Montgomery College batted first and surprisingly found it difficult to score against a tight University of South Florida bowling attack. After 7 overs Montgomery had only scored 29 runs, this from a batting lineup that had averaged 11 runs per over in their previous matches.

USF Captain Harsh Baddepalli, one of Florida’s young stars, opened the bowling with Nirav Shah and both kept great line and length, frustrating the Montgomery batsmen.The consistent and elegant strokeplayer Danish Ashgar went for only 7 and Sadiq Naseer and Sehgal spent some time steadying the ship before they both fell, at 60 and 67. Ben David made the breakthrough for USF and Montgomery looked vulnerable for the first time in the Championship.

Captain Adit Bhatti, a talented all-rounder who could easily have been Dreamcricket.com’s Series MVP, came in at number four and Mohammed Khamran joined him to put on a 108 run partnership. Bhatti held his end down scoring 36* whilst Khamran did a Chanderpaul imitation by saving his Team’s innings. To do so Khamran punished any errant ball and pulled and hooked 6 sixes in his 63*. Khamran’s sixes soared well over the boundary line, and the scorers and spectators seemed in danger a few times. Like Chanderpaul, the left-handed Khamran gave the impression of being in control, doing what he wanted to do with the bowling despite the strong winds helping the swing bowlers. 

Khamran and Bhatti propelled Montgomery to 175 for 3,low compared to their previous scores but a high one nevertheless in 20 overs cricket.

The USF Team began with a good run-rate but kept losing wickets. Losing star batsman Harsh Boddepalli to Khamran really hurt their chances and they were all out for 120, never really threatening the Montgmery total.

The Montgomery players grabbed the stumps to celebrate their winning of the Chanderpaul Trophy in the inaugural American College Cricket Spring Break Championship. A cooler was emptied on Captain Adit Bhatti before he was with the huge Shiv Chanderpaul Trophy.

Later in the evening Awards were presented by Laparkan Shipping’s Brian Edun in the following categories:

Laparkan Best Bowler – Ankush Chandra of Boston University – together with Sumantro Das and Shilpin Makwana he comprised a pace attack that would have probably performed better had they not come from the Massachusetts winter lacking practice.   

Laparkan Best Batsman – Rajeev Prabhakar of the University of Miami – his amazing 89* in 34 ballsspeaks for itself. It was dazzling and audacious and an example of what this new UMiami Team can do next year. 

Laparkan Best Fielder – Atishe Chordia of Carnegie Mellon University- Atishe is a star, he opens the batting, and often takes off the gloves to bowl fast. His wicketkeeping was excellent, even when his pacers were generating lots of bounce and he had to jump for the balls.  Dreamcricket.com Series MVP – Mohammed Khamran of Montgomery College. His innings in the Finals saved the game for his Team and as a left-hander he drew comparisons to his hero, the great Shiv Chanderpaul.

Khamran also took the crucial wicket of Harsh Baddepillai, the USF star batsman and effectively stymied USF’s chances of winning. His all-round performance throughout the Championship was excellent with the bat and ball. 

Team Award, to the College Cricket Team best exemplifying the spirit of cricket, went to Carnegie Mellon. From the moment this Team heard of the Championship they registered their support and showed their professionalism. On the field they batted and bowled with desire.

 Opening batsman Aswin Badrinarayan was one of the best batsmen in the Championship and Zoheb Veljee showed lots of talent. Their fast bowlers, Sahil Jolly Anirudh Sood and Ankur Sarin generated surprising speed and bounce. This is a Team to watch next year as many of their players will still be in school. 

Results Opening Day American College Cricket
University of Miami vs Carnegie Mellon University

On an absolutely beautiful South Florida day the Inauguaral American College Cricket Spring Break Championship got underway. Early on the overnight dew made the outfield a bit slow but the Florida sun soon dried the outfield and the boundaries were flowing.

First the University of Miami Cricket Club took on Carnegie Mellon University Cricket Club. UMiami batted first and scored 114 with most of its batsmen reaching double figures.

 For Carnegie Mellon University Ankur Sarin 2 for 21 oof 3 overs, Mohit 1 for 8 off 3overs and Atishe Chordia, the Captain taking a break from keeping wicket, 1 for 16 off 3 overs. Carnegie lost an early wicket but opener Aswin badrinarayan 34 and Man of the Match Zoheb Veljee 44* took them within victory before 2 wickets fell and made it a thrilling finish.

