The Hitavada are champions again

All Pics The Hitavada

An old score was to settle. A loss was to be avenged. A perception was to be changed. As fortunes started fluctuating with each passing over the tension mounted but the belief never diminished. Using their experience, keeping their cool and showing their never-say-die attitude The Hitavada emerged the deserving champions of the 11th Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-Press Cricket T20 Tournament.
By defeating defending champions Lokmat by 20 runs The Hitavada lifted its eighth title in ten finals.
The Men in Blue went through a roller-coaster ride before putting up a competitive 148 for seven in 20 overs. Defending the target against a strong Lokmat batting line-up the bowlers needed to put their hands up. They did. As Lokmat started building partnerships the pendulum swung their way. But Man of the Final Avinash Kahu had a rabbit left in his hat! He used brains to counter Lokmat’s brawn and soon the eighth title came The Hitavada’s way. Lokmat were restricted to 128 for eight in 20 overs. Kahu had figures of 4-0-21-4.
Batting first The Hitavada had a disastrous start losing Kamlesh Waghire and skipper Susheem Kolay with just six on the board. A partnership was needed and Praveen Lokhande (26; 21b, 3x4) forged it with ‘crisis man’ Nikhil Dixit (50; 53b 6x4, 2x6).
Runs were just trickling when left-arm spinner Ashish Budholia came into attack. Dixit and Lokhande launched into him to garner 20 in one over and The Hitavada were on recovery path.
The duo stitched together a stand of 60 in 51 balls for the third wicket. Dixit was his usual cool self never letting go a loose ball. His straight six of Pawan Dhande was sheer delight. Lokhande too kept his calm and picked gaps.
At 66 in 11 overs Lokhande was out but Dixit found Vijay Choure (14; 14b, 2x4) for help. They added 38 for the fourth wicket in 25 balls.
At 104 for 4 in 15 overs an impetus was needed to the innings for a big total. Vice-captain Rahul Dixit joined his elder brother, wielded his willow, and got a quick 18 (10b, 1x4, 1x6). The Dixit brothers’ 31-run stand in just 18 balls provided the momentum to The Hitavada innings.
Lokmat started badly losing in-form Nitin Patoriya for a duck. Amit Khodke (45; 41b, 4x4, 1x6) kept fighting at other end keeping the asking rate under control with Manish Charpe (19). Dhande then joined Khodke for a quick 47-run stand that almost shut the door on The Hitavada.
Stepped in Kahu and the challenge was snuffed out with some excellent fielding and absolutely fantastic catching by Sanjay Chinchole and Hitesh Limbachia.
With an average age of 34 the talk of The Hitavada’s cricket team as a ‘Dad’s Army’ was gaining ground. But the experience that comes with age and playing 10 finals was enough to help them reaffirm their authority on inter-press cricket.
The match was enjoyed live all over Vidarbha on UCN.
Udaybhaskar Nair of Nairsons group was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. The special guests were Dr Anup Marar, Director, Orange City Hospital and Research Institute, Sadanand Fulzele, Secretary, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Smarak Samiti, Jaswinder Singh Mukar, Deputy General Manager, Tata Indicom, Nagpur, Sanjay Jog, Deputy General Manager (Marketing), Tata Indicom, Deepak Lalwani of Deepak Agencies, and Pradeep Kumar Maitra, President, Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust.
Individual prizes were sponsored by Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited. Deepak Agencies and Panchavati Builders too supported SJAN in organising the tournament.
Kishor Bagde conducted the function, Dr Ram Thakur made the introductory remarks, Naresh Shelke compered the ceremony while Sandeep Dabhekar proposed a vote of thanks.

SCOREBOARD
THE HITAVADA INNINGS
Kamlesh Waghire run out A Budholia 2
Susheem Kolay lbw S Rahangdale 0
Pravin Lokhande c A Seth b S Mishra 26
Nikhil Dixit c&b S Rahangdale 50
Vijay Choure c A Seth b S Mishra 14
Rahul Dixit c S Mishra b A Khodke 18
Hitesh Limbachia Not Out 12
Sanjay Chinchole c P Dhande b A Khodke 0
Paritosh Pramanik Not Out 1
Extras: (w 22, lb 2, b 1) 25
TOTAL: (Seven wickets, 20 overs) 148.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-6, 3-66, 4-104, 5-135, 6-135, 7-140.
Bowling:

