T20 Mumbai League: Chinmay Sutar rises to occasion with clutch final performance

Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals (MSCMR) emerged triumphant in the third season of T20 Mumbai, defeating fellow debutants SoBo Mumbai Falcons (SMF) by five wickets in an exciting final in front of a near-packed Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night. It was heartbreak for SMF captain Shreyas Iyer for the second consecutive week, having finished runner-up yet again following his second-best finish as Punjab Kings skipper to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL summit clash nine nights ago.

‘There was pressure’

Player of the final, Chinmay Sutar, 28, of MSCMR, who took the game away from SMF’s grasp with a calculated half-century (53), had one regret though. “The final knock was crucial. It was a challenging target and the pitch was not flat. We knew 158 was gettable as we had the batting depth, but playing in front of the huge crowd, there was pressure. I somehow kept my focus and believed that I could take the cup home. I’m very happy to have contributed to the team’s win and also to have won the Orange Cap [highest run-getter with 271 runs]. My only regret though is that I could not finish the game,” the right-handed batsman told mid-day on Friday. While looking to steer the MSCMR home with just seven needed for victory, Sutar top-edged a slog-sweep off left-arm spinner Kartik Mishra and was caught by opposition skipper Iyer at cover in the 19th over. 

Unable to finish it

Interestingly, Sutar was in a similar situation during an Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup match in Bangladesh in 2019. In the semi-finals against Pakistan, he made an unbeaten 28, but could not finish it for the India Emerging Team, who fell short by three runs. “We lost that semi-final. I felt very bad that I couldn’t finish it for India. That was a big learning,” said Sutar, son of Rajesh, a former Mumbai batsman and off-spinner.

Earlier, on a tricky pitch, SMF posted 157-4. The last 82 runs came in the final eight overs, thanks to Mayuresh Tandel’s unbeaten 50 and an unbroken 85-run fifth-wicket stand with Harsh Aghav (45 not out). During the chase, SMF skipper Iyer failed to get going yet again and was dismissed for 12 while trying to reverse sweep left-arm spinner Vaibhav Mali only be caught at short third man by Imran Umair. 

This article first appeared on Mid Day