Special invitees from Gadchiroli cheer for Bharat Rangers

 AROUND 800 school children from Gadchiroli’s Naxal-infested area were special invitees of B Prabhakaran, Lloyd’s Metal & Energy and Rohit Agrawal of Rohit Agrawal Iron and Steel Company’s Bharat Rangers match of the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium.

The kids witnessed table-toppers Bharat Rangers’ clash against Pagariya Strikers from the stands and enjoyed every bit of the moment. The kids were part of the initiative drawn at the behest of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the development and training of affected children and their families. The kids were seen waving franchise’s flags at every four and sixes hit and also when they took wickets of the rival team.

Snacks packets and water was provided by Bharat Rangers to promote social awareness.

Rangers suffer first defeat

Lose to Pagariya Strikers by nine wickets

By Paritosh Pramanik

PAGARIYA Strikers’ openers Aditya Ahuja and Faiz Sheikh overpowered Bharat Rangers’ Varun Bisht’s brutal knock to hand the table toppers their first defeat of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Monday evening.

Chasing 183 runs target, Pagariya Strikers rode on two top-order partnerships to achieve the target with nine wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare. The win also arrested their two-game losing streak and now they moved to fourth spot with six points from five games.

In the first innings, Bisht bailed out Bharat Rangers from a 

precarious 101-6 in 15 overs to 182 in 20. 

The target looked challenging before Ahuja (38) and left-handed Faiz (77*; 42b, 6x4, 4x6) went on boundary-plucking spree to deflate Bharat Rangers. Ahuja missed his half century after being sent back by Bisht in 8th over. But Ravikumar Samarth (61*; 37b, 3x4, 4x6) and Faiz added unbeaten 113 runs for the second wicket to make the chase look easy. Samarth got back his Orange Cap once again, emerging as the top scorer with 261 runs from five innings.

Bharat Rangers bowlers were themselves to blame for the defeat as the bowled either too full or too short. Captain Atharva Taide used six bowlers but to no avail. Shubham Kapse and Impact Sub Mandar Ghodmare were hit for three sixes each.

Earlier, diminutive hard-hitting batter Bisht (56; 18b, 2x4, 7x6) unleashed his brute power to escort Bharat Rangers to a competitive 182-8 after they were in a spot of bother initially.

Bharat Rangers were 100-6 after 15 overs when Bisht walked in to join Jagjot Sasan (31). What unfolded in the next five overs was a carnage from Bisht as he recorded the fastest fifty (54) of the tournament which came from just 15 deliveries. 

By the time he raised his bat to celebrate his half century, Bisht had slammed seven huge sixes and two boundaries.

Along with Sasan, the duo added important 69 runs for the seventh wicket with the former scoring just nine runs. From the last five overs, Bharat Rangers scored 82 runs to pose a fight . Sasan got out in the 18th over and Bisht followed him in the next over giving the bowlers enough cushion of runs to defend.

For Pagariya Strikers, skipper Yash Kadam, Kaustubh Salve and R Sanjay took two wickets each.

SCOREBOARD

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide b Kadam 1 3 0 0

D Malewar c Ramaswamy b Chawate 8 9 1 0

V Jajoo c Ahuja b Kadam 38 21 4 2

M Agrawal c Sheikh b Salve 14 18 1 0

J Sasan c Ramaswamy b Yadav 31 28 1 1

V Palandurkar c Kadam b Salve 1 5 0 0

A Sarwate c Samarth b Ramaswamy 12 13 1 0

V Bisht c Rajput b Ramaswamy 56 18 2 7

N Bhute Not Out 2 3 0 0

K Kungwani Not Out 9 3 0 1

Extras: (w 5, lb 1, b 3, nb 1) 10

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 182

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-12, 3-60, 4-66, 5-71, 6-100, 7-169, 8-171.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-35-1, Kadam 4-0-19-2, Chawate 3-0-45-1, Salve 4-0-31-2, Singh 1-0-9-0, Gujar 2-0-24-0, Ramaswamy 2-0-15-2.

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Ahuja c Kungwani b Bisht 38 29 5 1

F Sheikh Not Out 77 42 6 4

R Samarth Not Out 61 37 3 4

Extras: (wd 6, b 1) 7

TOTAL: (1 wicket, 18 overs) 183

Fall of wicket: 1-70.

Bowling: Bhute 3-0-25-0, Kapse 2-0-32-0, Kungwani 3-0-28-0, Sarwate 2-0-19-0, Bisht 4-0-38-1, Ghodmare 3-0-34-0, Sasan 1-0-6-0.

Neco Master Blaster out of play-offs race

Lose to Nagpur Heroz by 6 wkts for 5th straight defeat

By Paritosh Pramanik

DEFENDING champions Neco Master Blaster slumped to their fifth defeat in-a-row and are out of play-offs race after they were beaten by six wickets by Nagpur Heroz in a rain-curtailed VPL match on Monday afternoon.

The Jitesh Sharma-led side, which is lingering at the bottom of the table, posted a meagre 146 all out in 19 overs. Heavens opened during the innings break and the chase for Nagpur Heroz was delayed by around 45 minutes. The revised target of 94 from 11 overs was chased down easily in 7.5 overs (DLS method) by Nagpur Heroz who moved to third spot with six points.

Neco Master Blaster still have two games in hand and even if they win those they would earn only four points which won’t be enough for them to finish at least fourth for a play-offs berth.

