time the ball well, play closer to my body and it worked.”

With Amit Patil (62 from 39 balls) going great guns at the other end, Emperors smashed 66 runs from the last five overs. Torna made a terrific effort to chase down the stiff target, scoring 60 runs from the first six overs despite losing three wickets. With Virag Awate and Karan Nandye (42 runs, 27 balls) putting on 66 runs for the fifth wicket, they were in with a realistic chance, needing 36 from the last four overs. But that was the time for the return of Chopade, as he got rid of Nande and Naseer Momin in the space of four balls with his medium pace. Bhikane then cleaned up Awate and the tail to earn Emperors their second win in four games.

Brief Scores

Devgiri Emperors: 176 for 4; 20 overs (Soloman Chopade 92, Amit Patil 62, Naseer Momin 2/22) beat Torna Tigers: 158 all out; 18.2 overs (Virag Awate 42, Karan Nandye 45, Kishore Bhikane 3/30) by 18 runs

Man of the Match: Soloman Chopade (Devgiri Emperors)

Sailors struck by Lions’ streak

Hapless Sindhudurg Sailors suffer humiliating 9 wickets loss as the Shivneri Lions’ win their third straight game

DECCAN GYMKHANA: It seems like the Shivneri Lions are almost unstoppable. On Thursday, they proved, once again, that they are fast emerging as favourites to make it all the way in the Cottonking Maharashtra Premier League. Sterling cameos by two Lions’ batsmen, Rahul Desai and Rahul Tripathi, steered Shivneri Lions to their third-straight win. At the wrong end of the blitz were the Sindhudurg Sailors.

Desai smashed a 49-ball 55 and carried his bat while Tripathi blazed his way to 49 off 39 balls as the two added 107 runs for the second wicket and remained undefeated.

The Lions’ batsmen had one too many aces up their sleeves as they made quick work of the Sailors’ total of 120 runs. The Lions won it with four overs to spare and with nine wickets in hand. Tripathi was named man-of-the-match for his impressive knock that came after opener Ghanashyam Deshmukh departed in the second over.

Earlier, Sindhudurg started off on a sedate note, as they struggled to pick the gaps. To the Lions credit, they were strong in the field and bowled a tight line, allowing only 50 runs in a little over 11 overs. The Sailors, though, managed to up the pace and by the end of 20 overs they had managed to reach 120 thanks to some good late hitting by Vikram Bhosale (21 not out) and Ashish Suryawanshi (25 not out).

Sanjay Pardeshi claimed two wickets while Naushad Shaikh, Sureshnath and skipper Deepak Shilamkar took one wicket apiece.

Brief scores

Sindhudurg Sailors: 120 for 7; 20 overs (Mahesh Arkal 28, Ashish Suryavanshi 25, Sanjay Pardeshi 2/17) lost to Shivneri Lions: 122 for 1; 16 overs (Rahul Desai 55, Rahul Tripathi 49, Rajendra Patkal 0/15) by 9 wickets

Man of the Match: Rahul Tripathi (Shivneri Lions)

Warriors win – finally!

All-rounder Nandan Kamat’s four wickets and late cameo keeps gives Pratapgad Warriors their first win

NAVI MUMBAI: All-rounders have ruled the pitch at MPL-2 so far and on Thursday, it was the turn of another one – Nandan Kamat – to steal the show. Kamat’s efforts, brilliantly supported by Swapnil Gugale and Parag More, ensured that the Pratapgad Warriors scored a much-needed win as they beat the Panhala Panthers at the D Y Patil stadium.

Panthers, batting first, had to contend with Kamat initially, who used the supportive bowling conditions very well, claiming four wickets for 24 runs. His four-wicket haul becomes even more crucial when one considers the fact that the new-ball bowlers, Aditya Dole and Samad Fallah, failed to take any wickets, something that they did regularly last season. Kamat’s exploits ensured that Panhala didn’t get away although their 128 for 6 was more than competitive on a slow D Y Patil track.

During the Warriors’ chase, ppener Swapnil Gugale held one end firm to score 48 off 53 balls. His innings included three fours and a six, the hit over the fence coming off Shrikant Mundhe’s bowling when Warriors needed seven runs from six balls to win.

Parag More played a cameo, smashing eight fours in his 27-ball 42, and Man-of-the-Match Nandan Kamat proved his worth by hammering 24 off 15 balls, which included a four and two sixes. In fact, it was the partnership between Gugale and Kamat (48 runs, 36 balls) that turned the game decisively in favour of Warriors, as it came just when the game had begun to run out of their hands.

