T20 Mumbai, day 9: Semi-final berths at stake as league stage draws to a close
The 2019 edition of T20 Mumbai is entering its business end as the final round of matches are set to get underway later today. There could be as many as two teams booking their place in the semi-finals by the end of the penultimate day of the league matches.
In the first match of the day, Group B table-toppers SoBo SuperSonics take on Shivaji Park Lions and a win will help SuperSonics book their place in the semis. The Jay Bista-led side are top of Group B with six points courtesy three wins from four matches while their opponents Shivaji Park Lions have lost all their three matches so far.
For SuperSonics, Parag Khanapurkar has done the bulk of the run-scoring, amassing 165 runs in four matches at an average of 41.25 and a SR of 150. Moreover, with the ball, he has taken four wickets and bowled economically.
Deepak Shetty and Rohan Raje are the side's leading wicket-takers with five scalps apiece. For the Lions, their senior pros have failed to turn up with only Shivam Dube doing the bulk of the scoring.
Teams:
Shivaji Park Lions (From): Rudra Dhanday, Sachin Yadav, Siddhesh Lad(c), Nikhil Patil, Shivam Dube, Hardik Tamore(w), Raunaq Sharma, Siddharth Raut, Vijay Gohil, Shivam Malhotra, Varun Joijode, Jai Kothari, Gaurav Bengre, Atish Gawand, Arun Yadav, Tanush Kotian, Swapnil Pradhan
SoBo SuperSonics (From): Jay Gokul Bista(c), Hersh Tank, Dhrumil Matkar, Parag Khanapurkar, Japjeet Randhawa, Yogesh Takawale(w), Rohan Raje, Khizer Dafedar, Vaibhav Mali, Shashank Attarde, Deepak Shetty, Harsh Tanna, Badrey Alam, Akshay Barma, Aatif Shaikh, Adeeb Usmani, Sandeep Kunchikor, Tushar Srivastav, Mansingh Nigade, Agni Chopra
In the second match, North Mumbai Panthers take on Triumphs Knights MNE, with the victor sealing a berth in the semis.
The Knights, after losing the first two games, won their next two matches and are on top of the table, ahead of the North Mumbai Panthers thanks to a superior NRR. Triumphs skipper Suryakumar Yadav is the tournament's leading run-scorer with 188 runs in four matches at an average of 94 while Royston Dias and Mohit Avasthi are the wreckers-in-chief with the ball, with eight and five wickets respectively.
The Panthers come into this game on the back of two successive defeats. In the absence of regular skipper Prithvi Shaw, stand-in skipper Vikrant Auti has stepped up with the bat and he is one of four batsmen with 150 runs in the tournament. He has scored 156 runs in four games at an average of 39 and will look to continue his good form and take his team to the semis.
With the ball, it is Atif Attarwala and Rahul Sawant who have done all the work as they have picked up six and five wickets respectively.
Teams:
North Mumbai Panthers (From): Vikrant Auti(c), Vishal Dhagaonkar, Sairaj Patil, Karan Nande, Sumeet Dhekale, Shashikant Kadam, Atif Attarwala, Ajinkya Patil(w), Moondeep Mangela, Rahul Sawant, Pravin Tambe, Prathamesh Dake, Onkar Dattaram Gurav, Swapnil Salvi, Aashray Sajnani, Neil Narvekar, Jude Singh, Aditya Rane, Prithvi Shaw
Triumphs Knights MNE (From): Karan Shah, Sumit Ghadigaonkar(w), Parikshit Valasangkar, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Karan More, Akash Parkar, Puneet Tripathi, Vinayak Bhoir, Yash Dicholkar, Royston Dias, Mohit Avasthi, Prasad Patil, Shivam Nirupam, Umesh Gurjar, Shikhar Thakur, Siddhant Adhatrao, Vaibhav Singh, Kalpesh Sawant, Bharat Patil, Gaurav Chavan
Catch the T20 Mumbai action live on Star Sports 2/2HD/3 at 7:30 PM, and on Hotstar.