Nagpur Heroz opener and captain Aman Mokhade stayed unbeaten with 38 from 18 balls. Mokhade and Siddhesh Wath (12) put up 47 runs for the third wicket to keep the chase in control. Costliest player of the competition Apoorv Wankhade hit eight-ball 19 runs with two sixes and a four to seal the deal for Heroz. 

Neco Master Blaster shot themselves in their foot by playing rash shots when asked to bat first as their innings folded at 146 in 19 overs.

Neco Master Blaster had an outside chance to make it to the play-offs but they played without any purpose. Their shot selection was questionable and batters, including captain Jitesh Sharma, will have to explain their ways of throwing their wickets. When boundaries could have been scored, most of the batters went for aerial routes giving each catch.

Jitesh walked in at No 5 with the scoreboard reading 79-4 in the 9th over. He smacked Rajveer Jolly for a four and a six but then had brain-fade as he threw his wicket by playing an unwanted scoop shot. Umesh Yadav gleefully accepted the catch behind the wicketkeeper.

Nagpur Heroz bowlers enjoyed the afternoon where sun played hide-and-seek with clouds over the Jamtha sky.

All the five bowlers were among wickets with Tejas Soni emerging as the highest wicket-taker of the innings with three scalps. Rajneesh Gurbani and Jolly chipped in with two wickets each while Parth Rekhade and Yadav picked up one apiece. Yadav would have taken a couple had Mokhade not spilled a sitter. Yadav was later smacked for 22 runs by Sanmesh Deshmukh with three sixes and a four. Tushar Naidu scored 28 runs at the top while Vaibhav Chandekar put up 21 batting at No 3.

SCOREBOARD

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

A Daga c Wankhade b Gurbani 11 10 2 0

T Kadu c Gurbani b Soni 28 20 3 2

V Chandekar c Wankhade b Jolly 21 19 1 1

A Meshram c Yadav b Rekhade 8 9 1 0

J Sharma c Yadav b Jolly 11 6 1 1

V Dighade c Wath b Gurbani 9 15 0 0

S Rajput c Rathod b Soni 16 11 0 2

S Deshmukh Not Out 26 15 1 3

D Parwani c Wath b Yadav 1 4 0 0

G Dhoble lbw b Soni 9 4 2 0

A Jayaswal run out (Wath) 1 2 0 0

Extras: (wd 4, nb 1) 5

TOTAL: (All out, 19 overs) 146

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-45, 3-66, 4-79, 5-87, 6-107, 7-112, 

8-113, 9-122.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-39-1, Gurbani 4-0-24-2, Soni 3-0-31-3, 

Rekhade 4-0-24-1, Jolly 4-0-28-2.

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Sharma b Deshmukh 0 3 0 0

A Mokhade Not Out 38 18 0 4

T Suryavanshi c Rajput b Parwani 14 4 2 1

S Wath c Daga b Gupta 12 10 2 0

K Rathod c Jayaswal b Gupta 8 5 1 0

A Wankhade Not Out 19 8 1 2

Extras: (wd 3, nb 1) 4

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 7.5 overs) 95

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-62, 4-74.

Bowling: Deshmukh 2-0-28-1, Parwani 2.5-0-37-1, Gupta 

2-0-19-2, Jayaswal 1-0-11-0. 

(Nagpur Heroz won via DLS method)

Bharat Rangers put one foot in play-offs

     

By Paritosh Pramanik

DOMINANT Bharat Rangers put one foot into play-offs with their fourth successive win in the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCAs’ Jamtha International Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Chasing 179 for win, Rangers knocked off the runs with 11 balls to spare. The Atharva Taide-led Bharat Rangers defeated Nagpur Heroz by six wickets to consolidate their position at the top of table with highest eight points in their kitty. Mathematically, they still need a win to confirm their berth in play-offs.

Openers Taide (56; 37b, 10x4) and Danish Malewar (67*; 41b, 6x3, 3x6) laid the foundation of the win with the latter carrying his bat through scoring unbeaten 67 runs from 41 balls. The duo posted 85 runs for the opening wicket which put them in a strong position.

After a few hiccups, Varun Bisht, walking in at No 6 hit a 9-ball unbeaten 33 runs with a couple of boundaries and four huge sixes to kill the match in 18.1 overs.

Captain Taide started brightly hitting three fours off the first over off Rajneesh Gurbani and then smashed Umesh Yadav for a couple of fours in the second over of their innings. Taide completed his second half century of the season with two crisp boundaries off Tejas Soni. He first drove the ball through covers and then pulled it through mid-wicket. His innings was cut short by a diving catch from Aman Mokhade on the edge of the circle off Siddhant Muley. They added 85 runs for the opening wicket.

Malewar lowered his guard and stayed put in the middle as wickets tumbled around him. He completed his second fifty of the season by hitting Ankush Tammiwar for a four.

Earlier, Bharat Rangers restricted Nagpur Heroz to a below-par total of 178-8. Spinner Mandar Ghodmare, who was later declared man of the match, gave them important breakthroughs taking three crucial wickets in the middle overs. Nagpur Heroz wouldn’t have reached 170 but for Gurbani’s nine-ball 27 which had two sixes and a boundary from the last over off Bhute.

After losing captain Aman Mokhade on the first ball, Nagpur Heroz’s Parth Rekhade (46) and Tushar Suryavanshi (27) added 54 runs for the second wicket as they scored 61 runs in powerplay.

Suryavanshi perished to a clever delivery from Kunal Kungwani and was caught at extra cover by Taide. Rekhade missed out on a half century after he was brilliantly caught by Jagjot Sasan at the long-on boundary.