This was a near must-win match for the Warriors, as they had won just one of their first three league games.

Brief Scores

Panhala Panthers: 128 for 6; 20 overs (V Jeurkar 23, G Kukade 25, Nandan Kamat 4/24) lost to Pratapgad Warriors: 132 for 6; 19.3 overs (S Gugale 48, Nandan Kamat 28, S Jadhav 2/20) by 4 wickets
Man of the Match: Nandan Kamat (Pratapgad Warriors)

Torna chase derails after Jadhav cramps

Torna Tigers were on the homestretch when their star bat Kedar Jadhav cramped up allowing Sinhagad Supremos to sneak through

POONA CLUB: The Torna Tigers seemed to be well on their way to victory against the Sinhagad Supremos on the fourth day of the Cottonking Maharashtra Premier League when a cruel twist led to their downfall. Their star batsman, Kedar Jadhav, developed cramps at a crucial juncture and once he departed the Tigers lost their way and allowing the Supremos to score an emphatic 21-run win Thursday.
Chasing a challenging total of 142 for five posted by Supremos, the Tigers were cruising comfortably at 81 for the loss of two wickets after 12 overs. At that stage, the Tigers’ batsmen Virat Awate and Kedar Jadhav were literally scoring at will. However, just when everything seemed to be going along just fine, the two started struggling with health problems. Awate’s stomach bug and Jadhav’s cramps meant that the Tigers lost momentum and eventually failed to make the target.
Supremos' spinners Akshay Darekar and Ganesh Gaikwad bowled tightly and arrested flow of runs before Jitendra Patil came up with a four-wicket haul to restrict the Tigers to 121 for nine.
Earlier in the day, Sinhagad built on a strong foundation laid by Arman Shaikh, who hit a swashbuckling half-century (55 in 49 balls) despite some quality bowling at the death by paceman Ranjit Chavan.
Shaikh began by slicing Chavan early in his innings and after that there was no looking back. His opening partner Vishant More smashed Chavan for three boundaries as the first over yielded 18 runs. More, however, fell on the first ball of the second over bowled by Nasir Momin.
Mansingh Nigade (14) briefly provided Shaikh company before Momin sent him back to the hut.
That brought Ganesh Gaikwad to the crease and led to the innings most fruitful alliance. Gaikwad gave Shaikh good company, scoring 28 off 26 balls in a 74-run third wicket partnership which was led by the indomitable Shaikh.
Supremos clocked up their 100 in 14 overs to set the stage for some big hitting. However, just when the Supremos looked to score well over 150, Chavan, who had taken a pasting in the first over of the innings, made a remarkable comeback to account for both Shaikh and Gaikwad. Shaikh went while trying to pierce the straight field when Adhav, at mid on, held on to a easy catch. Gaikwad perished in the same over after Chavan disturbed his furniture. Chavan’s last three overs went for just 11 runs as Torna Tigers restricted Supremos to below 142.
Tigers’ openers Awate and Saurabh Singhvi started steadily but the scoring picked up after the fourth over when the Tigers scored five boundaries in two overs. At the end of the powerplay, the Tigers were 41 for no loss. Darekar removed Singhvi immediately after but Jadhav joined hands with Awate to take Torna to within handshaking distance of the target.
Awate smashed 33 in 28 balls with the help of five boundaries while Jadhav was unfortunately run out after making run-a-ball 27. Awate fell to Vishal Bhillare and the chase was derailed. Supremos’ spinners Darekar and Gaikwad took control from here on and gave nothing away. About that time, the required rate rose to around 10 -- a difficult proposition on a slow wicket -- and the Tigers’ batsmen succumbed while going for the big shots.

Brief scores

Sinhagad Supremos: 142 for 5; 20 overs (Arman Shaikh 55, Ganesh Gaikwad 28; Ranjit Chavan 2/29, Naseer Momin 2/12) beat Torna Tigers: 121 for 9; 20 overs (Virag Awate 33, Kedar Jadhav 27; Jitendra Patil 4/18) - by 21 runs

Man-of-the-Match: Arman Shaikh

It's Lions who make Emperors run

Opener Deshmukh sets the tone and example for other batsmen that DY Patil is no bowlers paradise

NAVI MUMBAI: So far the DY Patil track has not been 'friendly' to the batsmen and the end-result has ensured that no one has managed to walk tall with consistent back-to-back performances.

