Sairaj shines as Eagles take flight!

Riding on opener Varun Lavande (38-ball 57, 5×4, 3×6), one-drop Anish Chaudhery (32-ball 37) and No. 5 Sairaj Patil (22-ball 47 not out, 3×4, 4×6), Eagle Thane Strikers (ETS) outclassed Triumph Knights Mumbai North East (TKMNE) by five wickets in their opening T20 Mumbai League game at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday.

Scores level at half-way stage

Chasing 180 (TKMNE posted 179-7), around the half-way mark the Thane outfit’s score was the same as that of TKMKNE, 89-1, but later Sairaj started dominating and his unbeaten knock studded with huge sixes did the trick in the end. Needing 21off the last 12 balls, Sairaj dispatched pacer Akash Pawar (1-58) for four through point region and then smashed the next delivery for a maximum over the bowler’s head. He finished with a huge six over mid-wicket fence to reduce the equation to three runs needed off the last six balls. 

TKMNE skipper Suryakumar Yadav introduced himself to the attack to defend those three runs, but left-hander Vinay Kunwar (9 not out) hammered a boundary to finish the match. Pacer Minad Manjrekar claimed 2-23 for the losing team.

Earlier, put into bat, TKMNE lost their opening batsman Siddhant Aadhhathrao (4) in the first over itself through a direct hit by mid-on fielder Sairaj. Fellow opener Jigar Rana (53, 6×4, 2×6), who showed his attacking intent while dispatching pacer Onkar Tarmale and left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar for maximums, reached his half-century off just 36 balls with a single off offie Shashank Attarde (1-25).  

Suryakumar off with a bang

When India T20 captain Suryakumar came to the crease in the 12th over after Rana’s departure, he started off with a four through a paddle sweep off offie Shashank Attarde (1-25). He then superbly timed an off-drive for four off Harsh Tanna (1-31), exhibiting his class. His focus was clearly on the sweep shot and he then hit two consecutive fours off left-arm pacer Amit Pandey (1-34) through the backward square. Suryakumar was lucky to be dropped on 30 by mid-off fielder Lavande in the 19th. He capitalised on it, smashing a six off the very next ball. The attacking India batsman remained unbeaten on 50 for which he needed just 25 balls.

Meanwhile, in the day’s morning fixture at the same ground, SoBo Mumbai Falcons beat ARCS Andheri by 14 runs via Super Over.

Brief scores
TKMNE 179-7 in 20 overs (J Rana 53, S Yadav 50*; S Attarde 1-25) lost to ETS 181-5 in 19.2 overs (V Lavande 57, S Patil 47*, A Chaudhery 37; M Manjrekar 2-23) by 5 wickets

This article first appeared on Mid Day