Top order batting, led by opener Rohan Sadarjoshi (63), followed by an unbroken 53 runs stand between Mehul Kamat (n.o. 57 ) and Nikhil Pagdhare (n.o.26) steered Santacruz Crackers to six-wicket win over Mulund Blasters in the 8-team SAI-Mumbai Masters T-20 League, powered by Paradigm Reality, at the Police Gymkhana’s floodlit ground here last night. With this win, the Crackers top pool ‘B’ with four wins in five outings, while , Mulund outfit have yet to open their account, having lost all their five matches..
Centurion Anuj Mathur of Mulund Blasters’ receiving the man-of-the-match award frpm chief guest Anil Pandhya, Co-Founder/CEO, Hidown India after today’s 8-team SAI-Mumbai Masters T-20 League match . On the right is MMPL vice president Ashish Goel.
Earlier, Mulund Blasters thanks to Anuj Mathur’s hard-hitting century (101 –10×4,6×6), put up a formidable score of 177 for six off 20 overs.
In reply, the Crackers were in trouble initially, having lost their top three batsmen with just 37 runs on the board. But their hopes were revived by Rohan Sadarjoshi and Mehul Kamat as the pair put on 91 runs for the fourth wicket before Rohan was out for aggressive 63 with 9 fours and a six. With score reading 128 runs for four on the board in 14.1 overs, Mehul and Nikhil steadied the innings by intelligently rotating the strikes with ones and twos without taking undue risks to put on 53 runs for the fifth wicket to see their side through.
In the pool ‘A’ tie, Chembur Strikers scored a narrow 5-run win over bottom placed Bandra Busters. Chembur Strikers, batting first, hit up 209 before they were all out in 19.5 overs. Rohan Surve top-scored with 64. Chasing 210 to win, Rohan Ade (50) and Dhiraj Solanki (39) led the fight as they put on 79 runs for the third wicket before being separated. The lower order, however,did try their best to inch closer to their target, but failed to achieve their goal.
Brief scores:
Mulund Blasters 177/6 off 20 overs (Anuj Mathur 101 (10×4, 1×6), Sunl Lakka 23, Leon Fernandes 22; Amey Kothavale 3/48, Manoj Sahane 2/32) lost to Santacruz Crackers 181/4 off 18.1overs ( Rohan Sadarjoshi 63 (9×4, 1×6), Mehul Kamat n.o. 57 (8×4, 1×6), Nikhil Pagdhare n.o.26; Swapnil S. 3/27) by 6 wkts.
Chembur Strikers 209 all out in 19.5 overs (Rohan Surve 64 (4×4, 7×6), Suraj Lalwani 22, Ozzy Thomas 23, Rahul Shroff n.o.20; Roshan Ade 3/20, Subramanium Shetty 2/32) bt Bandra Busters 204/8 off 20 overs (Roshan Ade 50 (4×4, 3×6), Dhiraj Solanki 39, Sunil Sangle 28; Siddharth Khanna 2/34, Pankaj Asrani 3/19, Gurmeet Singh 2/32) by 5 runs.