Off Beats

(The Hitavada pic)

pic courtesy S Sudarshan

Mandavgade slams unbeaten ton in Tarun Bharat's win

On Monday: The Hitavada vs Punyanagari at Central Railway ground, Ajni (9 am); Lokmat vs Loksatta at Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi (9 am).

Pics courtesy -- S Sudarshan

Dropping Tarun Bharat’s opening batsman Abhijeet Mandavgade proved costly to Times of India as the opener scored an unbeaten ton to give Tarun Bharat their first win in the 11th Orange City Hospital Cup inter-press cricket tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Central Railway ground, Ajni.

It was a close win for Tarun Bharat as Times of India gave a tough fight to them losing the match by just six runs. Tarun Bharat scored 164 runs in 20. Man of the match Mandavgade was dropped in the first over by ToI wicket-keeper Yogesh Banait off Mangesh Meshram on zero. Grabbing the opportunity, the wicket-keeper batsman slammed the first ton of the tournament with the help of 10 balls to the fence and four over it.

For ToI, Mangesh Meshram took two wickets while Suraj Nair and Sandeep Dabhekar took one each. Chasing 165 in 20 overs, ToI scored at a brisk rate scoring 80 of first 9 overs. But their wickets kept on falling at regular. Yogesh Banait was the top scorer with 35 runs while Subodh Ratnaparki scored 23 and Sandeep Vardhane added 20. Niladri Dey remained unbeaten on 17. For Tarun Bharat veteran Arvind Kawle was the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets while Vikas Barokar took two.

In another match, Sakaal recorded their first win against Punyanagari. Nikhil Gotmare’s agile efforts helped Sakaal chase down a mammoth 155 runs target and record their first win. Manoj Zaria’s (40) fine effort with the bat and an unbeaten 19-ball 36 runs by Manish Gadekar towards the end resulted in Punyanagari posting 154 for seven in their 20 overs. Sarang Chavan (30) also played a well compiled innings. Avishkar Deshmukh was the pick of the bowlers for Sakaal picking up four wickets for 22 runs while Om Dhakulkar and Naresh Shelke pocketed a couple of wickets each.

In reply, Sakaal responded with a fascinating run-chase with the top-order batsmen getting runs. Gotmare (57*; 36b, 4x4, 3x6) with his half-century lead from the front putting up two crucial partnerships, first with Kishor Jamkar and the other with Avishkar Deshmukh to give his team a win with an over to spare. Shrikant Bhalerao (2-35) and Kantaram Nawale (2-22) checked Sakaal’s run-chase.

(Courtesy The Hitavada)

(pics S Sudarshan)

Nikhil Gotmare of Sakaal in action.

(pic courtesy Sakaal)

The Hitavada-Navbharat-- Exciting moments

All pictures by S Sudarshan.

Pramanik shines in The Hitavada's tense win; Loksatta beat Tarun Bharat

Man of the Man Nikhil Dixit (R)
of The Hitavada.
pic by S Sudarshan


Paritosh Pramanik of The Hitavada.
The Hitavada pic



pic by S Sudarshan


pic by S Sudarshan

pic by S Sudarshan

pic by S Sudarshan

ON JANUARY10: Sakal vs Punyanagari at Ambedkar College (9 am); Tarun Bharat vs Times of India at Ajni (9 am).