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Sasan b Bisht 46 29 4 3

A Mokhade c Sarwate b Bhute 0 1 0 0

T Suryavanshi c Taide b Kungwani 27 13 3 2

S Wath c Bisht b Ghodmare 31 24 1 2

K Rathod b Ghodmare 16 15 0 2

S Muley retired out 4 9 0 0

A Wankhade c Agrawal b Ghodmare 0 2 0 0

T Soni c Sarwate b Bhute 10 8 1 0

A Kombe Not Out 16 10 1 1

R Gurbani Not Out 27 9 1 3

Extras: (w 1) 1

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 178

Fall of wickets:1-1, 2-55, 3-83, 4-110, 5-125, 6-125, 7-126, 

8-145.

Bowling: Bhute 4-0-43-2, Kapse 3-0-32-0, Kungwani 

2-0-28-1, Bisht 3-0-21-1, Sarwate 4-0-34-0, Ghodmare 

4-0-20-3.

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide c Mokhade b Muley 56 37 10 0

D Malewar Not Out 67 41 6 3

V Jajoo c Rathod b Rekhade 3 5 0 0

V Palandurkar c Soni b Rekhade 9 9 0 1

J Sasan c Wath b Yadav 7 8 1 0

V Bisht Not Out 33 9 2 4

Extras: (w 4, lb 1) 5

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 18.1 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-85, 2-90, 3-112, 4-144.

Bowling: Gurbani 2.1-0-30-0, Yadav 3-0-40-1, Muley 

4-0-33-1, Soni 2-0-25-0, Rekhade 4-0-23-2, Tammiwar 

2-0-17-0, Rathod 1-0-11-0.

Mahale and Thakare guide Tigers to 5-wicket victory

By Paritosh Pramanik

ORANGE Tigers bowlers fired in unison and then the batters, especially Mandar Mahale, demonstrated their batting abilities to beat India Warriors in the Vidarbha Premier League here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 149 runs put up by India Warriors, Orange Tigers cantered home with five wickets in hand and five balls to spare. This was Orange Tigers’ third win and they are at the second spot with six points behind Bharat Rangers (8).

Despite losing Rohit Binkar cheaply in the second over of the innings, Orange Tigers still managed to score 51-1 in powerplay. Mahale (81; 62b, 6x4, 4x6) took the charge hitting a couple of sixes in the next over. The left-handed batter duly completed his half century in 43 deliveries which was laced with three fours and as many sixes. Mahale and Dhruv Shorey (8) added 50 runs for the second wicket and then Mahale was joined by captain Yash Rathod (25) to put up 65 runs for the third wicket. Mahale got run out when the team needed just two runs after he tried to take a non-existent run.

Earlier, Orange Tigers put pressure on India Warriors from the first ball when Saurabh Dubey got opener Vaibhav Lande on his first delivery. Dubey beautifully bowled an inswinger which rattled Lande’s furniture. Sabbamitta Gavai, promoted up the order, hit some lusty blows to ease pressure. The tall and well-built batter hit Aditya Thakare for a six over long off and then scored a boundary towards third man.

Orange Tigers bowled a penetrative line with Purple Cap holder Aditya Thakare making it difficult for India Warriors batters. He rightly swelled his wickets column to 13 with three scalps on Sunday evening. His three victims were Satyam Bhoyar, Shree Choudhary and Praful Hinge. Orange Tigers’ mentor Trevor Gonsalves, who is also the assistant coach of IPL franchise Punjab Kings, used his experience and rotated the bowlers judiciously. He used spinner Shreyash Padole in the middle-overs and the bowler restricted the run flow giving only 24 runs from his quota of four overs. Saurabh Dubey, who bowled the wicket-maiden first over conceded only 21 runs in three overs taking two wickets.

As for the India Warriors, they found it difficult to get going. Bhoyar, Gavai, Darshan Nalkande and Ashit Singh scored in double digits but perished to some fine bowling by Tigers.

Kshitiz Dahiya got the better of dangerous looking Gavai in the sixth over as Warriors were pushed to the wall with 54-3 in powerplay.

For the second game in running, India Warriors were led by Shubham Dubey in place of regular captain Akshay Wadkar.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA WARRIORS INNINGS R B 4 6

V Lande b Dubey 0 1 0 0

S Bhoyar c Dubey b Thakare 20 11 0 2

S Gavai c Padole b Dahiya 30 22 3 2

D Nalkande run out Varma-Binkar 28 25 0 2

A Singh c Mahale b Rauthan 29 14 2 2

A Agrawal run out Rathod 6 3 1 0

S Dubey c&b Mahale 8 8 1 0

K Nagar c Dahiya b Dubey 16 20 1 1

S Choudhary lbw b Thakare 3 4 0 0

R Dongarwar Not Out 4 2 1 0

P Hinge c Mahale b Thakare 0 1 0 0

Extras: (w 3, lb 1, nb 1) 5

TOTAL: (All out, 18.2 overs) 149

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-46, 3-54, 4-98, 5-104, 6-114, 7-135, 8-144, 9-149.

Bowling: Dubey 3-1-21-2, Thakare 3.2-0-26-3, Dahiya 3-0-25-1, Padole 4-0-24-0, 

Rauthan 2-0-30-1, Varma 1-0-6-0, Mahale 2-0-16-1.

