The penultimate day of the league stages saw the SoBo Supersonics and North Mumbai Panthers join the ARCS Andheri in the semi-finals of T20 Mumbai Season 2, meaning only one spot remains up for grabs. The Supersonics and Panthers’ wins were a result of some excellent teamwork from players on each side, however, two of them stood out owing to their timely contributions to their team’s cause.

Here is a more in-depth look at their performances:

• Matkar’s all-round masterclass wins it for SoBo

With just 134 on the board at the end of the 19^th over, the Supersonics needed a big final over to take the team to a respectable total but after the dismissal of set batsman Yogesh Takawale, it seemed unlikely. However, Dhrumil Matkar, who had played just one delivery up until that point, smashed two boundaries and a six off the final three balls to take his team’s total to 150 at the conclusion of their batting effort.

Bowling the first over of the second inning, Matkar weaved his magic with the ball and dismissed opener Swapnil Pradhan to get his team the early breakthrough they were hoping for. Matkr bowled another over in the powerplay, maintaining a tight line and cramping the batsmen for room, giving away just 14 in his first two overs. He returned into the attack in the 15^th over, giving away just five runs before bowling the 17^th, in which he dismissed both set batsmen to all but end the Lions’ hopes and take his team through to the semis.

• Sairaj plays a gem and bats the Panthers out of trouble

With the team reeling at 56-4 after eight overs in a virtual quarter-final against the in-form Triumph Knights MNE, the North Mumbai Panthers needed one of their batsmen to step up and get the team to a respectable total and up stepped Sairaj Patil to deliver the goods for the Panthers.

He scored a boundary atleast in three of the first four overs that he batted in and ensured that the scoreboard kept ticking. He switched gears and smashed Yash Dicholkar for a boundary and a six before dishing out similar treatment to Mohit Awasthi in the 15^th over and following it up by taking Royston Dias to the cleaners to complete his 50. He remained unbeaten on 59 to anchor his team to a match-winning total of 153. The fact that only two other batsmen managed a score of 20 or more in the contest is an illustration of how brilliant Patil’s knock truly was and for his efforts with the bat, the all-rounder was rightfully awarded the Man of the Match.