NAGPUR, Jan 9
Wicket-keeper-bastman Paritosh Pramanik held his nerves to give The Hitavada a tense two-wicket win over Navbharat in the 11th edition of Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-press Cricket Tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Dr Ambedkar College.
Needing nine off the final over Pramanik (17*; 13b, 3x4) hit two boundaries as The Hitavada won with a ball to spare.
In the other match played at Central Railways ground, Ajni, Loksatta shocked Tarun Bharat by four wickets.
Navbharat put up a good total of 123 for nine in 20 overs. Opener Mangesh Pujari scored 33 (25b, 4x4, 1x6) while skipper Mahesh Sarangi contributed 29 (36b, 2x4). For The Hitavada Nikhil Dixit bowled a fine spell to return with two for 14. Left-arm spinner Ramamurti Nerle too picked up two for 22.
The Hitavada started off well with captain Rahul Dixit (15; 13b, 1x4, 1x6) and Sanjay Chinchole (33; 40b, 5x4) who put on 35 for the first wicket in five overs. However, they kept losing wicket thereafter.
Nikhil Dixit (17; 14, 3x4) and Chinchole had a good partnership of 24. Later Kamlesh Waghire (18; 16b, 2x4) tried to keep up with the chase.
The Hitavada needed nine off the last over bowled by Sarangi with three wickets in hand. Nerle managed a single off the second ball. Pramanik then got a couple and hit a four to level the scores. Nerle was run out next ball. But Pramanik sealed the game with a four off the penultimate ball to give his team a thrilling win.
Nikhil Dixit was named man of the match for his all-round show and two catches.
At Ajni, man of the match Piyush Patil shone with the ball and bat to guide Loksatta home by four wicket over Tarun Bharat.
Vikas Barokar’s 60 (56b, 7x4) helped Tarun Bharat scored 139 for six in 20 overs. Yudhisthir Raich chipped in with 25.
Patil, Devendra Sadavarti and Uday Rangnath took a wicket apiece.
In reply, Loksatta reached 140 for six in 14.5 overs. Ravi Daff hit a quick 31 (13b, 3x4, 2x6). Sadavarti batted well for his 35 (26b, 4x4, 1x6). Patil remained not out on 31 (20b, 5x4).

Loksatta's 'keeper Uday Dindorkar

drops the catch of Tarun Bharat's Arvind Kawle

off Uday Rangnath's bowling

pic by S Sudarshan

Lokmat begin with a win

Udaybhaskar Nair, Chairman, Nairsons Group,
meets players before the start of the match. (pic Lokmat)

Man of the match Lokmat's Pawan Dhande (L)
and skipper Amit Khodke bat during their innings
against Times of India. (pic Lokmat)



Lokmat skipper Amit Khodke tries to pull one during
their match against Times of India. (pic Lokmat)

NAGPUR, Jan 8

Defending champions Lokmat started their campaign on a winning note thrashing Times of India by 69 runs in the opening encounter of the 11th edition of Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-press Cricket Tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi.
Man of the match Lokmat’s Pawan Dhande shone with both bat and ball after ToI won the toss and elected to field.
Lokmat piled up 181 losing just four wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Dhande scored an unbeaten 46 in 33 balls (7x4; 1x6). Skipper Amit Khodke scored a quickfire 43 in 37 balls which included five hits to the fencing and one over it. Manish Charpe 41 (7x4) and Sharad Mishra 22 ( 4x4) also batted well. For ToI, Mangesh Meshram, Nilesh Sayankar, Sandeep Wardane and Faizul Qamar took one wicket each.
In reply, ToI lost the plot despite their openers gave them a good start.
They were all out for 112 in 17.3 overs. Only Subodh Ratnaparkhi (31), Sandeep Dabhekar and S Wardhane (12 each) managed to cross the double figure mark. For Lokmat, Dhande took three wickets for 26 runs.
Earlier, Udaybhaskar Nair, Chairman, Nairsons Group inaugurated the tournament. Sadanand Fulzele, Secretary, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Smarak Samiti, Shyam Charde, Principal, Madhavrao Wankhede Sharirik Shikshan Mahavidyalaya, Shirish Borkar, NUWJ President and others were also present.
Dr Ram Thakur, President, SJAN made the introductory remarks. Naresh Shelke, Vice-president, SJAN conducted the proceedings while Aditi Deodhar proposed a vote of thanks.

Udaybhaskar Nair, Chairman, Nairsons Group
inaugurates SJAN-Orange City Hospital Cup
T20 inter-press cricket tournament. (SJAN pic)

The Hitavada cricket team. (pic The Hitavada)

(The Hitavada pic)

(The Hitavada pic)

ON JANUARY 9: The Hitavada Vs Navbharat at Ambedkar College ground from 9 am onwards. Tarun Bharat Vs Loksatta at Central Railway ground, Ajni from 9 am onwards.

