After falling to their third defeat in a row, Shivaji Park Lions were knocked out of the T20 Mumbai League 2019 as pacer Royston Dias rose to the occasion and picked up his career-best figures of four wickets to help the Triumph Knights MNE win their fixture against the Lions.
Pacer Royston Dias made the Shivaji Park Lions rue their decision of batting first, dismissing the explosive Rudra Dandey in the very first over. The early wicket caused the Lions to curb their attacking instincts as they ended the powerplay overs with 31 runs on the board, with the other opener Swapnil Yadav back in the hut as well.
A couple of overs later, matters got worse for the batting side as an inspired piece of fielding coupled with a direct hit by Vinayak Bhoir resulted in their third wicket. Another moment of brilliance on the field, this time by captain Suryakumar Yadav who took a splendid low catch resulted in their top scorer for the season, Shivam Dube, walking back to the pavilion.
Spinners Parikshit Valasangkar and Yash Dicholkar continued putting the pressure on the batting side, bowling a strict line and length to ensure the Lions only got to 63 after 12 overs. The pressure ultimately told as birthday boy Akash Parkar reaped the rewards by getting captain Siddhesh Lad bowled in the 15th over.
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Keeper-batsman Hardik Tamore though held the fort for last season’s runners-up, scoring the odd boundary and helping them get past a 100. Nevertheless, the Triumph Knights kept picking wickets, this time it was Mohit Avasthi dismissing Raunaq Sharma.
Tamore smashed a brilliant six at the death to try to get his side to a competitive total, but Dias bowled a peach of a final over, picking up three more wickets and ending with figures of 4/26 as the Shivaji Park Lions ended with 125 runs after 20 overs.
In reply, the Lions decided to open the bowling with Lad and the move paid dividends, as Triumph Knights opener Karan Shah was clean bowled. They then nabbed a quick second wicket as debutant Varun Joijode took a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss Sumit Ghadigaonkar.
New players Yadav and Valasangkar though steadied the ship for the Knights, keeping the scoreboard ticking without losing any further wickets. They kept the asking rate under seven as the innings entered the midway stage with a couple of sixes off the Lions’ spinners.
Yadav showed his class, scoring at ease with a couple of sixes and a few fours in the middle overs to help his side cruise through towards victory. The 28-year-old got his second fifty of Season 2 in the 15th over, with a cute late cut that beat the fielder at short-third.
His partner Valasangkar too played a fine supporting role, getting his fifty the very next over with a straight six that left his side with only four to win. Yadav then found the gap on the off-side to complete a resounding eight-wicket victory for the Triumph Knights, knocking out the Lions in the process.
Brief Score:
Triumph Knights MNE 126/2 (Suryakumar Yadav 56, Parikshit Valasankar 52, Siddhesh Lad 1/29) beat Shivaji Park Lions 125/9 (Hardik Tamore 40, Siddhesh Lad 37, Royston Dias 4/26)
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