Stars from Marathi film industry come together to support Road Safety World Series
Big names like Siddharth Jadhav, Siddhant Moole, Tejas Nerurkar, Ankush Chaudhary, Sarvesh Parab plays exhibition match with RSWS XI to generate interest
Former India batsman, Pravin Amre joins long list of stars for the match
Mumbai: Renowned film director, actor, writer and producer Mahesh Manjrekar led a host of actors from the Marathi film fraternity to promote the cause of road safety by taking part in an exhibition match with the Unacademy Road Safety World Series organizing body at the MIG Club Ground in Bandra East on Friday afternoon. Former Indian international Pravin Amre also joined this star-studded line-up along with Mr. Ravi Gaikwad, RTO Chief of Thane (Konkan Range), who is also a senior member of the Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra, to create awareness towards the mega sporting event happening in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune next month.
The Unacademy Road Safety World Series kick-starts with a blockbuster duel between the Sachin Tendulkar-led India Legends and Brian Lara-led West Indies legends at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 7, 2020. The final will be played on March 22. All matches will be telecast live on COLORS Cineplex, COLORS Kannada Cinema along with VOOT and Jio, which are the digital partners. Tickets to the matches are live exclusively on BookMyShow. Prices of tickets ranges from INR 50 to INR 500 giving fans a chance to catch their favourite players and team live in action. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales will be utilized to create awareness about road safety in the country.
In the exhibition tie today, Manjrekar, the national award winning director, was joined by Siddharth Jadhav, Siddhant Moole, Tejas Nerurkar, Sarvesh Parab, Vishwas Walawalkar, Ankush Choudhary, Roshan Kumar, Sourabh Ghokhle, Rajeev Rane, Nupur Dhudwadhkar and Sandeep Juvatka among others in the Marathi Celebrity XI. In a closely fought encounter, RSWS defeated the Marathi film fraternity team by 28 runs. Batting first, RSWS scored 134-4 in 15 overs with Nishant Patankar top scoring with 37 while Pravin Amre (36) and Ravi Gaikwad (18) were the other noteable contributors. For the Marathi Celebrity XI, Roshan Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with 1/19. Later, Siddhant Mule scored a stroke-filled 40 for Marathi Celebrity XI but couldn’t prevent his team from going down by 28 runs. Patankar was pick of the RSWS bowlers with 3/16 while Lawande 1/17 and Aarya Jadhav 2/9 were also among wickets. Patankar, for his all-round performance, was declared the man-of-the-match.
The Unacademy Road Safety World Series, is a five-nation T20 cricket tournament which will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa. Some notable players who will feature in this Series includes Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain, Padma Bhushan and the living legend, Mr Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.
Every year, more than 1.5-2 lakh people die on Indian roads due to vehicular accidents; one person dies every 4 minutes and 1,214 road accidents occur every day in the country. In the last five years, more than 65 lakh people were disabled completely. As cricket is the most followed sport in the country and cricketers are looked up to as idols, the Series aims to create awareness about road safety and change people’s mind-set towards their behaviour on the roads.
Mr Ravi Gaikwad, RTO Chief of Thane (Konkan Range), who is also a senior member of the Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra and Chairman of the Trust, Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat, said: “It is the responsibility of each and every citizen of this country to come forward and support this cause because Indian roads can’t be safe with the effort of just one, two or few individuals. So, I would like to thank all who have come to join this movement and support the cause of road safety. It is through them we can reach out to the masses constantly and educate them about the importance of road safety. We really want the people to take the issue of rad safety very seriously and follow safety instructions carefully.”
Mahesh Manjrekar, talking about Unacademy Road Safety World Series said, “The Road Safety World Series is a great platform to create awareness among the masses and I would like to congratulate the organisers for integrating the most important sport in the country with this serious concern. So, I am sure the message will reach far and wide with this initiative.”
SCHEDULE (All Matches Start at 7:00pm IST)
March 7, 2020 : India Legends vs West Indies Legends @ Wankhede (Mumbai)
March 8, 2020 : Australia Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends @ Wankhede (Mumbai)
March 10, 2020 : India Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends @ DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
March 11, 2020 : West Indies Legends vs South Africa Legends @ @ DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
March 13, 2020 : South Africa Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends @ DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
March 14, 2020 : India Legends vs South Africa Legends @ MCA Stadium (Pune)
March 16, 2020 : Australia Legends vs West Indies Legends @ MCA Stadium (Pune)
March 17, 2020 : West Indies Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends @ MCA Stadium (Pune)
March 19, 2020 : Australia Legends vs South Africa Legends @ DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
March 20, 2020 : India Legends vs Australia Legends @ MCA Stadium (Pune)
March 22, 2020: FINAL @ TBA
