An outstanding bowling effort from the SoBo Supersonics, who became the first team in Season 2 to dismiss a side, ensured them an emphatic 35-run victory over the Shivaji Park Lions in the afternoon game at the Wankhede on Thursday. With this win, the Supersonics sealed top spot in Group B and also booked a berth in the second semi-final on Saturday.
Electing to bat first, the Supersonics lost a wicket early, Hersh Tenk’s flick on the on-side found fielder Manan Khakhar in the deep who made no mistake in reeling in an easy catch. Following that, captain Jay Bista took the onus on himself and hit three boundaries in a space of five deliveries that he faced, which allowed Parag Khanapurkar the time he needed to settle in.
The all-rounder also got in on the act and smashed a boundary and a six on back-to-back deliveries in the sixth over. But nine dots in the subsequent 12 deliveries that he faced put the pressure on him to get a big shot, and in attempting to do so, he edged a straight delivery from Raunaq Sharma straight into the hands of the keeper, giving the Lions their second breakthrough.
New batsman Yogesh Takawale and skipper Bista looked in control of proceedings as they picked up 36 off the next five overs, but the captain’s dismissal in the 14th took the sting out of the Supersonics’ inning, as they scored just 23 over the span of four overs, while also losing another wicket.
With the scoreboard reading 117-4 after 18 overs, the Supersonics needed a strong finish to their inning to finish a respectable total and all-rounders Rohan Raje and Dhrumil Matkar provided just that. Raje scored 17 off seven balls before being dismissed on the final ball of the 19th over, while Matkar smashed 15 off the final four delivers of the inning to take the team’s total to 150-6 at the conclusion of the first inning.
In reply, the Lions were off to a bad start, as opener Swapnil Pradhan had to walk back in the very first over and on the first ball of the fourth delivery, his partner Rudra Dhanday too was dismissed after miscuing a scoop attempt and hitting it straight to the keeper.
Skipper Sharma and Sachin Yadav stabilized the inning with their 31-run partnership, but the latter’s mistimed lofted shot midway through the ninth over gave the Supersonics their third breakthrough with 54 on the scoreboard for the Lions.
Sharma continued to wage a lone battle for his side but had to depart in bizarre fashion, after a straight shot from Nikhil Patil hit the bowlers’ hand before crashing into the stumps at the non-striker’s end with the skipper outside the crease, rendering him run out on 30. Just three deliveries later, the Lions lost their fifth wicket, as batsman Onkar Jadhav charged down the pitch but missed the delivery completely giving keeper Takawale an easy stumping opportunity which he made no mistake in executing.
Patil and Manan Khakhar scored 25 off the next three overs to give their team a glimmer of hope but both batsmen were dismissed on the first two deliveries of the 17th over, ending the Lions’ hopes of a victory. Bowler Deepak Shetty got himself a couple of wickets in the penultimate over, while Badrey Alam got the final wicket with a brilliant yorker in the 20th to bundle out the Lions for just 115.
Brief Score:
SoBo Supersonics (Yogesh Takawale 40, Jay Bista 33, Gaurav Bengre 2-36) beat Shivaji Park Lions (Raunaq Sharma 30, Sachin Yadav 26, Dhrumil Matkar 3-23) by 35 runs.
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