Dr H.D. Kanga Knockout cricket tournament 2023
by Suman Gupta
Mumbai: Bombay Gymkhana registered a facile 69-run win against Prime Group Cricket Club in a Group-C semi-final match of the MCA organized Dr H.D. Kanga Knockout cricket tournament 2023, and played at the Bombay Gymkhana ground, on Sunday. After several years Bombay Gymkhana have qualified to play in the Kanga League and will be clubbed with the other winners in the newly created ‘H’ Division from next season.
The highlight of Bombay Gymkhana’s victory was middle-order bat Nishad Gabhawala’s cracking 89-ball 117 runs which was studded with 19 boundaries and guided the innings to a mammoth total of 284 for 6 wickets in 45 overs. Another big contribution came from Prithviraj Misal who scored a 81-ball 82 runs with 10 fours and one six. Prime Group bowlers Sameer Dighe 2 for 48 and Jayesh More 2 for 54 managed to get the wickets.
Later, Prime Group CC put up a fight in their chase, but were bowled out for 215 runs in 42.4 overs. Leading Prime Group’s fight was Rohit Phatak who scored 78 runs from 60 balls and struck 8 boundaries and 3 sixes, Suraj Patel 42 runs, Samrat Mishra 39 runs and Sangeet Kamble 27 runs tried to help them stay in the chase, but they fell short. Bombay Gymkhana bowling attack of Rahul Sagar 3 for 36, Sohan Talekar 2 for 49 and Mohd Sayyed 2 for 58 claimed the wickets.
Bengal Club also qualified for the Kanga League having defeated Kansara CC by two wickets in a Group-H qualifying match. Batting first, Kansara CC were dismissed for 143 runs in 43.4 overs. Venkatesh Naidu and Amit Yadav scored 42 and 30 runs respectively while Manas Chav 4 for 40, Rohit Sawant 2 for 12 and Sandeep Jadhav 2 for 28 picked the wickets for Bengal Cub. Later, Bengal Club batted steadily and managed to surpass the opponents total reaching 147 runs for 8 wickets in 32.3 overs. Rohit Sawant 34 runs and Vikrant Manjrekar 25 runs and small useful contributions from the other batters secured Bengal Club’s narrow victory. Kansara bowlers Bhushan Sanghavu 4 for 27 and Neeraj Sen 2 for 34 claimed the wickets.
Brief scores – Group-A: Young Stars Akton 90 all out, 29.2 overs (Vishal Mendiueri 33; Sairaj Vinauamoorty 4/16, Krishna Verma 3/23, Harsh Darji 2/12) lost to Sportsfield CC 91 for no loss 16.2 overs (Mahendrapal Singh 48, Yash Pai 31).
Group-C: Bombay Gymkhana 284 for 6, 45 overs (Nishad Gabhawala 117 (89-balls, 19×4), Prithviraj Misal 82 (81-balls, 10×4, 1×6); Sameer Dighe 2/48, Jayesh More 2/54) beat Prime Group CC 215 all out, 42.4 overs (Rohit Phatak 78 (60-balls, 8×4,3×6), Suraj Patel 42, Samrat Mishra 39, Sangeet Kamble 27; Rahul Sagar 3/36, Sohan Talekar 2/49, Mohd Sayyed 2/58).
Gaud Union SC 319 for 9, 44 overs (Onkar Gurav 56, Siddhesh Kinalekar 48; Shivam Sharma 5/66) beat Friends Union SC 90 all out, 27.2 overs (Mahesh Panchal 21, Piyush Pawar 20; Sandeep Pawar 2/8, Sagar Muley 2/22, Prakash Solanki 2/27).
Group-H: Kansara CC 143 all out, 43.4 overs (Venkatesh Naidu 42, Amit Yadav 30; Manas Chav 4/40, Rohit Sawant 2/12, Sandeep Jadhav 2/28) lost to Bengal Club 147 for 8, 32.3 overs (Rohit Sawant 34, Vikrant Manjrekar 25; Bhushan Sanghavu 4/27, Neeraj Sen 2/34).
