Atharva Dakway’s outstanding bowling effort of 8 wickets for 20 runs and a dogged batting from the last wicket pair of Sayyid Saqlain and Vishweshwar Singh helped Ghatkopar Jets clinch a tight 1-wicket win against Thane Marathas in a tense and engrossing fifth round match of the five-team double leg Mumbai Cricket Club (MCC) and Jwala Sports Foundation (JSF) organized MitsuiShoji T20 Cricket League (Season 9), played at the Air India Sports Club ground, Kalina, Santacruz.
Thane Marathas electing to bat first found the going tough as the batsmen struggled against left-arm spin bowling of Dakway who consistently took wickets at regular intervals to dismiss the opposition for 104 runs in 19 overs. Rohan Chavan 27 runs and Parikshit Valsangkar 23 runs were the only two Maratha batsmen to get some runs on the board.
Later, Ghatkopar Jets also faced a bit of struggle, but then a 34-run partnership for the seventh wicket, lifted the innings and with 84 runs on the board they were within striking distance of the target. But, Marathas claimed three quick wickets and without Ghatkopar Jets adding a single run to the total, saw the match heading for a tense finish. However, a resolute display from Saqlain who scored 8 runs from 16 balls and hung on for 28 minutes and Vishweshwar Singh who also remained unbeaten on 11 from 15 deliveries in 24 minutes saved the day for Ghatkopar Jets and ensured they snatched a close 1-wicket win.
Earlier, Mumbai Police City Riders recorded their second successive win defeating Bandra Heroes by a comfortable 46 runs.
Mumbai Police batting first amassed a challenging total of 165 for 9 wickets in 20 overs and then they bowled well to bowl out Bandra Heroes 119 runs in 19.2 overs.
Brief scores: Mumbai Police City Riders 165 for 9, 20 overs (Sahar Mishra 36, Anand Bais 34, Hardik Tamore 23, Aakarshit Gomel 23; Nishant Trivedi 3 for 21,Vinay Kunwar 2 for 9, Yaseen Shaikh 2 for 20) beat Bandra Heroes 119 all out, 19.2 overs (Vinay Kunwar 51; Sagar Mishra 4 for 20, Yogesh Patil 2 for 24). Result: Mumbai Police City Riders won by 46 runs.
Thane Marathas 104 all out, 19 overs (Rohan Chavan 27, Parikshit Valsangkar 23; Atharv Dakway 8 for 20) lost to Ghatkopar Jets 105 for 9, 19.5 overs (Gautam Waghela 48; Veera Sigamani 4 for 18, Kartik Mishra 2 for 16). Result: Ghatkopar Jets won by 1 wicket.