T20 Mumbai League: Match 17 Review: SoBo SuperSonics thrash Shivaji Park Lions to seal semi-final spot

Bouncing back from the defeat in their last outing, SoBo SuperSonics thrashed beleaguered Shivaji Park Lions by 35 runs to get back to winning ways. The win was SuperSonics’ fourth of the season as it took them to the top of the points table once again. On the other hand, the Lions continue to sit at the bottom of the points table after losing their fourth game of the season. The SuperSonics have now sealed their place in the semi-final while the Lions are out of the competition.

Chasing 151, the Lions, who were the runners-up in the last edition of the T20 Mumbai League, were off to a disastrous start. They lost both their openers Swapnil Pradhan and Rudra Dhanday for 4 and 2 respectively to find themselves reeling at 21 for 2 in the fourth over. Sachin Yadav and skipper Raunaq Sharma took the score past the 50-run mark before Parag Khanapurkar accounted for the former. Sharma and Onkar Jadhav then departed in space of five balls to leave their side reeling at 70 for 5.

Nikhil Patil and Manan Khakhar stopped the rot for a while but could not delay the inevitable. Once Dhrumil Matkar dismissed Patil, the remaining batsmen fell like a pack of cards. The Lions lost their remaining five wickets for just 17 runs to be bundled for 115 in the final over of the match.

Earlier in the game, SoBo SuperSonics scored 150 for 6 with Yogesh Takawale’s 40 being the highest total. Skipper Jay Gokul Bista’s decision to bat first turned out to be a poor one as his opening partner Hersh Tank departed for just 10. With Tank departing in just the second over, Lions got an opportunity to put pressure on the SuperSonics but failed to do so. At the end of the powerplay, the SuperSonics were comfortably placed at 50 for 1.

Raunaq Sharma broke the 42-run stand when he dismissed Parag Khanapurkar for 21. Bista, however, held firm from one end and shared a 38-run stand with Yogesh Takawale before falling for 33. With just 98 runs on the board at the end of the 15th over, the SuperSonics needed a solid finish to put up a competitive total. The likes of Takawale, Dhrumil Matkar and Rohan Raje hit some boundaries to guide their team to a good total.

Brief scores:

SoBo SuperSonics: 150 for 6 (Yogesh Takawale 40, Jay Gokul Bista 33; Gaurav Bengre 2-36)

Shivaji Park Lions: 115 for 10 (Raunaq Sharma 30; Dhrumil Matkar 3-23)

SoBo SuperSonics won by 35 runs.

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