In the final match of T20 Mumbai League 2019, North Mumbai Panthers' pacers put up a fiery show to help their team emerge victorious against SoBo Supersonics and register themselves as the T20 Mumbai League 2019 Champions.
Electing to bat first, the North Mumbai Panthers were off to a shocker, losing a wicket in each of the first two overs, with opener Vikrant Auti departing first for a duck, followed by batsman Karan Nande perishing after scoring just two runs.
Despite the early wickets, Panthers’ skipper Prithvi Shaw did not shy away from his attacking style and capitalized on the field restrictions by smashing two fours and a six off the third to help negate the effects of the double blow. Their hero from the semi-final, batsman Swapnil Salvi continued where he left that night and smashed three boundaries in the fourth over as the pair looked on course for another big partnership for the Panthers.
However, pacer Deepak Shetty, whose over previous went for 12, had other ideas as his short delivery dismissed Salvi for 18 and a couple of deliveries, his slightly outward deviating delivery found the edge of Sairaj Patil’s bat and a brilliant catch from Yogesh Takawale dismissed all-rounder for a duck.
With the team four down with just 51 on the board at the end of the powerplay, skipper Shaw and Shashikant Kadam rebuilt the inning and scored 60 off the next nine overs to put the team in a much better position at 111-4 after 15. Having played patiently for so long, Kadam looked to up the tempo and took on Dhrumil Matkar but his shot went straight to Khizer Dafedar and he had to walk back to the pavilion after scoring 37. Just three deliveries later, new man Sumeet Dhekale, too, was dismissed after adding just two to his team’s score as the onus fell on Shaw to guide his team to a competitive total.
The 18th over yielded 11 runs owing to Atif Attarwala’s big six and some hard running between the wickets, however, the final two saw the Panthers score just 10 runs and they finished at 143-7.
In reply, the SuperSonics sprung a surprise by sending Japjeet Randhawa to open with skipper Jay Bista, however, the move backfired as the former was dismissed on just the fourth delivery of the inning on a golden duck bringing Hersh Tank to the center. The regular opening duo added in 37 in 28 balls before Tank was dismissed by Attarwala in the final over of the powerplay as the SuperSonics finished at 39-2 at the end of six overs.
In his very next over, Attarwala picked up another big scalp, dismissing SuperSonics skipper Bista for 21 and putting his team in command in the contest. New man Yogesh Takawale and Parag Khanapurkar batted cautiously over the next three over and scored just 15 runs but with the required rate creeping up to 10, the two targeted leggie Pravin Tambe and smashed 17 off the 12th over which eased the scoreboard pressure.
However, in the 14th over, pacer Prathamesh Dake struck and got rid of Takawale, and after a big 14th over for the SuperSonics, the speedster returned to dismiss Khanapurkar as well, leaving the batting side at 87-4. Pacer Attarwala bowled a magnificent 17th over, giving away just six runs and the pressure that he built yielded the reward for his team in the 18th over, as Dafedar’s lofted attempt straight down the ground found fielder Auti and the all-rounder had to walk back after scoring 13.
Attarwala bowled another magnificent over in the 19th, giving away just seven runs and also dismissing Rohan Raje, effectively ending the SuperSonics hopes of a victory. Veteran Tambe was tasked with the responsibility of bowling the last over and the leggie delivered for his team, picking up two wickets in the first four balls of the overs to bundle out the SuperSonics for 131 and crown the Panthers champions of Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the winning captain, Prithvi Shaw was on cloud nine after winning. Expressing his happiness he said,
"The win has boosted our confidence and is a great beginning to all of our careers. Winning the T20 Mumbai tournament boosts confidence for local talent. The future certainly looks bright for Mumbai cricket.”
Brief Score:
North Mumbai Panthers(Prithvi Shaw 61, Shashikant Kadam 37, Deepak Shetty 3-24) beat Sobo SuperSonics(Parag Khanapurkar 43, Jay Bista 21, Prathamesh Dake 3-19) by 12 runs
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