Mumbai: North Mumbai Panthers were crowned champions of the second edition of the T20 Mumbai league here Sunday after they defeated Sobo Supersonics in the final by 12 runs. Skipper Prithvi Shaw’s unbeaten 61 off 55 balls helped North Mumbai Panthers post a decent 143/7 on the board and later the pace duo of Atif Attarwala (3/20) and Prathamesh Dake (3/19) ensured that the Supersonics were bundled out for 131.
Shaw’s stellar effort despite suffering an injury mid-way through the innings and his 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Shashikant Kadam (37 off 36b, 2×4, 1×6) rescued the Panthers’s innings in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium. Shaw, who hit three fours and two sixes in his knock, made most of the lives which he got, courtesy sloppy fielding by the Supersonics fielders.
Then Dake and Attarwala played their parts to perfection. Attarwala, the young left-arm pacer, got the prized scalp of Supersonics captain Jay Bista in the eighth over. Dake then brought the Panthers back in the game, striking in the 14th, 16thand 18th over.
The key wicket was that of Parag Khanapurkar’s (43 off 33b, 2×4, 1×6) in the 16th over. Two balls after Khanapurkar’s skier popped out of Shaw’s palms, Dake bowled a perfect bouncer which Khanapurkar could only top-edge to the wicket-keeper. With 21 required off the last two overs, Attarwala sent back Dhrumil Matkar for his third wicket.
And the last ball saw all-rounder Rohan Raje falling short of his crease, courtesy a flat throw by Vikrant Auti and Attawala collecting the ball and whipping the bails in no time. Veteran leg-spinner Pravin Tambe then completed the formalities with two wickets in four balls in the final over as celebrations erupted in the Panthers’ camp.
Brief scores: North Mumbai Panthers 143/7 (Prithvi Shaw 61, Shashikant Kadam 37; Deepak Shetty 3/24) beat SoBo Supersonics 131 all out (Parag Khanapurkar 43; Prathamesh Dake 3/19, Atif Attarwala 3/20) by 12 runs.
