It might have sounded a tad ambitious at the time too,but the moment was such that even the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) couldn't help get carried away with the enormity of the occasion. Mumbai bad just clinched their record 40th Ranji Trophy title by overcoming an inspired Saurashtra outfit on their home soil,urging the MCA to announce a whopping Rs 3 crores as reward to their players and support staff put together. Unfortunately,they didn't quite account for the Rs. 51.20 crore tax liability hanging over their heads resulting in a prolonged delay of the payment. And now the MCA is waiting upon the annual subsidy that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dishes out for all the state associations to keep up their lofty word. We will definitely reward our players but now it'll happen only after the annual general body meeting. The MCA doesn't have that kind of money presently,and we are waiting for the subsidy to come around, said a MCA official. According to the procedure,the MCA will have to submit their balance-sheet to the Indian board and upon its survey,they will receive the subsidy,accounting to around Rs 20 crore from the BCCI. The money will then be distributed by the association for the development of the sport around the city and be used to honour their Ranji champions. MCA president Ravi Savant had earlier stated that arranging for the funds required for the reward will not be an easy task but that he will be looking at all angles to reward his players. It's been a successful year all around for Mumbai cricket with the under-25,under 16 and women's under-19 also adding to the burgeoning silverware case at the MCA office. The junior cricketers too stand to be rewarded with cash once the subsidy arrives. MCA had earlier announced Rs 50,000 cash prize for junior team. Saurashtra thrash Mumbai in T20 tournament An all-round performance by Kuldip Raval propelled Saurashtra to a comprehensive 60-run victory over Mumbai in a West Zone leg match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in Ahmedabad. This was the Ranji champions' third successive defeat in as many days in the tournament. Raval scored 53 off 26 balls,helped by eight fours and a six. His whirlwind knock enabled Saurashtra to reach a fighting 152 for 7 in 20 overs. He also took two wickets,giving away 23 runs in four overs. Unable to get a good start,the visitors kept losing wickets at a regular interval and were skittled out for just 92 in 18.5 overs. Mumbai play their last match against Maharashtra on Thursday. Electing to bat first,Saurashtra started off cautiously,adding 27 runs for the first wicket in 4.4 overs before captain Jaydev Shah (13 off 12 balls) departed. He was caught by Shoaib Shaikh off the bowling of right-arm medium spacer Kshemal Waingankar. Soon,they lost the other opener,Bhushan Chauhan,who was caught by Waingankar off the bowling of captain Abhishek Nayar for 15 runs off 20 balls. Saurashtra were in trouble at 85-5 in 14.1 overs before Raval joined forces with Chirag Jani to add 45 runs for the sixth wicket. Some late hitting propelled Saurashtra to 152 in their allotted quota of overs. Chasing 153 for a win,Mumbai were reduced to 20-3 in the first six overs,losing Aditya Tare (3),Praful Waghela (5) and Siddesh Lad (7) in the powerplay overs. Siddharth Chitnis (15) was the top-scorer,while Nayar hit 12 runs. For Saurashtra,pacer Siddharth Trivedi took three wickets for seven runs in three overs,while Jani and Raval took two wickets apiece. Saurashtra,who trounced Maharashtra by 15 runs last night,next play Baroda on Thursday.