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale run out Dubey 81 62 6 4

R Binkar c Gavai b Nalkande 2 4 0 0

D Shorey c Nalkande b Singh 8 14 0 0

Y Rathod c Dubey b Nalkande 25 22 2 0

A Karnewar c Gavai b Hinge 16 11 3 0

V Tiwari Not Out 0 0 0 0

K Dahiya Not Out 5 2 1 0

Extras: (w 11, b 4, lb 1) 16

TOTAL: (5 wickets, 19.1 overs) 153

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-62, 3-127, 4-146, 5-148.

Bowling: Hinge 4-0-39-1, Nalkande 4-0-32-2, Nagar 2-0-11-0, Singh 4-0-24-1, 

Sodhi 3.1-0-19-0, Choudhary 1-0-11-0, Dongarwar 1-0-12-0.

Warriors win last-ball thriller

By Paritosh Pramanik

THE decision to retire out Shree Choudhary and bring in Abhishek Agarwal in the 18th over turned out to be the match-winning ploy by stand-in skipper Shubham Dubey as India Warriors edged past defending champions Neco Master Blaster by three wickets in the Vidarbha Premier League at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Saturday evening.

In a dramatic last over, India Warriors collected 13 required runs to record their second win from four outings. As for Neco Master Blaster, this was their fourth straight defeat. The loss also dented their chances of making it to the play-offs.

Agarwal scored 22 runs from nine deliveries. He collected a boundary on the third ball of the last over bowled by Adhyayan Daga. But the next delivery the batter was caught in deep by Tushar Kadu with the team still needing seven from two balls. New-man Kunal Nagar hit a first-ball six to tie the score and then picked a single of the last ball to ignite celebrations in India Warriors dugout.

Neco Master Blaster gave a tough fight with captain Jitesh Sharma running from third man to long on for fielding. But in the end it was not their day.

Credit for the chase must also go to Satyam Bhoyar (58) who hit third half century in four games. Captain Dubey’s 16-ball 30 also needed praise as that innings brought the team back into the game. His 53-run stand for fifth wicket with Shree Choudhary (22) kept them in hunt.

Earlier, Bhoyar, who had slammed 58 against Pagariya Strikers and 56 against Nagpur Heroz, looked in total control and along with Ashit Singh, the two added 67 runs for the third wicket. But their wickets in back to back overs put Warriors under pressure.

However, the middle and lower order batters kept their cool as they picked two crucial points.

Earlier, Aryan Meshram finally found his form with a patient half century while captain Jitesh Sharma showed his six-hitting abilities as Neco Master Blaster posted 202-4 in 20 overs. Meshram looked determined and scored his first half century from 37 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and a couple of sixes. Jitesh then hit five sixes from 10 deliveries to score unbeaten 36 and take their total to a challenging one.

Neco Master Blaster lost openers Vedant Dighade (17) and Daga (7) by the fourth over with 28 runs on the board. Tushar Kadu (46) and Meshram added 72 runs for the third wicket to steady Neco Master Blaster’s innings. His three sixes and four boundaries increased the pace of the innings before Gurdeep Singh Sodhi broke their partnership in the 10th over. From there on, Meshram and Vaibhav Chandekar stitched another 60 runs for the fourth wicket before Darshan Nalkande got a fine nick from Meshram’s bat.

SCOREBOARD

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

V Dighade c Hinge b Nalkande 17 10 1 2

A Daga c Nagar b Hinge 7 5 1 0

T Kadu c Bhoyar b Sodhi 46 26 4 3

A Meshram c Agrawal b Nalkande 59 43 3 3

V Chandekar Not Out 28 27 3 0

J Sharma Not Out 36 10 0 5

Extras: (wd 6, lb 2, nb 1) 9

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 20 overs) 202

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-26, 3-98, 4-162.

Bowling: Hinge 4-1-36-1, Nalkande 4-0-51-2, Dongarwar 

4-0-45-0, Nagar 3-0-30-0, Choudhary 1-0-20-0, Sodhi 

4-0-18-1.

INDIA Warriors INNINGS R B 4 6 

V Lande c Rajput b Durugkar 15 7 2 1

S Bhoyar c Gupta b Dhoble 58 34 2 4

D Nalkande c Sharma b Parwani 15 9 1 1

A Singh c Chandekar b Daga 23 24 2 0

S Choudhary retired out 22 21 2 0

S Dubey c Parwani b Gupta 30 16 2 2

A Agrawal c Kadu b Daga 22 9 1 2

S Gavai Not Out 0 1 0 0

K Nagar Not Out 7 2 0 1

Extras : (w 3, lb 5, nb 3) 11

TOTAL: (7 wickets, 20 overs) 203

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-47, 3-114, 4-118, 5-173, 6-190, 

7-196.

Bowling: Jayaswal 3-0-43-0, Durugkar 3-0-30-1, Parwani 

4-0-32-1, Gupta 4-0-35-1, Daga 4-0-42-2, Dhoble 2-0-16-1. 

Warriors win last-ball thriller

By Paritosh Pramanik

THE decision to retire out Shree Choudhary and bring in Abhishek Agarwal in the 18th over turned out to be the match-winning ploy by stand-in skipper Shubham Dubey as India Warriors edged past defending champions Neco Master Blaster by three wickets in the Vidarbha Premier League at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Saturday evening.

In a dramatic last over, India Warriors collected 13 required runs to record their second win from four outings. As for Neco Master Blaster, this was their fourth straight defeat. The loss also dented their chances of making it to the play-offs.

