The first day of the Playoff stage in T20 Mumbai provided some great action for the crowd in attendance as they witnessed a few excellent batting onslaughts. The Triumph Knights continued on their winning way and secured a spot in the Final on Wednesday. Shivaji Park Lions knocked out NaMo Bandra Blasters and will fight for the final spot against SoBo Supersonics.
The Playoff day started with Triumph Knights batting first, something they had not done in the previous matches. This showed in the way their openers batted. Unsure of whether to attack or conserve, they did a bit of both and managed to get 40 runs in the powerplay.
The Supersonics hit back with three quick wickets and soon reduced the Knights to 48/3. When the opener Shashank Singh got out the Knights were struggling at 79/4 in the 13th over. It was then that the Captain came to the fore.
Surya Kumar Yadav attacked the Supersonics bowlers, who failed to cope up with such aggression. Yadav’s 35-ball 63 and Valsangkar’s 13*(6) took Knights up to 162/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
The chase by Supersonics began on a wrong note as their in-form batsman Jay Bista was out caught on the first ball. Only Aakarshit Gomel 32(33), Prasad Pawar 27(19) and Dhrumil Matkar 25(17) showed some fight in the mammoth 40 runs defeat.
Love the intensity and the competition in the on-going @T20Mumbai league. Both the teams, #SoboSupersonics and #MumbaiNorthEast fighting it out for a place the finals. All the best.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 19, 2018
The Eliminator match in the night was an extraordinary affair. The match witnessed a total of 19 sixes in both the innings. The Shivaji Park Lions stole the show and produced an assault that the Blasters bowlers could bearly contain.
The Namo Bandra Blasters batting first, made a cautious start. The youngster Anam Hakim Khan did try and speed up the innings but he was out at a critical juncture. Despite Shreyas Iyer being not out at one end, Blasters had only 106 runs in the first 15 overs.
Give it up for @BandraBlasters too, who have been magnificent throughout this first #T20Mumbai season! Special mentions to @ShreyasIyer15 and @legytambe! 👏🙌#CricketChaRaja #NBBvSPL
— T20 Mumbai (@T20Mumbai) March 19, 2018
Sensing the danger, Iyer changed gears and took on every Lions bowler that came his way. He smashed three sixes in one over of Alpesh Ramjani. The dashing Mumbai batsman paid no heed and collected 20 runs from the last over as well, taking Blasters to a fighting score of 169/4. Iyer remained not out for 91 in 58 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes.
The Lions had their eyes set on the glory. The veteran batsman Paul Valthaty started in an aggressive fashion, scored a quickfire 22(17). With the Captain Bravish Shetty standing unharmed at one end, the Lions needed something special from Shivam Dubey and he came out with his all-time best.
When Dubey arrived at the crease, the Lions needed 85 runs from 51 balls. They cantered to the target in next 37 balls only. Shivam Dubey launched the attack on the most experienced Blasters bowler and deposited Pravin Tambe for five huge sixes in an over.
Setting the record for the fastest fifty in T20 Mumbai, Shivam Dubey reached the mark on only 21 balls. He got out with just four runs remaining to win. Bravish Shetty 57*(30) scored a six off the next ball to seal an unbelievable win.
The results now set up the clash tonight (20th March) between SoBo Supersonics and Shivaji Park Lions with the winner to take on Triumph Knights in the final of T20 Mumbai League that will be played tomorrow (21st March).
