T20 Mumbai Season 2 Review
With curtains laid down to the second season of T20 Mumbai, Wankhede witnessed a jam-packed 30000 people for the penultimate game. It was a thrilling low scoring final between North Mumbai Panthers and SoBo Supersonics.
Eventually, the Prithvi Shaw led franchise was victorious in the second season. The overwhelming crowd support was coupled with the presence of Maestro, Sachin Tendulkar.
With the tournament’s conclusion, let’s see how each team fared in the season :
North Mumbai Panthers
The champions of the second season of T20 Mumbai had a season of great winning and learning. The team didn’t dominate the tournament but at the same time, they were always dangerous side.
The 19-year-old skipper was the biggest positive for the team. He bagged the man of the tournament after being the league’s highest run scorer. After leading India U-19 to a WC win, the man has a second feather in his leadership cap. As a batsman, Shaw scored 249 runs in 6 innings which included 3 fifty plus scores.
Atif Attarwala, the left arm fast bowler took second highest wickets in the tournament. His variations with the ball were always difficult for a batsman. He finished the tournament with 12 wickets in 7 innings with best figures of 3/20. Attarwala looks a promising talent and the IPL franchises would definitely have their eyes on him. Alongside him, another potential talent is Prathamesh Dake who took 10 wickets in 6 innings. He was the 2nd highest wicket-taker for the Panthers in the tournament.
SoBo Supersonics
The second best team of T20 Mumbai this season has been actually very dominating in the entire tournament. They topped their group and won 4/5 matches that they played. They were a very consistent team in the tournament.
For them, there have been quite some positives throughout the season. Firstly the captain Jay Bista was their leading run scorer. He scored 242 runs in 7 innings which included a brilliant 110 against ATS in the second semi-final. In the process, he also became the first man to score a T20 Mumbai ton. Hersh Tank the skipper’s opening partner also scored 226 runs in 7 innings with a best of 93 against ATS in the second SF.
Parag Khanapurkar was impressive with both bat and ball. Scoring 229 runs in 7 innings, he was the second highest run scorer for the side. He also picked up 7 wickets at an economy of 6.36. Dependable middle order batsman and handy bowler made him a crucial part of the side.
Dhrumil Matkar the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps and a best of 5/32 against ATS was vital for the team’s success in the tournament. Deepak Shetty the young fast bowler, who picked up 10 wickets in 7 innings bagged the title of Best Development Player. He was the second highest wicket-taker for the side.
Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs
Aakash Tigers is the new team to this edition did well, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. Skipper Dhawal Kulkarni was the leading wicket-taker for the side by taking 6 scalps in 6 innings. In the semi-final, Dhawal scored a brilliant 68* but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for him to take his side home.
Aakarshit Gomel was the highest run scorer for the side after scoring 183 runs in 5 matches. Shams Mulani the prominent all-rounder was the second highest run-getter for the side scoring 160 runs in 6 innings. With the ball, this season Shams wasn’t up to the mark. Taking just 3 wickets in 6 innings.
The much anticipated left-handed all-rounder Arjun Tendulkar, who their most expensive buy scored 104 runs in 6 innings at an average of 17.33. With the ball, he was their second highest wicket-taker after taking 5 wickets in 6 innings.
ARCS Andheri
Kevin Almeida led ARCS Andheri was another team who qualified for the semi-finals. They also had a pretty good tournament losing just one game in the league stage.
One of their biggest pluses was Akhil Herwadkar, their opener. He scored 231 runs in 6 innings with 3 fifty plus scores and also was his side’s highest run scorer. Shubham Ranjane who landed a bid for himself with the Rajasthan Royals this year was the second highest run scorer for the side. He scored 197 runs in 6 innings at an average of 49.25.
The experienced Iqbal Abdulla and young Tushar Deshpande bowled well. They took 8 and 6 wickets respectively. The ARCS Andheri team played well but were unfortunately knocked out of the tournament after ending on the losing side of the last ball finish in the semi-final.
Eagle Thane Striker
Aditya Tare the skipper of ETS was the captain leading from the front. He was the tournament’s best batsman scoring 244 runs in 5 innings with 3 scores in excess of 50. Alpesh Ramjani was the next best batsman for the side scoring 139 runs in 5 innings.
With the ball, Kruthik Hanagavadi was the leading wicket-taker for the side with 9 wickets in 5 innings. He also bagged the title for the best development player of the tournament. Sagar Mishra was also bowled well, picking up 7 wickets in 5 games.
ETS actually played well but were too reliant on individuals. They could click well together as a group and weren’t able to capitalise on those key moments in the game. Hopefully, we could see some better performances from ETS as a group.
Triumph Knights Mumbai North East
The resolute Mumbai batsman Surya Kumar Yadav, who performed well with Mumbai Indians led the TKMNE. Champions of the first season, TKMNE must have expected a lot more out of themselves. Surya was the highest run scorer for the team with 202 runs in 5 matches at an average of 67.33 and the best score of 90*. To complement Surya there was no one else as the next best was Parikshit Valasangkar with 119 runs in 5 innings. TKMNE definitely wanted more batsmen to stand up and deliver to the occasion.
With the ball, Royston Dias was a big positive taking 10 wickets in 5 matches. Mohit Avasthi was promising with 6 wickets in 3 innings. As a collective group, TKMNE clicked together in patches but certainly, they would want a better performance next season.
NaMo Bandra Blasters
Shreyas Iyer who captained the Delhi Capitals to their first ever playoffs since 2012, also led the NBB side. After forming the crux of that Delhi Capitals group and having a magnificent season for them with the bat, Iyer could not replicate that in T20 Mumbai. After being the highest run scorer last year, this year Iyer could manage only 76 runs in 5 innings.
Sujit Nayak’s all-round performance was a big positive for the side. The all-rounder was the highest run scorer for the side with 167 runs in 5 innings which included 2 scores in excess of 50. With the ball also he took 6 wickets in 5 innings.
Aditya Dhumal was their highest wicket taker with 7 wickets in 5 innings. Eknath Kerkar was good in a one-off game against SoBo Supersonics with a match-winning 70. This team possesses a lot of talent but a few over finishes just couldn’t go their way.
Shivaji Park Lions
SPL could never start their campaign. In the 5 matches played, SPL lost all of them. The franchise played the final last year and lost narrowly by 4 runs. This year they finished at the bottom of the group. Lad and Dube, the two key players for SPL had to leave their camp for India A matches. The team suddenly got a new captain and hence they never clicked together as a unit. In the 3 innings that Dube played, he got an 87 but unfortunately that he didn’t have support from the other end.
SPL’s campaign was quite decided by on-field decisions taken by them which justifies their position on the points table. Raunaq Sharma who was their highest run scorer scored 113 runs in 5 innings. Shivam Dube took most wickets for the franchise with 4 wickets in 3 innings. Having received the wooden spoon, SPL would definitely regroup and reflect on the kind of cricket they have played.