While the need of the hour is someone who can dare, posses qualities like 'class' and 'caliber' apart from standing up to the occasion, Wednesday saw opener Ghanashyam Deshmukh respond well to the needs. As a result Deshmukh masterminded Shivneri Lions to an easy win over Devgiri Emperors.

Having made 40 on a slow turning track on Tuesday against Torna Tigers in a successful chase on Tuesday, Deshmukh ‘deservedly’ got a slightly better pitch to bat on. But his knock against Emperors was much different than the one against Torna.

Against Torna the situation was knowing the target and going after the bowling straightway by hitting four fours in first three overs itself. Wednesday, it was about setting a target, creating a platform for the rest of the batting order so that they can make hell for leather.

Deshmukh and other opener Rahul Desai scored just nine runs from first five overs, but Deshmukh knew exactly what he was doing. Once he realized ball was coming onto the bat a bit better than on Tuesday, he started playing his strokes freely, and soon his strike-rate shot up in the nineties from sixties.

He ended up with a strike-rate above hundred, as his 60 came off 56 balls, and included six fours and one six. Once the right-hand opener had done the initial work, it was about someone raising the bar in the death overs, and Shivneri’s T20 specialist Taranjit Singh took that responsibility on himself.

In no time, he raced to 27, off just nine balls, 22 of them coming in boundaries (three sixes and a four).

Anything above 120 is not a easy score to chase on this pitch, and with Sanjay Pardeshi getting rid of three top-order batsmen in his first three overs, Devgiri Emperors were out of the game very soon. Once they lost Amit Patil in the sixth over, the writing was very much on the wall.

The eventual victory margin of 44 runs just registered the total dominance of Shivneri once again, something that looked really difficult when they were batting for the first five overs.

Brief Scores

Shivneri Lions: 135 for 5; 20 overs (Ghanashyam Deshmukh 60,, Taranjeet Singh 27; Chetan Suryawanshi 2/15) b Devgiri Emperors: 91 all out;19.3 overs (Ketan Kasture 23, Deepak Shilamkar 3/4, Sanjay Pardeshi 3/8) - by 44 runs

Man-of-the-Match: Ghanashyam Deshmukh (Shivneri Lions)

Royal blow to Panthers

Wayward Raigad bowling hardly matters in end-result as Panhala batsmen go into a shell while setting a target

POONA CLUB: Imagine being offered 18 extra balls (three overs) by the opponent's bowling attack in a Twenty20 game and then managing to set a meager 5.9 runs per over chase. Stumped? Well if you had to be a Panhala Panthers follower you certainly will. But if you had to be a Raigad Royals fan then perhaps you would have 'laughed' at the and relish the 6-wicket victory.

So went went wrong for teh Panthers who could muster 117, which meant that their batters hardly to exploit the Royals' bowlers who went through their worst spell. Mind you Royals had travelled back from Navi Mumbai for the game today and their opening MPL-2 loss to Devgiri Emperors was not exactly the mood to put their best foot forward.

Nevertheless, Panthers were perhaps put back when Nikhil Paradkar claimed a first-ball of the match wicket of Vipul Jeurkar and then sent back the other opener Tushar Srivastav leaving Panthers reeling at 8/3 in the third.

Working on rebuilding their innings, Panthers in their bid to score and refuse to be contained as well, let Royals get away with the sundries. Barring a 15-ball 17 by skipper Srikant Munde and a 13 off 9 ball effort by Prathamesh Pawar, the rest remained cautious. The highest partnership of the innings - incidentally the first 50 plus partnership of the tournament - had Sangram Bagul and Vinayak Renuse knit 52 (71 balls) for the third-wicket.

With Royals done with their 'bad-cum-good show,' it was a matter of discipline that was needed for them to run home victors. With Rohan Bhosale and top-scorer of the match Sangram Atitkar putting on 79 of 81 balls for the third-wicket, the point that Royals proved was to score at least a run a ball unlike Panthers.