Agarwal scored 22 runs from nine deliveries. He collected a boundary on the third ball of the last over bowled by Adhyayan Daga. But the next delivery the batter was caught in deep by Tushar Kadu with the team still needing seven from two balls. New-man Kunal Nagar hit a first-ball six to tie the score and then picked a single of the last ball to ignite celebrations in India Warriors dugout.

Neco Master Blaster gave a tough fight with captain Jitesh Sharma running from third man to long on for fielding. But in the end it was not their day.

Credit for the chase must also go to Satyam Bhoyar (58) who hit third half century in four games. Captain Dubey’s 16-ball 30 also needed praise as that innings brought the team back into the game. His 53-run stand for fifth wicket with Shree Choudhary (22) kept them in hunt.

Earlier, Bhoyar, who had slammed 58 against Pagariya Strikers and 56 against Nagpur Heroz, looked in total control and along with Ashit Singh, the two added 67 runs for the third wicket. But their wickets in back to back overs put Warriors under pressure.

However, the middle and lower order batters kept their cool as they picked two crucial points.

Earlier, Aryan Meshram finally found his form with a patient half century while captain Jitesh Sharma showed his six-hitting abilities as Neco Master Blaster posted 202-4 in 20 overs. Meshram looked determined and scored his first half century from 37 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and a couple of sixes. Jitesh then hit five sixes from 10 deliveries to score unbeaten 36 and take their total to a challenging one.

Neco Master Blaster lost openers Vedant Dighade (17) and Daga (7) by the fourth over with 28 runs on the board. Tushar Kadu (46) and Meshram added 72 runs for the third wicket to steady Neco Master Blaster’s innings. His three sixes and four boundaries increased the pace of the innings before Gurdeep Singh Sodhi broke their partnership in the 10th over. From there on, Meshram and Vaibhav Chandekar stitched another 60 runs for the fourth wicket before Darshan Nalkande got a fine nick from Meshram’s bat.

SCOREBOARD

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6 

R Sanjay c Shorey b Thakare 7 6 1 0

F Sheikh c Varma b Padole 36 20 4 2

R Samarth lbw b Padole 21 18 2 0

Y Kadam c Mahale b Dubey 68 38 4 5

A Ahuja c Thakare b Dahiya 15 12 0 1

S Deshmukh c Podutwar b Dahiya 3 5 0 0

S Rai c Dubey b Thakare 9 6 0 1

L Yadav c Padole b Dahiya 18 12 1 2

S Chawate Not Out 1 3 0 0

Extras: (wd 5, b 2) 7

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 185

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-65, 3-72, 4-111, 5-123, 6-159, 

7-179, 8-185.

Bowling: Dubey 4-0-36-1, Thakare 3-0-42-2, Podutwar 

2-0-25-0, Padole 3-0-11-2, Karnewar 3-0-32-0, Dahiya 

4-0-26-3, Mahale 1-0-11-0.

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale c Rai b Sanjay 31 21 4 1

R Binkar Not Out 106 55 5 9

Y Rathod c Singh b Salve 2 6 0 0

D Shorey c Samarth b Salve 20 17 1 0

K Dahiya Not Out 21 14 1 1

Extras: (lb 3, wd 3) 6

TOTAL: (3 wickets, 18.5 overs) 186

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-46, 3-118.

Bowling: Yadav 3.5-0-39-0, Chawate 2-0-20-0, Kadam 

1-0-9-0, Sanjay 1-0-1-1, Salve 4-0-30-2, Gujar 3-0-32-0, 

Rai 2-0-29-0, Singh 2-0-23-0.

Binkar’s unbeaten ton guides Tigers to 2nd win

By Paritosh Pramanik

ROHIT Binkar made most of the life he got when on 76 to hit an unbeaten century and escort Orange Tigers to a seven-wicket win over Pagariya Strikers in the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 at VCA’s Jamtha International Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a modest 186, Binkar carried his bat through scoring an undefeated a 55-ball 106 with the help of five fours and nine sixes, three of which came in the last over bowled by Lalit Yadav.

Binkar’s was the third century of the tournament after R Samarth and Vedant Jajoo’s tons.

Pagariya Strikers had a chance in the 16th over when Binkar hit Pushpak Gujar towards long off fence. R Sanjay, who was deployed at the boundary, caught him but lost his balance to stepped over the ropes giving a reprieve to Binkar.

Needing 20 from the last over, Binkar hit Yadav’s first full toss ball into the stands. He took a single next delivery and then Kshitiz Dahiya gave him the strike back with a single. Binkar then hit a six to complete his well-deserved century and then completed the formalities with another straight six as Orange Tigers recorded their second win with seven balls to spare.

Binkar had two big partnerships in Orange Tigers’ big win. He first added 72 runs for the third wicket with Dhruv Shorey (20) and then put up an unbeaten 63 runs for the fourth wicket with Dahiya (21*).

In the first innings, Pagariya Strikers captain Yash Kadam scored his first fifty of the season but they managed a below par 185-8 in 20 overs. Kadam’s half century (68) from 38 deliveries with four boundaries and five maximums was the only notable knock as other batters got the start but could not convert them into big scores.

Faiz Sheikh made a composed 36 but was caught by Hardik Varma off Shreyash Padole, the spinner who also took the wicket of Ravikumar Samarth (21). Lalit Yadav used his long handle for a 12-ball 18 but he wasted the last over bowled by Dahiya scoring only four runs from it.