Sachin Rahangdale 4-1-6-2
Pawan Dhande 4-0-24-0
Amit Khodke 4-0-24-0
Ashish Bodholia 2-0-31-0
Sharad Mishra 4-0-25-2
Gitesh Wanjari 2-0-28-0
LOKMAT INNINGS
Amit Khodke c S Chinchole v A Kahu 45
Nitin Patoria c P Lokhande b V Choure 0
Manish Charpe v P Lokhande 19
Pawan Dhande c V Choure b A Kahu 23
Sharad Mishra run out A Kahu 7
Aasman Seth c&b A Kahu 18
Ashish Budholia c H Limbachia b A Kahu 2
Ravin Singh run out (K Waghire-P Pramanik) 1
Sachin Rahangdale Not Out 2
Gitesh Wanjari Not Out 3
Extras: b 3, w 4) 7
TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 128
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-44, 3-92, 4-96, 5-112, 6-121, 7-121, 8-124.
Bowling: Vijay Choure 3-0-24-1
Susheem Kolay 4-0-27-0
Nikhil Dixit 1-0-11-0
Pravin Lokhande 4-0-18-1
Rammurti Nerle 4-0-23-2
Avinash Kahu 4-0-21-4
Result: The Hitavada won by 20 runs.
Man of the final: Avinash Kahu.

Best batsman: Pawan Dhande

Best Bowler: Ravi Daff

Best Fielder: Hitesh Limbachia

Best Wicket-keeper: N Satyan

Best catch: Ajay Kangali

Man of the series: Praveen Lokhande

The Hitavada's victory celebrations!!!!

Pics courtesy S Sudarshan and Anirudhasingh Dinore

Bowlers put The Hitavada in final

Pravin Lokhande (L) took hat-trick for The Hitavada.




A wonderful start, a disastrous middle-order collapse, an excellent fightback by the bowlers and a hat-trick. This was The Hitavada’s story in the second semi-final of the 11th edition of the Orange City Hospital Cup inter-press cricket tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi on Thursday.
Opting to bat, The Hitavada started brightly via skipper Susheem Kolay (19; 14b, 4x3) and Kamlesh Waghire (21; 15b, 4x3, 6x1). But a double strike by Ajay Kangali to get rid of both openers got Navbharat back in the game. Pravin Lokhande (29; 22b, 4x2, 6x1) and Rahul Dixit (19; 23b, 4x1) did the rebuilding work with a 41-ball 42 runs stand.
A big score was on cards with both the batsmen scoring fluently but Mahesh Sarangi had other ideas. The Navbharat skipper bowled a magical spell and picked up a five-wicket haul to put his team in the driver’s seat. The Hitavada’s middle-order too did not help their cause by committing a mass suicide. From 100 for three The Hitavada were reduced to 106 for nine. Though a couple of boundaries towards the end by Ramamurti Nerle (12) helped them reach 120. Kangali (3-15) and Shrikant Tikle (2-20) were the other wicket-takers.
The Hitavada bowlers started perfectly striking two early blows. Navbharat were not allowed to score freely against a tight line. Sarangi did his bit with 25 but that was not enough as The Hitavada wrapped up their opponents for 93 runs. Lokhande gave The Hitavada a perfect finish by picking up a hat-trick. He registered match figures of 3.3-0-14-4. Nerle (2-17) also bowled well. Vijay Choure, Nikhil Dixit and Kolay scalped a wicket each.
Bhausaheb Gujar, Senior DGM, LIC of India and Sameer Meghe, Chairman, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank, were the chief guest of the match.
The Hitavada will take on Lokmat in the final on January 24 at Ambedkar ground from 9 am.


SCOREBOARD
THE HITAVADA INNINGS:
Kamlesh Waghire b Ajay Kangali 21
Susheem Kolay v Ajay Kangali 19
Pravin Lokhande b Mahesh Sarangi 29
Rahul Dixit b Mahesh Sarangi 19
Nikhil Dixit c N Satyan b Shrikant Tikle 06
Sanjay Chinchole b Mahesh Sarangi 04
Hitesh Limbachia st N Satyan b Mahesh Sarangi 00
Vijay Choure c N Satyan b Mahesh Sarangi 00
Paritosh Pramanik st N Satyan b Shrikant Tikle 00
Ramamurti Nerle Not Out 12
Avinash Kahu lbw Ajay Kangali 01
Extras: b 2, lb 1, nb 1, w 5) 9
TOTAL: (All out, 18.1) 120
Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-45, 3-87, 4-100, 5-102, 6-102, 7-103, 8-104, 9-106.
Bowling:
Manish Shriwas 1-0-19-0
Ramesh Rao 2-0-20-0
Mahesh Sarangi 4-0-24-5
Ajay Kangali 3.1-0-15-3
Ronnele Michael 3-0-19-0
Shrikant Tikle 4-0-20-0
NAVBHARAT INNINGS
N Satyan run out (Pramanik-Lokhande) 09
Arun Narsapurkar c Sanjay Chinchole b Susheem Kolay 04
Ajay Kangali lbw Vijay Choure 04
Mahesh Sarangi c Hitesh Limbachia b Pravin Lokhande 25
Ronnele Michael lbw Ramanurti Nerle 15
Manish Shriwas c Vijay Choure v Avinash Kahu 16
Shrikant Tikle c Hitesh Limbachia b Pravin Lokhande 11
Hemang Rawal b Ramamurti Nerle 01
Madan Ganvir b Pravin Lokhande 00
Shyam Nagarkar Not Out 00
Ramesh Rao b Pravin Lokhande 00
Extras: (b 1, w 6) 7
TOTAL: (All out, 18.3 overs) 93
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-9, 3-37, 4-47, 5-72, 6-84, 7-86, 8-93, 9-93.
Bowling
Susheem Kolay 3-0-14-1
Vijay Choure 3-0-17-1
Ramamurti Nerle 4-0-17-2
Pravin Lokhande 3.3-0-14-4
Avinash Kahu 3-0-16-1
Nikhil Dixit 2-0-14-0

