Mumbai tour diary – 7: A city where cricket thrives in every ground and inspires every boy to excel

By K.R. Nayar

The drive to the Air India Sports Club in Vakola, Santa Cruz East, from the MIG Cricket Club was a short one. The good thing about most cricket venues in Mumbai is the bubbling atmosphere all around. It’s cricket everywhere and one actually gets the feeling that you have come to a place where the game is revered.  It is no wonder that Mumbai is known as the nursery of Indian cricket.

G Force and MCC with the trophies after the match at the Air India Sports Club

On the walls of the Air India Sports Club ground are huge posters of VVS Laxman, Pravin Amre, Suresh Raina,Yuvraj Singh and woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami. Incidentally, Pravin Amre and Jhulan Goswani had conducted coaching camps for G Force in Dubai. It was a pleasant surprise to meet former Indian opener and renowned coach Lalchand Rajput at the club.

Posters of top players on the walls of the Air India Sports Club

Both the Under-14 and Under-12 matches yesterday, were keenly fought.  In the Under-14 match, G Force won the toss and elected to bat. They posted 124 for 8 in their 20 overs. Skipper Saldanha Shane opened the innings and cracked 31 runs. The consistent Manoj Kapil too scored 30 runs. The pick among the Mumbai Cricket Club (MCC)bowlers was Ishan Jain who took three wickets for 15 runs from his three overs.

Gopal Jasapara with Lalchand Rajput and coach Imtiaz  

MCC got off to a bad start with their batsmen getting run out due to some outstanding fielding by the G Force boys. Opener Piyush Koyal was run out by Dhairya Desai while skipper Amanant Hussain was run out to Kapil Manoj for 11. Kapil Manoj also had opener Swaraj Shinge caught by Raghav Nagaraj for a duck. More run outs were to follow with Aryan Modha running out Saumitra Sawant for 9. MCC’s top scorer Abhinandan Chawan too got run out to Kapil Manoj for 44. G Force produced seven run outs to win the match by 22 runs. The run outs revealed the improved fitness and agility of the players, sharpened by their strength and conditioning coach Sachin Jagtap, and the guidance on fielding placing orchestrated by coach Vinayak Samant.

In the Under-12 match, Mumbai Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field. G Force Cricket Academy posted 98 for 4 in the allotted overs. Opener Neil Siddharth top scored with 40 off 48 balls with five boundaries. Skipper Jaimeek Shah too chipped in with 23 runs. Chasing the total, MCC reached the target in 15.3 overs. Prithvi Bhalerao cracked an unbeaten 27. Sayyam Kaul bagged two wickets for 10 runs.

G Force captain Saldanha Shane receives the trophy 

The prize distribution ceremony after the match was an interesting affair. Trophies were given away by Jwala Singh, Head of the Mumbai Cricket Club and Jwala Sports Foundation, and Gopal Jasapara, Head Coach of the G Force Cricket Academy. After receiving their trophies, both captains were asked to speak about the match. This was meant to train them for the future since these days skippers need to speak to the television after every match.

Cameraman shooting the match  from the roof of the Air India Sports Club 

The interesting aspect of cricket clubs in Mumbai is that teams wait for one match to end for the next one to start. So soon after G Force’s matches ended, a tournament named RSCC Champions Trophy 2022 commenced with live television coverage. It was similar to the live coverage organized by the Sharjah Cricket Council and Ajman Cricket Council recently. The cameraman for this match could be seen shooting from the roof of the Air India Sports Club pavilion with a lone man in his late sixties giving commentary on a loudspeaker.

G Force captain Saldanha Shane carries the trophy to the bus

This is one of the reasons why players feel like a star in the making while playing on a Mumbai cricket ground.  G Force captain Saldanha Shane proudly carried the trophy all along the road while walking towards the bus. Everyone returned to MIG feeling proud of their performance and with the enthusiasm to improve and excel in the game hoping to become the poster boys of cricket someday in the future.