Seamer Dahiya was the most successful bowler for Orange Tigers with three scalps. The next best was pacer Aditya Thakare who is enjoying the tournament of which he was not even part of before the start. The lanky pacer went unsold in auction and then was taken as injury replacement by Orange Tigers. The bowler is now the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 10 wickets.

Pagariya Strikers increased the pace of the game in the 12th fetching 21 runs from an Akshay Karnewar over hitting three sixes which came from captain Kadam and Aditya Ahuja’s bat as they crossed 100-run mark. At the end of powerplay, they were 79-3. But they could not build their innings from there on as Orange Tigers bowlers tighten the noose.

SCOREBOARD

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6 

R Sanjay c Shorey b Thakare 7 6 1 0

F Sheikh c Varma b Padole 36 20 4 2

R Samarth lbw b Padole 21 18 2 0

Y Kadam c Mahale b Dubey 68 38 4 5

A Ahuja c Thakare b Dahiya 15 12 0 1

S Deshmukh c Podutwar b Dahiya 3 5 0 0

S Rai c Dubey b Thakare 9 6 0 1

L Yadav c Padole b Dahiya 18 12 1 2

S Chawate Not Out 1 3 0 0

Extras: (wd 5, b 2) 7

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 185

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-65, 3-72, 4-111, 5-123, 6-159, 

7-179, 8-185.

Bowling: Dubey 4-0-36-1, Thakare 3-0-42-2, Podutwar 

2-0-25-0, Padole 3-0-11-2, Karnewar 3-0-32-0, Dahiya 

4-0-26-3, Mahale 1-0-11-0.

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale c Rai b Sanjay 31 21 4 1

R Binkar Not Out 106 55 5 9

Y Rathod c Singh b Salve 2 6 0 0

D Shorey c Samarth b Salve 20 17 1 0

K Dahiya Not Out 21 14 1 1

Extras: (lb 3, wd 3) 6

TOTAL: (3 wickets, 18.5 overs) 186

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-46, 3-118.

Bowling: Yadav 3.5-0-39-0, Chawate 2-0-20-0, Kadam 

1-0-9-0, Sanjay 1-0-1-1, Salve 4-0-30-2, Gujar 3-0-32-0, 

Rai 2-0-29-0, Singh 2-0-23-0.

Kungwani, Jajoo hand Bharat Rangers big win

By Paritosh Pramanik

KUNAL Kungwani took first five-wicket haul of the season and then Vedant Jajoo made most of the reprieves he got as Bharat Rangers thrashed India Warriors by seven wickets to consolidate their position at the top with third straight win in the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Friday.

Kungwani, playing his first match of the tournament, picked timely wickets which helped Bharat Rangers restrict India Warriors at 199.

In return, table toppers Rangers knocked off the runs (202) with seven balls to spare.

It was Jajoo’s day as he got three lives in the chase. He got first reprieve in the seventh over when on 18. Jajoo (87; 46b, 7x4, 7x6) was caught at short cover by Shubham Dubey off Ashit Singh but was called back after third umpire found India Warriors captain-wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar bringing his gloves in front of stumps when the bowler had started to deliver the ball.

Jajoo added salt to injury hitting Singh to a straight six the very next delivery. The right-handed batter grabbed the opportunity and hit his half century in 23 deliveries.

Jajoo was then dropped by Sahil Sheikh at third man off Rahul Dongarwar when on 72. It was a sitter which Sheikh spilled and the batter heaved a sigh of relief. Sahil dropped the batter again at backward point when on 80. Along with Manan Agrawal (60*; 40b, 4x4, 6x4), they clobbered India Warriors bowlers hitting fours and sixes to stay in total control. Agrawal, after playing second fiddle to Jajoo, freed his arms taking the score near the target with three successive boundaries off Dongarwar in 15th over. He too completed his second straight half century from 34 deliveries. Jajoo and Agrawal added 149 runs for the third wicket to see their team inch closer to the target. Jajoo’s fine innings came to an end when Hinge bowled him in the 17th over but it was too late for a comeback for India Warriors.

Earlier, Kungwani (4-0-40-5) got all the important wickets as he first sent back in-form opener Satyam Bhoyar (23) early in the innings. The bowler then broke the dangerous looking partnership between Shree Chaudhary (23) and Shubham Dubey (25) in the 17th when he trapped the former in front of the wicket. He then got Hinge in the same over and came back again in the 19th to see the back of Dubey who was caught by Agrawal. Kungwani completed his fifer taking the last wicket of Ashit Singh. Warriors promoted Darshan Nalkande (61; 28b, 1x4, 7x6) up the order and the bowling all-rounder showed his batting skills by hitting huge sixes. He had special liking for Ghodmare as he slammed him for five maximums, two in a single over as Warriors raced to 87 for three in 8 overs. They scored 100 runs at halfway mark and an over later Nalkande completed his half century with his first boundary off Shubham Kapse. The 22-ball fifty had six maximums and a boundary. Warriors were going strong when Aditya Sarvate broke the dangerous looking fourth wicket partnership of 56 runs between Nalkande and Abhishek Agrawal.

An over later, Nalkande’s entertaining innings was cut short when he played-on a Varun Bisht’s delivery into his stumps. His 61 runs came from 28 deliveries with seven sixes and a boundary.

