Shivaji Park Lions had to fight harder than they would have liked against Triumph Knights Mumbai North East, but they managed to hold their nerve and seal a big 7-wicket victory at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday. Shivam Dubey was undoubtedly the day’s star for the Lions as he took the league’s first 5-wicket haul and then won his side the game with an unbeaten 47 with the bat.

It looked like a day where Dubey could have done no wrong. He was the only one who could stop Suryakumar Yadav’s onslaught and his quick, accurate bowling saw Triumph Knights skittled out. Then, when his team were looking to be in trouble with the bat, he stroked his way to 47 runs at a brisk pace to take them home.

The Lions’ pacers were on the money once again, giving just 36 runs in the first 6 Powerplay overs. But they had to wait a long time for the first wicket to fall since the Knights were happy to rotate the strike without trying anything too fancy to accelerate the scoring rate. The wicket eventually came off the bowling of Shivam Dubey as wicketkeeper Sumit Ghadigaonkar holed on the leg side, paving the way for skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

Yadav didn’t take much time to get going and made a quick-fire 35 off just 15 balls before being dismissed leg-before by Dubey. The pacer seemed to be in prime form on the day as he soon went on to dismiss opener Praful Waghela as well.

With 118 runs on the board and two new men at the crease, things started looking up for the Lions. A flurry of wickets at the hands of the Shivaji Park spinners pegged Triumph Knights back a few notches. First Shams Mulani cleaned up the dangerous Akash Parkar in the 15th over and then got Shashank Singh to haul out in the deep in the next one. From the other end, Raunaq Sharma picked up a caught and bowled and then went on to affect a run-out.

The pick of the bowlers, though, was pacer Shivam Dubey who rounded his performance with a fifer. Triumph Knights Mumbai North East were eventually all-out for the lowest first innings total of the series so far, scoring just 152 runs without even completing their full quota of 20 overs.

Having to chase a low target to win, Lions’ opener Bravish Shetty took over from where he left off in his previous innings and started scoring at will. After an early wicket, Shetty and Hardik Tamore kept the score board ticking easily.

But, Tamore’s wicket and the fall of captain Siddhesh Lad after a 30-run cameo put the Lions under some pressure. Their middle-order’s inability to accelerate the scoring rate hurt them once again, giving them a stiff target in the closing overs.

However, Dubey’s entry to the crease saw the pressure ease up, and a few big blows from him took the team home with 5 balls to spare.

Score kya hua?

Triumph Knights Mumbai North East 152 all out (Praful Waghela 42, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 36, Shivam Dubey 4-23) lost to

Shivaji Park Lions 157 for 3 (Bravish Shetty 60*, Shivam Dubey 47*, Vinayak Bhoir 2-11) by 7 wickets

For the complete match scorecard, click here.