Inter-press cricket begins tomorrow

NAGPUR, Jan 7

The 11th Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-Press Cricket Tournament being organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) will begin on Thursday, January 8 at 8.30 am at Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi.Udaybhaskar Nair, Chairman of Nairsons group, will inaugurate the tournament in the presence of Dr Anup Marar, Director, Ravi Nair Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Suresh Bhoyar, Secretary, Sadashivrao Patil Education Society, Sanjay Jog, Deputy General Manager (marketing) Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited and Sadanand Fulzele, Secretary, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Smarak Samiti.Defending champions Lokmat will take on The Times of India in the opening match to be held immediately after the inauguration ceremony.Eight teams including Lokmat, runners-up The Hitavada, Sakaal, Loksatta, Tarun Bharat, Punyanagari, The Times of India and Navbharat are participating in the tournament.From January 9 onwards matches will be played at Central Railways ground, Ajni too.All individual prizes have been sponsored by Tata Teleservices Limited. Each member of winning and runners-up team will get attractive prizes from Deepak Agency.The 17-day tournament will be played on Twenty20 format. Amar Sports has sponsored Wisden white balls for the tournament.

Final live on UCN

UNIVERSAL Cable Network (UCN) will telecast the final match live on January 24 at Central Railways ground, Ajni. This is the second time UCN will join hands with SJAN to telecast an event live. Earlier in July 2008, UCN had shown SJAN annual awards function live.

(The Hitavada)

SJAN’s souvenir CricMedia released

West Nagpur MLA Davendra Fadnavis (centre) releasing SJAN's Cric Media souvenir. Also seen are SJAN President Dr Ram Thakur (L), former international cricketer Prashant Vaidya (2 L), Dr Anup Marar, Director, Ravi Nair Hospitals Pvt Ltd (2R) and Corporator Sandeep Joshi (R). (All pics SJAN)

NAGPUR, Jan 4

Sports Journalists' Association of Nagpur’s (SJAN) special souvenir, ‘CricMedia’, on the occasion of the 11th Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-Press Cricket Tournament was released at a function held at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan on Sunday.
Chief guest Devendra Fadnavis, MLA, Nagpur (west) released the souvenir in the presence of Dr Anup Marar, Director, Ravi Nair Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Prashant Vaidya, former Indian cricketer and Sandeep Joshi, corporator.
The souvenir comprises information about the inter-press cricket tournament, statistics of last edition, fixture of this year’s tournament and some rare photographs.
The guests were welcomed by SJAN president Dr Ram Thakur, joint secretary Kishor Bagde, secretary Rahul Dixit and executive member Gunvant Choudhary.
Speaking on the occasion Fadnavis appreciated the activities of the association. Others too wished luck to the participating teams. SJAN treasurer Anupam Soni conducted the proceedings while vice-president Naresh Shelke proposed a vote of thanks.


(All pics SJAN)

Inter-press cricket meet souvenir to be released on Sunday

NAGPUR, Jan 3

The special souvenir brought out by Sports Journalists' Association of Nagpur (SJAN) on the occasion of the 11th Orange City Hospital Cup Inter-Press Cricket Tournament will be released on Sunday at 10 am.
Chief guest Devendra Fadnavis, MLA, Nagpur (west), will release the souvenir at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan, Panchsheel square, in the presence of special guests Dr Anup Marar, Director, Ravi Nair Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Prashant Vaidya, former Test player, and Sandeep Joshi, corporator.
The tournament will be played at Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi and Central Railways ground, Ajni from January 8 to 24, says a press release issued by Rahul Dixit, secretary, SJAN.

Inter-press T20 Fixtures

Jan 8 Lokmat vs Times of India at Ambedkar
Jan 9 The Hitavada vs Nav Bharat at Ambedkar
Jan 9 Tarun Bharat vs Loksatta at Ajni
Jan 10 Sakal vs Punyanagari at Ambedkar
Jan 10 Times of India vs Tarun Bharat at Ajni
Jan 11--------------REST--------------
Jan 12 The Hitavada vs Punyanagari at Ajni
Jan 12 Lokmat vs Loksatta tAmbedkar
Jan 13 Nav Bharat vs Sakal at Ajni
Jan 13 Times of India vs Loksatta at Ambedkar
Jan 14 The Hitavada vs Sakal at Ajni
Jan 14 Lokmat vs Tarun Bharat at Ambedkar
Jan 15 Nav Bharat vs Punyanagari at Ajni
Jan 16--------------REST--------------
SUPER SIX MATCHES
Jan 17 B1 vs A3 at Ajni
Jan 17 A1 vs B3 at Ambedkar
Jan 18 B2 vs A1 at Ajni
Jan 18 A2 vs B1 at Ambedkar
Jan 19 B2 vs B3 at Ambedkar
Jan 19 A2 vs A3 at Ajni
Jan 20--------------REST--------------
SEMI-FINALS
Jan 21 X1 vs Y2 at Ajni
Jan 22 X2 vs Y1 atAmbedkar
Jan 23--------------REST--------------
FINAL
Jan 24 1st semis winner vs 2 semis winner at Ajni