Shree Choudhary then took the mettle in his hand and hit two successive sixes of Bisht’s second over. In the next over, he dispatched Kungwani’s delivery straight into Bharat Rangers’ dugout. But Kungwani got him trapped next delivery to end his little cameo.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA WARRIORS INNINGS R B 4 6

V Lande lbw b Sarwate 26 17 0 3

S Bhoyar c Bhute b Kungwani 23 10 2 2

A Wadkar c Malewar b Ghodmare 11 7 2 0

D Nalkande b Bisht 61 28 1 7

A Agrawal b Sarwate 11 15 0 0

S Dubey c Agrawal b Kungwani 25 20 2 1

S Choudhary lbw b Kungwani 23 9 0 3

P Hinge b Kungwani 2 2 0 0

R Dongarwar c Bisht b Kapse 6 6 0 0

A Singh lbw b Kungwani 1 2 0 0

S Sheikh Not Out 0 0 0 0

Extras: (lb 2, b 1, nb 1, wd 6) 10

TOTAL: (All out, 19.1 overs) 199

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-57, 3-69, 4-127, 5-138, 6-171, 7-174, 

8-196, 9-199.

Bowling: Sarwate 4-0-36-2, Bhute 2-0-23-0, Kapse 

3.1-0-32-1, Kungwani 4-0-40-5, Ghodmare 2-0-31-1, Taide 

1-0-2-0, Bisht 2-0-27-1, Sasan 1-0-5-0.

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide c Dubey b Hinge 9 10 1 0

D Malewar b Sheikh 25 13 3 2

V Jajoo b Hinge 87 46 7 7

M Agrawal Not Out 60 40 4 4

J Sasan Not Out 7 5 1 0

Extras: (w 7, b 6, nb 1) 14

TOTAL: (3 wickets, 18.5 overs) 202

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-37, 3-186.

Bowling: Hinge 3.5-0-28-2, Dongarwar 3-0-40-0, Sheikh 

4-0-46-1, Nalkande 2-0-26-0, Singh 2-0-22-0, Sodhi 4-0-34-0.

First win for Orange Tigers

Neco Master Blaster slump to third straight defeat

By Paritosh Pramanik

ORANGE Tigers bowlers bowled with purpose to curb Neco Master Blaster batters as they eked out their first win of the season with a 54 runs victory in the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Friday.

Orange Tigers first posted a challenging 180-9 in 20 overs, thanks to half centuries from Mandar Mahale and Vishesh Tiwari. The bowlers, led by Saurabh Dubey (3-24) and Shreyas Padole (3-29), then did not give room to Neco Master Blaster bundling them out at 126 in 18.4 overs.

Defending champions Neco Master Blaster’s plan to take the game deep backfired as they could not maintain the required run rate. This helped Orange Tigers bowlers take control of the match. They bowled a decent line and did not give Blaster’s space to free their arms.

Spinner Padole broke Master Blaster’s middle order taking three wickets. He first sent Vedant Dighade (26) into the pavilion and then got Shantanu Rajput (9) and Tushar Kadu (36) in the same over to put pressure on Neco captain Jitesh Sharma (10). But he too perished under the pressure of a huge target. His wicket in the 16th over spell doom as Neco Master Blaster suffered their third successive defeat. Aditya Thakare, who went unsold in the auction and was picked as a replacement, took two 

wickets.

Earlier, Neco Master Blaster pacer Dipesh Parwani took four wickets but Orange Tigers’ Mahale and Tiwari hit responsible fifties to score 180-9. At one stage, Orange Tigers were in deep trouble with 124 for 9 in 16 overs. 

But Tiwari justified his price tag of Rs 7 lakh hitting 37-ball unbeaten 60 runs to take their side post a competitive total. Tiwari and Aditya Thakare added 56 runs for the last wicket in which the latter’s contribution was only five runs. Tiwari hit six boundaries and four sixes in his unbeaten innings.

The other batter who showed discipline in the middle was Mandar Mahale who hit 50 at top of the order. Kshitiz Dahiya managed 22-ball 29. Orange Tigers scored 56 runs in the last four overs which helped them reach 180.

Neco Master Blaster’s Parwani struck timely blows to deny Orange Tigers any space to score freely. He would have got the first fifer of the season but over-stepped when he got Tiwari in the 18th over.

Though Orange Tigers scored 60 in powerplay, they also lost three top order batters. Their start was not a slam-bang one. It was a sedate beginning. A six came in every over from the start but at the same time Neco Master Blaster bowlers succeeded in taking wickets.

When Rohit Binkar (7) tried to pace up the innings, Parwani (4-0-40-4) got him caught at deep extra over by Adhyayan Daga. Next over Ananmay Jayaswal got captain Yash Rathod (1) caught behind by wicketkeeper Vedant Dighade. 

There was more trouble for Orange Tigers as they lost Dhruv Shorey (10) inside poweplay.

Orange Tigers scored 88 runs at the halfway mark. But Mahale lost concentration immediately after scoring his fifty as he gave a simple catch to Abhishek Gupta at point region. 

But Tiwari made sure they post a huge total and his unbeaten 60 fetched him the man of the match award.

SCOREBOARD

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale c Gupta b Durugkar 50 36 3 3

R Binkar c Daga b Parwani 7 4 1 0

Y Rathod c Dighode b Jayaswal 1 2 0 0

D Shorey c Chandekar b Parwani 10 11 0 1

K Dahiya c Sharma b Dhoble 29 22 2 1

V Tiwari Not Out 60 37 6 4

S Padole c Parwani b Dhoble 6 2 0 1

A Dullarwar c Manish b Dhoble 0 2 0 0

A Karnewar c Dhoble b Parwani 0 2 0 0

H Varma c Sharma b Parwani 4 3 1 0

A Thakare Not Out 5 3 1 0

Extras: (w 4, nb4) 8

TOTAL: (9 wickets, 20 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-25, 3-50, 4-92, 5-113, 6-119, 7-119, 

8-120, 9-124.