2nd semis--The Hitavada vs Navbharat- Day in pics

All Pics S Sudarshan

Semi-finals in pictures

(Pics courtesy S Sudarshan, The Hitavada and Sakaal)

Lokmat storm into final

Defending champions Lokmat stormed into the final defeating Loksatta by 43 runs in the first semi-final of the 11th Orange City Hospital Cup inter-press cricket tournament on Wednesday. The tournament is being organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN).
Deciding to bat first, Lokmat were off to a flying start with openers Amit Khodke and Nitin Patoria scoring briskly. Their 45-run partnership was broken by Ravi Daff when he shattered Patoria’s stumps (27; 18b; 4x4; 6x1). Khodke too departed with scorecard showing 60 runs. After that Manish Charpe and Pawan Dhande grabbed the spotlight. Charpe made a fine 46 (30b; 4x4) while Dhande scored run-a-ball 28. Sharad Mishra’s onslaught towards the end helped Lokmat reach 170 for six in 20 overs. Daff was the pick of the bowlers claiming three wickets.
Scoring at above 8.5 runs per over was always an uphill task for Loksatta and it looked worse with 28 for 2 in the fifth over. However some resistance by Daff (21; 20b; 3x4) and Salunke (30; 21b; 4x4) delayed Lokmat’s celebrations. Loksatta were bowled out for 127 in the final over. Man of the match Khodke registered figures of 4-0-23-3. G Wanjari (2-19), S Mishra (1-25) and A Budholiya (1-24) were also amongst the wickets.
After the match, former wicket-keeper Saba Karim, VCA residential academy’s head coach Neil D’Costa, Director of the academy Prashant Vaidya, former Indian pacer Subroto Banerjee and executive member Rajan Nair met the teams.
On Thursday, The Hitavada will take on Navbharat in the second semi-final at Dr Ambedkar College ground from 9 am. Both were involved in a thrilling opening match with The Hitavada scoring a tense two-wicket win in last over.
The final is slated on January 24 at the same ground.
SCOREBOARD
LOKMAT INNINGS:
*Amit Khodke c Daff b Rangnath 19
Nitin Patoria b Daff 27
Pawan Dhande b P Patil 28
Manish Charpe st Dindorkar b Daff 46
Sharad Mishra Not Out 31
+Aasman Seth c Sultane b Daff 02
Ashish Budholia run out Dindorkar 0
Extras: (b 8, w 9) 17
TOTAL: (six wickets, 20 overs) 170
Fall of wickets: 40-1, 60-2, 104-3, 163-4, 165-5, 170-6.
Bowling:
Amol Sultane 4-0-35-0
Devendra Sadavarti 4-0-32-0
Ravi Daff 4-0-25-3
Uday Rangnath 4-0-33-1
Piyush Patil 4-0-29-1
LOKSATTA INNINGS
Amol Sultane c (wk) Seth b Khodke 9
Uday Rangnath Run Out 6
Ravi Daff c Dhande b Wanjari 21
Devendra Sadavarti Run Out 14
Piyush Patil c Mishra b Wanjari 18
*+Uday Dindorkar b Budholia 11
N Salunke b Khodke 30
Vikram Harkare Run Out 4
Gunwant Chaudhary c Wanjari b Khodke 1
I Pardhi lbw Mishra 3
R Patil Not Out 1
Extras: b 1, lb 2, w 6) 9
TOTAL: (All out, 19.1 overs) 127
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-28, 3-55, 4-68, 5-86, 6-92, 7-105, 8-118, 9-124.
Bowling:
S Rahangdale 2-0-18-0
Amit Khodke 4-0-23-3
S Mishra 3.1-0-25-1
G Wanjari 4-0-19-2
A Budholia 4-0-24-1
Pawan Dhande 2-0-15-0
Toss: Lokmat, who chose to bat first
Lokmat won by 43 runs.
Man of the match: Amit Khodke
(report courtesy The Hitavada)

(Pics courtesy S Sudarshan)