Ghatkopar Jets, thanks to Karan Nandey’s heroics saw them getting the better of Bandra Heroes by 61 runs to sail into the final of the Mitsui Shoji 5-Team Double leg-League here at Police Gymkhana ground, here on Tuesday. They take on last year’s finalist Mumbai Police City Riders, a four wicket winners over Shivaji Park Warriors in the other semifinals, for the coveted trophy . Ghatkopar Jets will now be further bolstered as famed former Sri Lankan Test fast bowler Chaminda Vaas will be turning out for in the final to be played under floodlights on Friday.
Ghatkopar Jets’ allrounder Karan Nandey (81 and 4/20) receiving the man of the match award from Mr Jwala Singh, CMD of of MCC.
Karan , who opened the innings, smashed 10 fours and three over the ropes as the defending champions hit up 213 after being asked to bat. Other notable contributors were Pushakraj Chavan (41) and Puneet Tripathi 34).
Bandra Heroes, who were strong contenders after having topped the league with seven wins and one loss, just could not get going as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and in the end they fell short by 61 runs . Skipper Swapnil Salvi (37) and opener Jiniv Joshi (31) were among the principal run-getters. Rightarm spinner Karan Nandey, was the chief destroyer of their aspirations as he captured four wickets for 22 runs in four overs.
The other semifinal, saw Shivaji Park Warriors after being put into bat, crumbled before the Mumbai Police City Riders’ pace and spin attack for 108 . Chasing 109 for victory, the City riders did make it tough as they lost six wickets before their skipper Santosh Shinde, an ex-Mumbai Ranji Trophy allrounder and Swapnil Kulaye saw them through.
Brief scores:
Ghatkopar Jets 213/7 off 20 overs (Karan Nandey 81 (10×4, 3×6); Punit Tripathi 34, Pushkaraj Chavan 41; Manish Rao 2/35, Akshay Darekar 2/35) bt Banda Heroes
152 all out in 17.3 overs, ( Jiniv Joshi 31, Swapnil Salvi 37, Alpesh Ramajani 23, Rehmani Sufiyan ; Vishwakarma 3/30, Karan Nandey 4/20) by 61 runs.
Shivaji Park Warriors 108 all out ( Amit Khan 2/30, Aquib Shaikh 2/13, Amit Kadam 2/19) lost to Mumbai Polic City Riders 111/6 off 14.5 overs ( Sunil Patil 24; Shashank Singh 2/22, Parh Sawant 2/25) by four wkts.