T20 Mumbai League: Dropped catch costs Knights dear

For the second time in three days, defending champion Triumph Knights Mumbai North East found it impossible to break the shackles with the bat as it lost to SoBo Supersonics by four wickets.

Karan More's fifty for Triumph Knights went in vain.

Poor catching was a constant feature in the inaugural edition of T20 Mumbai last year. The unwanted streak returned to haunt defending champion Triumph Knights Mumbai North East. A dropped catch in the last over cost the team dear as it suffered a second successive loss in T20 Mumbai’s second edition at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

While the Knights crumbled under pressure, SoBo Supersonics held its nerve and registered a four-wicket win off the penultimate ball of the chase. However, had Prasad Patil not dropped Rohan Raje off left-arm pacer Royston Dias, the Supersonics could have been in a spot.

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Dias’ impressive spell reduced the Supersonics to 118 for five from 93 for three. At that time, with the big-hitting Yogesh Takawale back to the dugout, the target of 144 was not at all a cakewalk. All-rounder Raje then heaved the first ball he faced and Dias was excited to see the ball sliding down straight to Patil. The fielder dropped the dolly and even conceded a four off the ball.

Dias eventually had his man in his next over but before that, the experienced campaigner had brought the target into his team’s sight with a straight six. With just seven runs to concede off the last over, young all-rounder Akash Parkar had a Herculean task and he could only stretch the inevitable till the fifth ball.

Earlier, for the second time in three days, the Knights found it impossible to break the shackles with the bat. Barring diminutive Karan More — who scored a fluent 55 (35b, 8x4) — none of the other batsmen, including captain Suryakumar Yadav, could score freely. It culminated in the team managing a sub-par 143 for eight.

Tare, Sarfaraz seal Strikers’s win  

A 100-run partnership for the third wicket between captain Aditya Tare (57, 45b, 8x4) and Sarfaraz Khan (57 n.o., 49b, 5x4, 1x6) meant Eagle Thane Strikers cruised to the victory target of 137, set up by Aakash Tigers MWS, with six wickets and five balls to spare.

 

Brief scores: Triumph Knights Mumbai North East 143 for eight in 20 overs (Karan More 55, Deepak Shetty three for 18, Vaibhav Mali two for 28) lost to SoBo Supersonics 144 for six in 19.5 overs (Hersh Tank 47, Royston Dias three for 26, Prasad Patil two for 24)

Aakash Tigers MWS 136 for eight in 20 overs (Aakarshit Gomel 38, Shams Mulani 36 n.o., Ankush Jaiswal three for 19, Kruthik Hanagavadi two for 17, Sagar Mishra two for 24) lost to Eagle Thane Strikers 140 for four in 19.1 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 57 n.o., Aditya Tare 57).