Short and sweet success

The Indian Premier League had to be moved to the UAE after COVID19 continued to pose a huge danger to the Indian summer slam Meanwhile in Mumbai hopes of hosting the muchloved Dr HD Kanga Cricket League have taken a beatingCity cricket enthusiasts would undoubtedly feel deprived and there will be a blank against 2020 in the Kanga League list of championsThere have been years when the champions could not be decided due to the weather the most famous one being 1983 when the minimum of five matches required for champions to be decided and promotions and relegations to be effected couldnt be heldThe 1990 edition very nearly ended up that way but five matches were held and the club which won the first Kanga League mdash Sunder Cricket Club at Cross Maidan mdash regained the honour which they achieved in 1948 1950 1952 1954 and 1956 These were premier division wins apart from B division title triumphs in 1968 1981 and 1985Like the 1970s Dadar Union dominated the League in the 1980s They clinched the pennant in 1988 under the captaincy of Sanjay Manjrekar but finished in a shared sixth position with Sunder the following year in which Shivaji Park Gymkhana SPG triumphedThe 1990 League began on July 29 after two Sundays were washed out and SPG started their title defence on a bad note with a loss to National CC The defending champions were bundled out for a feeble 24 in response to Nationals 155 The bowler to cause major damage was exMumbai and Maharashtra Ranji Trophy pacer Rajendra Lele who claimed 714A month later on September 2 a thriller was witnessed at Cross Maidan where Sunder earned a onewicket win over the fancied Cricket Club of India CCI The hosts did well to bowl out CCI for 82 through the efforts of Raju Shirke and Paras Mhambrey but encountered turbulence while getting to their target Young fast bowler Nasir Khan bowled unchanged for more than 10 overs to claim 535 and it was left to Sunders last pair of Ajay Muni 18 and Mushtaq Khan 2 to see their side home Test player Salil Ankola played his first premier Kanga League game on a maidan and CCI skipper Hemant Kenkre topscored with an unbeaten 29 Kenkre put on 37 for the last wicket with Kalyan boy Nasir on a difficult pitchDilip Vengsarkar Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar turned up to represent their respective clubs the following Sunday on their return from Indias tour of England Vengsarkar and Manjrekar headed to Khar Gymkhana where Dadar Union drew with the hosts while Tendulkars CCI had a similar result against Rajasthan SCTendulkar smashed 63 off 58 balls 7x4 1x6 as he added 71 for the third wicket with Vinod Kambli 60 off 60 balls 5x4 2x6 at the Brabourne StadiumMeanwhile National and Sunder notched up their third successive win seeing off Karnatak SA and Kandivali CA respectively at Cross MaidanSPG clashed with Sunder on September 16 when their young fast bowler Sandesh Kawle bagged a hattrick But Sunder refused to be conquered even as the tin plates on the scoreboard outside the tent showed 737 Kawle stood a chance of getting into the Railway Ranji Trophy team and there was another Railways Ranji probable in the opposition mdash Shrikant Kharge Sunders classy wicketkeeperbatsman Kharge 56 not out and future Test bowler Mhambrey put on 44 for the eighth wicket to help the team cross SPGs 116 a total SPG were restricted to by Shirke 737 and Mhambrey 332Four wins in four games and Sunder were sharing title dreams with National on the same maidan Shirke 733 and Mhambrey 326 were at it again for Sunder when Kandivali came over on September 23 Kharge 44 stayed unbeaten again as Sunder declared at 1627 before the opposition were bowled out for 81Prior to the final Sunday Sunder led the points tally with 15 followed by National who ceased to be joint leaders after their loss to New Hind SCRain lashed the city hard enough in the last week of September for the final Sundays matches to be cancelled Sunder who were slated to face the formidable Dadar Union were declared winners It was an A division triumph achieved after 34 years albeit without a final round of matches a rarity if not unprecedented No cash rewards in those days the players received caps and kitbags at a celebration partyThere were other rewards for some that year Kharge earned Ranji Trophy selection for the Railways just like Sunders skipper Sudhakar Chavan did in 198586 Allrounder Shirke 26 scalps in the League got picked to be part of Ravi Shastris Wills Trophywinning Bombay outfit and played a Ranji Trophy game for the city against Baroda Mhambrey became a much talkedabout young fast bowler who eventually made his Ranji debut in 1993Vishal Mahadik a reserve was another future Bombay fast bowler in the Sunder tent Sunder enjoyed another good Kanga League season in 1991 emerging third after champions CCI and secondplaced Dadar Union A torrid time in 1992 caused their relegation and they havent returned to the premier division sinceSadly Sunder has dipped to the F division and it will take a massive effort to get nearer to the top shelf Its a club that once boasted of fielding Vinoo Mankad and Subhash Gupte Dattu Phadkar who chose to bat or field depending on what the clubs popular groundsman Narayan felt at times and Ranga Sohoni And of course Mhambrey who earned a Test cap in 1996 and is now mentoring this countrys young fast bowlersOn Tuesday Mhambrey remembered Sunders 1990 exploits with fondness but his What days comment provided a sense of nostalgia and sadness to this columnist He was team manager of that enthusiastic outfitmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the 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