Lokmat meet Times of India in T20 opener

NAGPUR, Jan 2
DEFENDING champions Lokmat will meet The Times of India in the opening match of the 11th inter-press invitational cricket tournament for the Orange City Hospital Cup on January 8, 2009 at Dr Ambedkar College ground.
The tournament has been organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in association with Orange City Hospital and Research Institute (OCHRI).
The Twenty20 tournament will be played on Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi and Central Railways ground, Ajni with coloured clothing, black sight-screens and white balls.
Eight teams have been divided into two groups. Group ‘A’ consists of Lokmat, Tarun Bharat, Loksatta and The Times of India while the Group ‘B’ has The Hitavada, Sakal, Punyanagari and Navbharat.
Orange City Hospital and Research Institute are the main sponsors of the event. Amar Sports has sponsored the Wisden balls for the tournament. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited will be giving away cellphones to the individual prize winners.
The winners and runners-up will get attractive cash prizes as well as rolling trophies.

Inter-press cricket from Jan 8

THE 11th edition of the inter-press invitational cricket tournament for the Orange City Hospital Cup will begin on January 8, 2009 at various city grounds.The tournament has been organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in association with Orange City Hospital and Research Institute (OCHRI).The Twenty20 tournament will be played on Dr Ambedkar College ground, Deekshabhoomi and Central Railways ground, Ajni with coloured clothing, black sight-screens and white balls.Total eight teams are taking part in this edition including defending champions Lokmat, runners-up The Hitavada, Tarun Bharat, Sakal, Loksatta, Punyanagari, The Times of India and Navbharat.Orange City Hospital and Research Institute are the main sponsors of the event. Amar Sports has sponsored the Wisden balls for the tournament.The winners and runners-up will get attractive cash prizes as well as rolling trophies. Individual winners too will be awarded.

(The Hitavada)

Indian Shuttlers have weak legs: Natekar

NAGPUR, Nov 26, 2008
NOTING that there was no major difference as far as skills and court crafts are concerned, former world top 10 badminton player Nandu Natekar feels that the Indian shuttlers have "weak legs" as compared to other international shuttlers.
Interacting with scribes at ‘Meet the Press’ organised by Sports Journalists Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Dr Ambedkar College, Natekar shared his thoughts at length.
To a query as to why the Indians were lagging behind at international level and the presence of few known names in badminton, Natekar said, "To be popularly known, a player has to win a major title. I was a national champion six times and won three international events. People remember (Prakash) Padukone and (Pulela) Gopichand because they have won the All England tournaments.
"Indian players are very talented. They are not behind as far as skills and court crafts are concerned, what they lack is stamina. They have weak legs. This is the only grey area as far as Indian shuttlers are concerned. They have beautiful mind and can play skillfully but not for a long duration. However, the new points system has reduced the playing time that will benefit us more than others."
On present Indian players and the future of badminton in the country, Natekar said, "The future is definitely good. There are a couple of players like Chetan Anand and Anup Sridhar. A big title win would do a world of good for them. Saina Nehwal is a very good player and what I like the most about her is her ‘zid’. Winning an Olympic medal is not easy. You have to be consistent throughout the tournament to win a medal. It’s not like a ‘natak’ (play) wherein you can perform well the next time. A bad match here and you are out. But one can say she is a medal prospect at London Olympics."
Natekar further said, "Unlike old times, the scene is fast changing. Good courts are coming up at almost all district places and like Saina, players are emerging from smaller places, so we can say the future of badminton is good."
A born sportsperson that he is, Natekar played cricket, tennis and tried his hands at other sports too with aplomb. When asked whether he repented sticking to badminton while other sport might have given him more fame and financial gains, Natekar said, "No regrets. In fact I am very happy and content with what I have achieved in my life. With so much love and respect I still get at the age of 75, you cannot ask for more"

(The Hitavada)