While the victory came with three balls to spare, one cannot afford to ignore and acknowledge the tight bowling of Anupam Sanklecha who's first spell read 2-0-7-2, before his second spell no doubt put the brakes but was at the fag end when the match was almost done. Sanklecha's last over had the scores-level. And before Sanklecha could dominate Rohit Motwani dispatched him to the boundary off the second ball. The four turned out to be the second boundary Sanklecha conceded from the 8 scoring shots he allowed. The other batter who dared Sanklecha was Royals skipper Harshad Khadiwale, before walking on the next ball. Mid-way Azhard Ansari bowled 2-0-7-0, but then in end-analysis the Panthers stats were no doubt better than their opponents and the thought that lingered was what if the batters did a fraction better

For Royals' this was their second win in as many matches in MPL against Panthers.

Brief Scores

Panhala Panthers: 117 all out; 20 overs (Vinayak Renuse 28, Sangram Bagul 23, Sandeep Adole 2/18, Sangram Atitkar 2/21, Nikhil Paradkar 2/24) lost to Raigad Royals: 120 for 4; 19.2 overs (Sangram Atitkar 48, Rohan Bhosale 35; Anupam Sanklecha 2/16

Royals disarm hapless Warriors

Early strikes by Royals’ pacer Sunil Patel cripple Warrior effort. Royals eventually win with 6.4 overs to spare

Poona Club: Royals’ medium-pacer Sunil Patel struck three early blows reducing Pratapgad Warriors to 7 for 3 which soon became 9 for 4 as defending champion Raigad Royals laid a strong foundation for an easy seven-wicket win. The victory was achieved with a more than comfortable 6.4 overs in what turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Poona Club here on Wednesday.
For the Warriors, it all started to wrong right at the beginning and they must have rued the fact that they chose to bat after winning the toss. Patel, opening the bowling for the Royals, turned up the heat immediately and before many of the spectators had even settled into their seats, three of the Warriors top orders were back in the hut.
Sunil Yadav was first to go when Sangram Atitkar snapped him up. Things got worse when Shailesh Bhosale followed him to the pavilion – Royals captain Harshad Khadiwale running him out. Patel, meanwhile, went for the kill as he sent Parag More and Warriors’ skipper Satyajit Satbhai back to the pavilion without giving them a chance to open their account. Tottering at a precarious 9-4 situation, opener Swapnil Gugale, who played a match-winning knock on Tuesday against Devgiri Emperors, managed to steady the ship for a while.
He added 17 runs for the fifth wicket along with Pankaj Kalyankar before Nitish Salekar broke that alliance. Sushant Waze then joined Gugale and then the two added 25 runs for the sixth wicket before Khadiwale removed Waze (17) to leave Pratapgad in dire straits.
Only for things to get even worse as Gugale was run run out. The lower order collapsed just as the top order had crumbled earlier in the innings and the Warriors were bowled out for a measly 77 in 19 overs. The Royals, while not unnecessarily adventurous, began briskly enough with captain Khadiwale leading from the front by scoring an unbeaten 42 off 40 balls that included six hits to the boundary.
Khadiwale and Praveen Deshetty put on 45 runs for the first wicket and that was enough to shut the Warriors out of the game. Samad Fallah, the pace bowler who had attracted a lot of attention during the auction, failed to get going but the Warriors could take heart from Aditya Dole’s performance.
Dole, who enjoyed quite a bit of success for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL-3, struck twice but it wasn’t enough to create any panic in the Raigad camp. Dole removed Hanumant Pujari and Sangram Atitkar cheaply, but Khadiwale held firm from one end and scored the winning runs for their second straight win after having suffered a loss in their opening match.

Brief Scores

Pratapgad Warriors: 77 all out; 19 overs (Swapnil Gugale 23, Sushant Waze 17, Nandan Kamat 12 n.o; Sunil Patel 3/9, Sangram Atitkar 2/19) lost to Raigad Royals: 78/3; 13.2 overs (Harshad Khadiwale 42 n.o, Praveen Deshetty 18; Samad Fallah 3/18) - by 7-wickets

Man-Of-The Match: Sunil Patel (Royals)

Panthers rip Sailors apart

All round performance by Panhala Panthers’ skipper Shrikant Mundhe ensures Sindhudurg Sailors’ downfall in curtailed match

