T20 Mumbai League: Match 20 Review: Aakash Tigers MWS thrash Shivaji Park Lions to enter semifinal

Aakash Tigers MWS crushed Shivaji Park Lions by seven wickets in the final league match of the T20 Mumbai League to storm into the semifinal. With this win, the Tigers took their tally to 3 wins out of five games and qualified as the last team. On the other hand, the Lions, who were the runners-up last season, ended the season without a single win. The Tigers have joined SoBo SuperSonics, ARCS Andheri and North Mumbai Panthers in the last four.

Tigers skipper Dhawal Kulkarni won the toss and decided to field first and the decision turned out to be spot on as Lions managed a paltry total of 127 for 6. Openers Onkar Jadhav and Sachin Yadav started cautiously, adding 34 runs before Shams Mulani castled the former for run-a-ball 16 in the final over of the powerplay. 14 runs later, Arjun Tendulkar struck to remove the other opener too to reduce the Lions to a precarious 48 for 2. Salman Khan then piled more misery on the beleaguered Lions by dismissing their skipper Raunaq Sharma to leave the side reeling at 56 for 3.

The Lions soon found themselves 4 down for 71 with Hardik Tamore dismissed too. Manan Khakhar and Nikhil Patil then provided the innings some much-needed solidarity by adding 54 runs for the fifth wicket and guiding their side to a respectable total. However, the score turned out to be too less in the end as Tigers chased it down inside 18 overs by losing just three wickets.

The Tigers started on a poor note and lost Arjun Tendulkar cheaply. Siddharth Akre and D Subramanian departed in quick succession as Tigers found themselves 3 down for 42.  But from thereon, it was just a one-way traffic. Bhavin Thakkar and Shams Mulani sealed the game by sharing an unbeaten stand of 89 runs for the fourth wicket. Thakkar remained unbeaten on 65 while Mulani scored 40*.

Brief scores:

Shivaji Park Lions: 127 for 6 (Nikhil Patil; Salman Khan 2-36)

Aakash Tigers MWS: 131 for 3 ( Bhavin Thakkar 65*, Shams Mulani 40*; Jai Kothari 1-21)

Result: Aakash Tigers MWS won by seven wickets.