Akshay Kolhar

Executive XI openers Akshay Kolhar (68) and Anup Fulper (33) batted brilliantly to steer Executive XI to a seven-wicket victory over President XI in the Twenty20 trial tournament match at the VCA Jamtha ground on Saturday.

Akshay Kolhar once again showed why he is regarded as one of the technically sound batsmen in the region.

A brilliant partnership of 104 runs for the second wicket between Kunjan Patel (91) and Anirudha Chore (31) helped Nirmal Urban Co-op Bank upset fancied AGRC by 34 runs.

Amit Deshpande slammed a brilliant half century to steer Accountant General Recreational Club (AGRC) to a thumping 57-run victory over Lipton Cricket Club in the Haier Twenty20 DRM Challenge Cup.

Wicketkeeper batsman Jitesh Sharma made comeback after two years, while opener Akshay Kolhar was rewarded for his consistent performances in the local cricket circuit as the Suhas Phadkar-led selection panel announced the squad for the opening match of the Ranji Trophy against Andhra from December 9-12.

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) bounced back strongly to put Bapuna XI on the backfoot on the third day of the Bapuna Cup cricket tournament at the VCA Civil Lines ground.

Bowlers, normally, don't have much say in Twenty20 but Vidarbha-Rajasthan tie was different.

Vijay Hazare Central Zone One-day Trophy 2012-13. Vidarbha had a horrendous season. Their batsmen were struggling on difficult wickets in Indore. If the conditions weren't enough, quality fast bowlers made Vidarbha's task more difficult.

With relatively young side, the likes of Faiz Fazal 66 (56b, 4x4, 2x6) and Shalabh Shrivastava (3-0-13-3) needed to take more responsibility.

Much like Team India, who have invested heavily in KL Rahul over the past four years, Vidarbha have done the same with Sanjay Ramswamy. Both Rahul and Sanjay look pleasing to eye till they stay at the wicket. Sanjay may not have same flamboyance as the Indian opener has, but he has all the shots in the book and the precious gift of timing.

Experienced leg-spinner Samir Khare scalped five wickets to bowl AG Nagpur to a thumping ten-wicket victory over Jaipur in the inaugural match of the IA and AD West Zone Cricket tournament.

Modern day cricket is all about multi-utility players. Railways, in that regard, are not only lucky to have such players in their side but also have two quality wicketkeeper-batsmen in Mahesh Rawat and Amit Paunikar.

Right from the time he took leadership role during his playing days, Chandrakant Pandit was never shied away from taking risks. It's no different when Pandit donned the coach's hat after hanging his boots almost two decades ago.

Aniruddha Chore played yet another superb knock to steer Ruby Sporting Club to the final of the Guzder League Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Indian Gymkhana, Reshimbag Gymkhana, Eleven Stars and Nav Niketan Club registered contrasting victories over their respective opponents in the VCA Guzder League Twenty20 Cricket tournament here on Friday.

P Vivek (51) and Chandrashekhar Atram (44) shared an opening stand of 95 to steer South East Central Railway (SECR) derail Nirmal Urban Co-Op Bank by six wickets in the Corporate Cup T20 tourney.

Indian Gymkhana will take on Eleven Stars, while Reshimbag Gymkhana will lock horns with Nav Nikettan Club in the semifinals of the Guzder League Twenty20 cricket tournament at the VCA Jamtha ground on Tuesday.

Tulsiramji Gaikwad-Patil Memorial Badminton tournament, organized by the Nagpur District Badminton Association, will get underway at the Robertson-YMCA Hall, Civil Lines on Sunday.

The Vidarbha selectors have showed faith in the youngsters for the shorter format, including as many as four new faces in the squad for the Central Zone Vijay Hazare One-day tournament in Jaipur.

For the last few years, Vidarbha have played the shorter format better than the longer one.They have won the Central Zone Vijay Hazare One-day championship twice in the last five years.

For years, Vidarbha failed to cross the crucial hurdles as batsmen faltered more often than not. Thankfully, the tide seems to be turning for the good with the emergence of promising youngsters. With the promise shown by the likes of Gaurav Upadhyaya, Aman Sharma, Apoorv Wankhede and Akshay Kolhar the future of Vidarbha batting looks safe.

On debut, Darshan Nalkande walked to the crease with Vidarbha needing 83 in 58 balls. Akshay Wadkar was batting with a lot of assurance at the other end. Many would have given up but not Nalkande, who is known to be a fighter. The 19-year-old relished the challenge and came out with flying colours.

Considered by many experts that Aniruddha Chore is not suited for Twenty20 format, the talented youngster answered his critics in style on Wednesday.

As the Himachal innings finished, Sandeep Singh (22-6-50-4) gave his junior partner Amol Jungade (15.1-2-67-5) a pat on the back and promptly allowed him to lead the team off the field.

After the fourth round of the ongoing MN Dorairajan Cricket Trophy, the Vidarbha Cricket Association selectors have short-listed the 31 probables for the forthcoming Ranji Trophy season, which includes pre-season meet — all India tournament in Karnataka.

Central Railway derailed South East Central Railway by 63 runs in a battle between two Railway teams in the Corporate Cup.

Once he was tipped to lead Vidarbha and had Faiz Fazal not joined Railways, he would have been an automatic replacement for Preetam Gandhe as a captain three years ago.

In his recent chat with Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra discussed how labelling certain players fit for a specific format is unfair.

Akshay Wadkar is somebody Vidarbha can trust to go far ahead. After finishing the last season on a high - where he played a significant part in Vidarbha's Ranji and Irani Trophy triumph - the wicketkeeper batsman has started the season with a bang.

With Vidarbha’s poor performance continuing in the ongoing Vijay Hazare One-day tournament, the selectors and the team management have sent back five players — Apoorv Wankhade, Shrikant Wagh, Jitesh Sharma, Akshay Karnewar and Ravi Jangid — from the 16-member squad which is in Bangalore.