Navi Mumbai: Apart from being the Panhala Panthers’ leading run-scorer in MPL-I, Shrikant Mundhe was instrumental in the Maharashtra U-22 boys making it to the Elite division for the next season. On Wednesday, he again proved why he is rated as one of the better all-rounders in the state helping his team comfortably get past the Sindhudurg Sailors.
For skipper Mundhe and the Panhala coaching staff, it was first about making a strategy, and then executing it, with their captain being at the centre of it all. The plan, like all good ones, was simple -- to go after the bowling in first six overs of the powerplay, then focus on finding the gaps and, finally, go hell for leather again towards the end. Simple and effective but easier said than done for sure.
The Panhala openers went after the bowling successfully in the powerplay with Tushar Srivastav and Vinayak Jeurkar smashing 28 runs off the first three overs. “We converted a lots of ones into twos and twos into threes today. That was always in the plan, and it worked,” Mundhe explained later.
And then it was the turn of Mundhe himself to execute the last part of the plan -- that of going after the bowling towards the death. He smashed two sixes in a Imran Sayyed over, and his 12-ball 29 enabled Panhala to reach 128 for 6 in 15 overs in this curtailed match. The game was curtailed to 15 overs per side as Sindhudurg Sailors got stuck in traffic arriving late and forcing the start of the match to be delayed by 45 minutes.
It seemed like their travel issues were still on their mind and the Panthers’ aggressive batsmanship provided no respite. Not that there was any coming in the chase for the Sailors. The Panthers struck within the first three balls of the Sailors’ innings, as Anupam Sanklecha first forced Rohit Kakade to edge one to the wicketkeeper, and then dismissed Preetish Madhavan with a magnificent swinging yorker that took the middle-stump out of the ground.
Once Sindhudurg lost their best batsman Ameya Shrikhande with just 41 runs on the board, it was all about trying to score as many runs as possible and saving face rather than going for the target. Sindhudurg eventually reached 101 for 5 before they simply ran out of time and overs.
Brief Scores
Panhala Panthers: 128 for 6; 15 overs (T Srivastav 40 (37 balls, 4x4), Vinayak Renuse 30, Shrikant Munde 29; R Patkal 3/28, Imran Sayyed 2/23) beat Sindhudurg Sailors: 101/5; 15 overs (Ajinkya Joshi 31 n.o, Amey Srikhande 24; M Arkal 18; Anupam Sanklecha 2/21, Srikant Munde 2/19) -- by 27 runs
Man-Of-The Match: Shrikant Mundhe (Panthers)

Tigers might forces Warriors retreat

All-rounder Kiran Adhav plays a major role in exacting ‘revenge’ after last year’s loss

NAVI MUMBAI: At twenty-seven, Kiran Adhav is arguably one of the best leaders in the MPL. He has experience, poses the guile, and the all-round ability, which in turn makes him an ideal Twenty20 leader.

The Deccan Gymkhana player, easily the best left-arm spinner in the State, proved why he is rated so highly on Monday, as his all-round performance enabled Torna Tigers beat last year’s runners-up Pratapgad Warriors by 15 runs in another low-scoring affair at DY Patil Stadium.

On a day when low-scores was the order of the day, Adhav first scored a quick 19 to take his side to 120, which had become a kind of par score for the day. With some of the State’s best batsmen struggling for timing on a slow track, Adhav managed to hit two big sixes to equal the collective number of sixes logged in the two other matches played on Monday.

Eventually, it was this 17-ball unbeaten 22 that ensured Torna get to a run-a-ball 120-run total. The effort also meant crossing the psychological barrier.

With both the teams standing witness to how tough it was to chase even a 120-odd total on this wicket in the day’s first match, Pratapgad Warriors were very cautious at the start.

Skipper Satyajit Satbhai and Sunil Yadav scored a lot of ones and twos, without taking any risks. At the same time, they also ensured that they kept the required run-rate within check.

That is when Adhav decided to take the game in control, this time with his left-arm spin. He took four steps to the crease, delayed his action by a fraction and bowled a slow fult toss at Satbhai. Result: the Pratapgad skipper lobbed it straight back to the left-arm spinner. That probably was the biggest wicket as Satbhai was one player who could have comfortably seen his side home.

Four overs later, Adhav got rid of Pankaj Kalyankar, a batsman with the reputation of being a big hitter, as Torna tightened the screws. Leggie Sunil Yadav was equally a miser at the other end, conceding just 15 runs from his four overs.

With Adhav conceding just 18 off his four, the required run-rate went above nine, and the rest of the Pratapgad batsmen just couldn’t take that pressure.

The victory was a sweet revenge for Torna, who had lost to Pratapgad in the semi-finals last year.

