20 March,2018 08:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Triumph Knights skipper Suryakumar Yadav plays a square drive during Qualifier 1 of the T20 Mumbai League against SoBo SuperSonics at the Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Riding on disciplined bowling efforts from off-spinner Kalpesh Sawant (3-13), left-arm spinner Aditya Dhumal (2-23), pacer Prateek Dabholkar (2-34) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav's half-century, Triumph Knights (TK) stormed into the final of the inaugural T20 Mumbai League. Yesterday, Triumph beat SoBo SuperSonics by 40 runs in Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 163 for victory, SS lost in-form opener Jay Bista for a duck in the first ball of the innings off Dabholkar. Bista tried to drive one over the short cover fielder, but ended up giving a straight-forward catch to Vinayak Bhoir. By the end of the Powerplay, SS found themselves in all sorts of trouble with the loss of their most experienced all-rounder, skipper Abhishek Nayar, who did not trouble the scorers. At this stage, SS were 45 for three.
Kalpesh Sawant
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Sujit Nayak, who smashed 99 against ARCS Andheri on Saturday, managed only two off 10 before Sawant sent him back - caught by Suryakumar at cover. At the half-way mark, SS were 63 for four and were bowled out for 122 in 19.1 overs. Earlier, put into bat, Shashank Singh (34) and Shikhar Thakur (22) gave TK a good start stitching a 40-run opening stand. However, the Mumbai North East side lost one-drop batsman Sumit Ghadigaonkar (2) and No. 4 batsman Aditya Dhumal (3) in quick succession. TK were 48 for three after nine overs. However, the arrival of Suryakumar changed the complexion of the innings. The hard-hitting batsman's 35-ball 63, laced with four hits over the fence and five boundaries, propelled TK to a decent total.
Batting all-rounder Akash Parkar was at the crease for 45 minutes, but remained unbeaten on 14 off 11 balls with the help of a solitary boundary. Nayar was among the successful SS bowlers, claiming two for 19, while pacers Badre Alam and Ankur Singh and left-arm spinners Dhrumil Matkar and Harmeet Singh picked one wicket apiece.
