T20 Mumbai League: Match 16 Review: ARCS Andheri beats Eagle Thane Strikers to take top spot on points table

Riding on the fifties from skipper Kevin Almeida and Iqbal Abdulla, ARCS Andheri defeated Eagle Thane Strikers by 12 runs to move to the top of the points table. Andheri has now won four of the five games this season and is looking primed to progress ahead of the league stage. The Strikers, on the other hand, are in all sorts of trouble after suffering their third loss of the season. With a solitary win this season, the Strikers are languishing at the seventh spot in the eight-team competition.

Asked to bat first, Andheri were off to a poor start with Akhil Herwadkar departing for a two-ball duck in the very first ball. However, it was not at all the pointer of the things to follow as Almeida and Abdulla batted Andheri to a position of strength. Both the stars mixed caution with aggression to take the innings forward. The two did not go all out right from the start and waited for the loose deliveries to hit the occasional boundaries. At the end of the powerplay, Andheri were 43 for 1.

The two added 112 runs for the first wicket before Prashant Solanki gave the Strikers the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Almeida for 59. Almeida’s knock came off 40 balls and contained 6 fours and 2 sixes. 7 runs later, Abdulla departed too after scoring 54 from 43 balls. Following the two set batsmen’s departure, Andheri’s innings derailed as they managed just 34 runs from the last five overs to end on 154 for 8.

In reply, the Strikers were off to a poor start too with Sachin Wagh departing in the very first over after hitting one four. Jaideep Pardeshi and skipper Aditya Tare then added 42 runs for the second wicket. The Strikers soon found the going tough after being reduced to 98 for 5. Alpesh Ramjani was waging a lone battle but lack of support from the other end did not help the Strikers’ cause.

Ramjani scored 50 off 30 balls before becoming falling on the last ball of the 19th over when his team needed 15. Salil Agharkar and Tushar Deshpande managed to score just 3 in the final over as Strikers finished on 142 for 8.

Brief scores: ARCS Andheri 154/8 (Kevin Almeida 59, Iqbal Abdulla 54; Prashant Solanki 4/31) bt Eagle Thane Strikers 142/8 (Alpesh Ramjani 50, Aditya Tare 48; Iqbal Abdulla 2/20).

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