Brief Scores
Torna Tigers: 119; 20 overs (Saurabh Shinghvi 37, Kedar Jadhav 32, Kiran Adhav 22 n.o; Aditya Dole 2/12, Shehzad Fakhi 2/34) b Pratapgad Wariors: 104; 20 overs (Satyajit Satbhai 32, Sunil Yadav 26, Parag More 22; Kiran Adhav 2/18) – by 15 runs

Warriors get better of Emperors

Opener Gugale carries his bat through the innings to ensure easy 7-wicket win

DECCAN GYMKHANA: Swapnil Gugale smashed six boundaries and a towering six in a amazing display of batting to steer Pratapgad Warriors to seven-wicket win against Devgiri Emperors.

Gugale opened Pratapgad’s chase and batted through 20 overs before bringing on the winning run in the 20th over to leave Devgiri in tatters despite having put up a decent total on the board. On the slow Deccan pitch, Gugale showed patience even as he lost his opening partner Sunil Yadav in the first over. Rather than getting rattled by such an early shock, Gugale combined with Shailesh Bhosale (30) and his captain Satyajit Satbhai (35) as they weaved Pratapgad’s response to the logical conclusion.

Staring at a challenging total of 147 for six posted by Devgiri Emperors, Pratapgad showed that the team had recovered well from the opening day loss as they showed resolve to leave behind the memories of the loss and carry forward.

The 19-year-old Gugale was the cynosure of Warriors’ fight-back as he grafted every good length ball while punished the loose one to get to unbeaten 68, the first half-century of the MPL 2010. Gugale first combined with Bhosale and the two maintained a healthy run rate before Satbhai joined in and added his valuable contribution.

Devgiri bowlers were at sea against the committed tandem led by Gugale, who exploded with some powerful hitting after he crossed his 30. Both Gugale and Satbhai negotiated the Emperor’s attack with much aplomb as they put Warriors to 116 in the 16th over.

Satbhai departed at this crucial juncture as Kishore Bikhane removed the threatening looking Warriors’ skipper. The target was still afar, but Parag More stepped in to give Gugale the much-needed support. Warriors needed 21 runs from 18 balls and though the target was easy to approach, Devgiri fielders handed them on a platter as misfields crept in.

Finally, Warriors needed six off six and there stepped in Gugale, who was dropped by Soloman Chopade in the first over, and swatted two boundaries off Akshay Tandale, who was bowling the 20th over of the innings. Warriors emerged the worthy winners with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Devgiri Emperors, who were on a high after beating defending champions Raigad Royals on Monday, fizzled out despite a promising start. Warriors’ Samad Fallah was among the wickets as he was impressive in his four overs, picking up four wickets in conceding 26 runs. Fallah’s tight bowling was key in restricting Emperors to a modest 147. Soloman Chopade (30), Amit Patil (33) and Kunal Marathe (24 not out) managed to bring some respectability to their teams batting.

Man-of-the-match, Swapnil Gugale said: "I was dismissed for one run in our first match, so I knew I had to perform. The captain also expected me to score and this was a good opportunity for me. I got good partners at the other end of the wicket also.

Brief Scores
Devgiri Emperors: 147 for 6; 20 overs (Amit Patil 33, Soloman Chopade 30, Kunal Marathe 24 n.o; Samad Fallah 3/26, Sunil Yadav 2/21) lost to Pratapgad Warriors: 152 for 3; 19.3 overs (Swapnil Gugale 68 n.o, Satyajit Satbhai 35, Shailesh Bhosale 30; Kishore Bhikane 2/11) by 7-wickets

Man of the Match: Swapnil Gugale (Pratapgad Warriors)

Jadhav Joy: Panthers take final leap

Jadhav Joy: Panthers take final leap

Sinhagad Supremos fightback in vain as low scoring opening game decided with 9-balls to spare

DECCAN GYMKHANA: If restricting Sinhagad Supremos to paltry total was reason to believe that the opening match of MPL-2 was going to be one-sided contest in favour of Panhala Panthers one certainly had the wrong thought. The end result portrayed "struggle" as Panthers managed to scraped home by 4-wickets with nine balls to spare.

Electing to bat first, Supremos had their first four individual scores read: 0, 5, 0, 0, thanks to an MPL-best by Panthers' left-arm leg-break bowler Satyajit Jadhav who claimed (4/11) off just three overs. Three wickets in the fourth-over of the innings by the Panthers top wicket taker in MPL-1 saw Vishant More, Vishal Bhilare and Raviraj Patil walk back only to leave Supremos seeking a 'saviour.'