Bowling: Jayaswal 4-0-32-1, Parwani 4-0-40-4, Durugkar 

4-0-30-1, Gupta 4-0-33-0, Dhoble 4-0-45-3.

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

A Meshram c Varma b Dubey 15 14 3 0

A Daga c Mahale b Thakare 1 4 0 0

T Kadu c Mahale b Padole 36 28 3 1

V Dighade lbw b Padole 26 21 2 1

S Rajput c Rathod b Padole 9 13 1 0

J Sharma c Dullarwar b Dubey 10 7 0 1

V Chandekar c Varma b Thakare 12 13 2 0

G Dhoble Not Out 4 4 0 0

D Parwani c Rathod b Dubey 1 3 0 0

A Gupta c Rathod b Dahiya 1 3 0 0

A Jayaswal c Binkar b Dahiya 0 2 0 0

Extras: (b 1, w 9, lb 1) 11

TOTAL: ( All out, 18.4 overs) 126

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-18, 3-71, 4-96, 5-97, 6-111, 7-119, 

8-122, 9-125.

Bowling: Dubey 4-0-24-3, Mahale 1-0-5-0, Thakare 4-0-29-2, 

Dahiya 3.4-0-28-2, Padole 4-0-29-3, Varma 2-0-9-0. 

Umesh, Tejas shine in Heroz win over Pagariya

 

VETERAN Umesh Yadav and Tejas Soni were the wreckers in chief as they both snared three wickets each in their four overs as Nagpur Heroz inflicted the first defeat of the season to Pagariya Strikers by 34 runs in their Vidarbha Premier League match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Jamtha International Stadium, on Thursday. 

This was Heroz’s second win in the season. Opener Faiz Sheikh was the only Pagariya batter to handle the fort, he smashed 76 runs off 47 deliveries he faced, it included seven boundaries and six sixes. Faiz was bowled by Soni in the 17th over.

Earlier, Pagariya Strikers’ Sanskar Chavate bowled a sensational opening spell to push Nagpur Heroz on the backfoot initially but they still managed to post a challenging 219-8. The right-handed pacer took three wickets in his two overs to rattle Heroz’s top order. 

However, Pagariya Strikers lost the plot from there on as Siddhant Muley (57) and Kartik Rathod (66) added a counter-attacking 120 runs for the fifth wicket and then hard-hitter Apoorv Wankhade slammed a 20-ball 60 to take their total past 200-run mark.

Apart from Chavate, last match’s hero Lalit Yadav, too, made an immediate impact taking the wicket of Parth Rekhade as Strikers reached 32-4 in four overs. Muley and Rathod did the repair job for Nagpur Heroz from there on with an important partnership for the fifth wicket.

Rathod played a counter-attacking game hitting Swapnil Singh for a couple of sixes and a boundary.

He completed his half century from 28 deliveries which had four boundaries and three sixes.

Muley gave him company and took pressure off him hitting occasional sixes as the innings looked to slipping away from Strikers’ grip. He completed his 50 with a huge six off R Sanjay pulling the delivery towards mid-wicket fence.

Wankhade, the costliest buy of the season, the unleashed his brute power hitting eight sixes and a boundary to make the contest an exciting one.

SCOREBOARD

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Deshmukh b Yadav 2 5 0 0

A Mokhade c Rai b Chawate 8 4 1 0

I Bhamra c Deshmukh b Chawate 0 1 0 0

S Wath b Chawate 9 9 1 0

S Muley c Kadam b Gujar 57 32 1 5

K Rathod b Chawate b Kadam 66 37 4 5

A Wankhede Not Out 60 20 1 8

A Kombe c Yadav b Salve 0 5 0 0

T Soni c Ahuja b Chawate 3 5 0 0

R Gurbani Not Out 5 3 1 0

Extras: (w 7, lb 1, nb 1) 9

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 219

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-16, 3-22, 4-29, 5-148, 6-159, 7-158, 

8-186.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-62-1, Chawate 3-0-27-4, Kadam 3-0-24-1, 

Singh 1-0-18-0, Salve 2-0-18-1, Ramaswamy 3-0-32-0, 

Gujar 4-0-37-1.

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

S Ramaswamy c Bhamra b Yadav 8 7 1 0

F Sheikh b Soni 76 47 7 4

R Samarth c Mokhade b Soni 19 9 4 0

A Ahuja c Wankhade b Soni 0 1 0 0

Y Kadam c Wath b Muley 14 12 0 1

P Gujar retired hurt 36 23 4 1

S Deshmukh c Muley b Gurbani 4 4 1 0

L Yadav c Gurbani b Yadav 6 5 1 0

S Rai Not Out 12 9 1 1

S Chawate c Soni b Yadav 2 2 0 0

S Singh Not Out 0 2 0 0

Extras : (b 2, nb 1, lb 1, w 6) 10

TOTAL: (9 wickets , 20 overs) 185

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-53, 3-53, 4-77, 5-105, 6-165, 7-169, 

8-175, 9-179.

Bowling: Gurbani 4-0-41-1, Jolly 3-0-30-0, Yadav 4-1-25-3, 

Soni 4-0-35-3, Muley 3-0-24-1, Rekhade 2-0-27-0.