For UMiami Mohit 1 for 14 off 4 overs, Hasan Ahmad 1 for 15 off 4 overs and Kalpesh Patel 1 for 23 off 4 overs bowled well. A few late dropped catches then cost UMiami the game.

Boston University vs University of South Florida 
With the temperature at 75 % the University of South Florida Cricket Club upset the Boston University Cricket Club. USF batted first and got off to a bad start, losing 4 wickets for 23 runs, the Boston opening atack of Captain Shilpin and Sumantro Das looked fast. But then opener Aditya Agarwal 39 (5 fours) and Man of the Match Prithvi Penare 44* steered them to a strong 146 for 7 off 20 overs. 

Boston U ‘s batsmen did not fare well and only some late hitting by fast bowler Sumantro Das,31 got them to a respectable total. The tall powerfully built Das reminded many of Kapil Dev. The bowling attack of Dhir Shah 3 for 15 off 4 overs and Nirav Shah 2 for 16 off 4 overs finished the surprising win by the University of South Florida which gave notice that they were a Team to watch. 

  
Carnegie Mellon University vs Montgomery College.

Great as the cricket was all day the Montgomery College batsmen were amazing, blazing 223 runs in 20 overs, an astounding runrate of 11 runs per over.

Captain and Man of the Match Adil Bhatti,46 ( 4 sixes and 2 fours) led the batting attack and Ankit Sehgal, 29 (2 sixes ans 2 fours) Danish Ashgar,27 and Mohamed Kamran,26 (2 sixes) batted well also. The left-handed opener Ashgar played some exquisite shots which demonstrated that 20/20 scoring did not have to mean slogging. His cover and off-drives were reminiscent of the great Zaheer Abbas. It was a cornucopia of stroke-play and big-hitting.

Ashwin Badrinarayan again showed his mettle by scoring 34 for Carnegie Mellon U but the Montgomery College total was just too daunting and it was an overwhelming win for Montgomery to close the day of exciting cricket.
A momentous day of American College cricket.

Rain Marred The Second Day Of The American College Cricket Spring Break Championship
Boston University vs Montgomery College

The stylish Danish Ashgar stroked 5 fours in his 33 and together with Sadiq Naseer 29 (2 fours and 1 six) got Montgomery off to a strong start, nullifying the pace of Boston U’s Sumantro Das and Captain Shilpin Makwana.

Ankit Sehgal 28 (1 six and 2 fours), Mohammad Kamran 23 (1 four and 2 sixes) and coming in at # 7 allrounder Amir Choudary  blasted 29* (3 fours).combined to give Montgomery 216 for 7 off 19 overs before the rain came. 

Ankush Chandra and Shilpin Makwana were Boston’s best bowlers taking  3 wickets for 37 runs and 2 for 28 respectively.

The game was shortened to 10 overs and Boston U’s batsmen again looked talented briefly before losing their wickets, betrayed by the Massachusetts winter of not much practice.

Notable was the tall broad shouldered Wali Syed 40* who played some glorious shots, taking 3 fours and 2 sixes off the strong Montgomery bowling. Syed made 40* and made one wonder what would have happened had he come earlier in the lineup. A cover drive for 4 he played was as good as you’re likely to see.  

Carnegie Mellon vs University of South Florida

The U of South Florida batted first and scored 69 for 2 off 10 overs with Captain Harsh Baddepillai scoring 32* including 4 fours. Baddepillai usually stars in the local League but in this Championship is getting the opportunity to star for his University.

The gallant Carnegie Mellon Team responded with 48 for 1 before the game was abandoned because of rain. Carnegie’s 2 star batsmen Ashwin Badri 36* and Captain Atshe Chordia 11* looked good in their time at the crease. Unfortunately the weather stymied their impressive effort and no result was declared.

Boston University vs University of Miami
This 15 over match continued the exciting cricket of the previous matches when Boston U was sent in to bat by UMiami.

Batting at number 3 the powerfully built Armu Syed who had made 40* in his previous game stroked the ball all over the field for his 58*.Getting down on his knees Syed played cover drives that split fielders or soared overhead. Pulls, hooks and cuts were all in his repertoire of shots, giving him 3 sixes and 5 fours. Syed’s innings made Boston U give UMiami a formidable total of 126 to beat.

2009 Finals MVP Mohammad Kamran (MC)