Pune cheers as state wins T20 trophy

After leading his team to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament,Motwani humbly credited the victory to the entire team. “It was a total team effort”,he said.

Though the city is does not have an IPL team,the Pune public had something to cheer about on Wednesday when the victorious Maharashtra team,packed with city-based players,arrived at the Lohegaon airport to celebrate their much-deserved victory.

Digambar Waghmare,Samad Fallah,Rohit Motwani and Ameya Shrikhande — all played critical roles in getting the crown — are from Pune. Fallah was outstanding as his four wickets were crucial in the downfall of the strong Hyderabad team in the final. Ganesh Gaikwad who performed well with both the bat and ball is also from the city.

Coach Shaun Williams was delighted with his team’s performance and felt that it was the improved fielding that led to the success. “We were consistent in all respects,but it was our superior fielding that won us this tournament,” he said. According to the Australian,the team has been working on its fielding for a while,and the hard work paid off. He said the young squad would gain a lot of confidence from this victory. “Now they will be confident that they can win a major tournament like this in the future too”,he said.

After the debacle in the last Ranji Trophy season,this win is means a lot for the Maharashtra coach though he feels the team has a long way to go to achieve consistent success. “We have been good in the T20 format and now have to improve in the longer format of the game. If we learn to keep our composure and maintain the level of consistency,we will take a major step towards achieving our goal — to get back into the elite division”,he said.