The T20 Mumbai league is fast moving towards its last station as all the teams are trying to claim their spot in the playoffs. Triumph Knights is the team that is set for the podium finish with their win over the Bandra Blasters yesterday. In the night match, Shivaji Park Lions came out trumps against the ARCS Andheri team.
The first match yesterday was a thrilling affair that treated everyone in attendance. The crowd had to duck for cover as it was raining sixes. Bandra Blasters captain Shreyas Iyer and the hard-hitting batsman Anam Hakim Khan played ferociously and added 137 runs in only 87 balls.
Shreyas Iyer 72(57) and Anam Hakim Khan 85(47) together hit 11 sixes. The generated momentum was continued by Shashikant Kadam who smacked three sixes in his brief stay of nine balls. The total of 184 on the board was enough to put the chasing team under serious pressure.
The reply from Triumph Knights was one that of caution and steadiness. They did not attack from the start and instead tried putting up a platform for Surya and Parker to shine later. Shashank Singh played a handy knock of 42(28) at the start.
The plan felt like a disaster when Captain Surya Kumar Yadav got out. Knights at that stage needed 59 from 22 balls which even by a T20 standard is a tall ask. It was then that Aakash Parkar stepped on the field.
Parkar’s 39*(18) including two fours and four sixes was complimented by Vinayak Bhoir who also scored 19*(8) with two sixes. The combined effort resulted in a thrilling last-ball win for the Triumph Knights.
The Second match of the day was a battle between two struggling teams in ARCS Andheri and Shivaji Park Lions. The first acceleration in the innings came from Akhil Herwadkar who scored a quickfire 27 6ff 14 balls. There was a dull period once Akhil got out and ARCS Andheri batsmen failed to find regular boundaries.
It was only in the last overs that Andheri found their track. Siddharth Chitnis and Iqbal Abdullah added crucial runs to the tally which made it competitive. Shivaji Park Lions needed 150 runs to win exactly.
The smallish total meant no serious pressure on the opening batsman. Both Paul Valthaty and Hardik Tamore hit some attractive shots to start their innings and got out in the process. At the halfway stage, SPL needed 75 from 10 overs with their captain Bravesh Shetty standing like a rock at one end.
The scoring rate increased as Alpesh Ramjani started smacking boundaries in a jiffy. Little hopes that Andheri harbored vanished when Arun and Shubham both dropped important catches. Bravesh Shetty took things in his hands and ended the match in style with a six over long-on, the six also completed his fifty off 37 balls.
Leaders Triumph Knights will be back in the action today as they face the North Mumbai Panthers team. ARCS Andheri will want to sign off their season with a win as they take on SoBO Supersonics in the night match.
Today’s fixtures:
3:30 PM North Mumbai Panthers vs Triumph Knights Mumbai North East
7:30 PM ARCS Andheri vs SoBo SuperSonics