Picking up the innings from 8/4, Mansingh Nigde in association with top-scorer Azhar Ansari (37) put on 61 (66 balls) to give the innings respectability. All rounder Ansari did his part magnificently with the block and occasional hit to the ropes sequence as compared to Nigde who was a little more aggressive scoring at almost a run per ball.

Panthers' Jadhav may have impressed - incudes six dot balls - but the real support in tying down the innings came from new ball bowler Anupam Sanklecha who conceded 11 from his quota of 4 overs.

Left with an option of bowling tight to make a match of it, Supremos took time to clamp the opposition. Panthers in the meantime put themselves in cruize mode (58/2) at the half way stage of their innings thanks to the classy effort by Vipul Jeurkar - incidentally he clubbed the game's 'only' and tourney's 'first' six over long -on - who eventually ended up top-scorer.

But then two run-outs in a span of 20 balls, first the 'patient' Sangram Bagul and then a 'hasty' Sanklecha, apart from offie Ganesh Gaikwad claiming Vinayak Renuse and Akshay Darekar pushing back Ganesh Kukade stopped Panthers in their track. The slump said it all: 72/6 indicating all was not lost.

However, Panthers had Munde and Manish Desai put on 29 (25 balls) to see them home, which certainly must of got several sighs from those within the dug-outs.

Brief Scores

Sinhagad Supremos: 100/8; 20 overs (Azhar Ansari 37, Mansingh Nigde 27, Akshay Darekar 13; Satyajit Jadhav 4/11, Shrikant Mundhe 2/19) lost to Panhala Panthers: 101/6; 18.3 overs (Vipul Jeurkar 32, Shrikant Mundhe 24 n.o, Sangram Bagul 13; Akshay Darekar 2/12

Shocker! Royals take a bow

Pacer Bhikane claims three in an over to ensure Emperors lay foundation for their 15-run win

NAVI MUMBAI: He comes from a relatively smaller place (at least in cricketing locales) called Latur. His coach, former State Ranji pacer Prasad Kanade, was known as Latur Express, and more than a decade and half later, his ward Kishore Bhikane is continuing to do what Kanade did best - run through opposition’s top-order.

The tall right-handed Bhikane, on Monday, did it against defending champions Raigad Royals, which gave Devgiri Emperors a cracking 15-run victory over the defending champions in MPL’s first-ever match under lights at the D Y Patil Stadium.

After Devgiri were bowled out for 117 off the last ball of the 20th over, and Khadiwale and De Shetty hit three fours in the first two overs, there looked like only one favourite in this game. But that’s when the 'Bhikane Show' began.

He first knocked back the off-stump of State Ranji skipper Harshad Khadiwale, then bowled a smart rising delivery which De Shetty could only pull straight to square-leg two balls later, and, on the last ball of his over, had Sangram Atitkar caught at point. Three of Raigad’s best batsmen removed, and Devgiri were right back in the game. “Bhikane did the initial work for us. It helped us pressure them,” Devgiri coach Hemant Athlye said.

With Bhikane going great guns, skipper Chetan Suryavanshi kept him on for four overs on the trot, and although Bhikane did not get any more wickets, he made sure that the flow of runs almost dried. By the time he was out of the attack, the required run-rate had already gone upto 7.4 runs per over, from initial 5.9.

Devgiri’s other bowlers Akshay Tandale and Ketan Kasture, made full use of that pressure, as fours became a rare sight. Left-handed Nikhil Paradkar and Digambar Waghmare kept the ones and twos coming but they were always followed by dot balls. As the pressure started to increase even further, the duo started to take a lot of risk while running, and while attempting a suicidal single, Waghmare was found well short of his crease.

Paradkar was brilliantly stumped two balls later by Suryavanshi, as Raigad’s chase became even more improbable.

“The wicket was a bit slow, and we lost too many wickets early. We played some bad shots. We can’t afford to do such things in future,” Raigad Royals skipper Harshad Khadiwale admitted.

Brief Scores

Devgiri Emperors: 117/ 20 overs (Sumit Chavan 42, Sandeep Adole 2/7, Sangram Atitkar 2/19) b Raigad Royals: 102/ 19.4 overs (Nikhil Paradkar 29, Ketan Kasture 3/17, Kishore Bhikane 3/19) - by 15 runs

Man-Of-The-Match: Kishore Bhikane (Devgiri Emperors)