When their teams needed heroes, these men stood up and delivered the goods.
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While cricket is well-and-truly a team game, a player’s performance, be it with bat or ball, can often be the key deciding factor in the outcome of a contest. Season 2 of T20 Mumbai was laced with impactful performances from the city’s best cricketers and while there were a handful to pick from, we have narrowed it down to four top-notch performances that were crucial to their team’s victory.
- Prithvi Shaw – 61 off 55 balls
In the final against SoBo SuperSonics, North Mumbai Panthers skipper Prithvi Shaw was the star of the show yet again, scoring 61 off 55 balls on a challenging batting surface to get his team to a respectable total.
He got his team off to a flying start, smashing 24 off 10 balls, but with wickets tumbling at the other end, Shaw was forced to curb his attacking style and hold one end of the crease for his side. Having opened the inning, Shaw batted through the 20 overs, catching a couple of lucky breaks along the way, and got his team to a total of 143 which their bowlers defended to crown the Panthers champions of Season 2.
- Rakesh Prabhu – 64 off 21 balls
Tasked with chasing 148 in 12 overs to stand a chance to qualify for the semis, the Eagle Thane Strikers needed a special effort with the bat to achieve that target and were provided with just that, as all-rounder Rakesh Prabhu smashed 64 off 31 balls to finish the game in just 11.2 overs in his team’s favour.
He started off slow, scoring just 15 off his first 10 deliveries, allowing skipper Aditya Tare to do the bulk of the scoring and upped the ante in the ninth over, smashing three sixes off the final three balls, before repeating that same feat in the 10th to leave just 20 to get off 12 balls. After Tare scored 10 runs in the 11th, Prabhu finished off the game in style with a four and a six off the first two balls of the 12th over to put the exclamation mark on a jaw-dropping inning.
- Shubham Ranjane – 71 off 42 balls
In a crucial game for the ARCS Andheri against the North Mumbai Panthers, Shubham Ranjane showed his class by scoring an unbeaten 71 to see his team through in the final over.
Having come in to bat at 41/3 after eight overs, Rajane stitched together a brilliant 100-run partnership with Praful Waghela in just 58 deliveries and ensured he stayed there until the end to see his side through. The all-rounder scored five fours and three sixes in his well-crafted knock and made sure the ARCS become the first team to hand, eventual champions, North Mumbai Panthers a defeat this season.
- Aditya Dhumal - 3-1-4-0
The left-arm spinner produced a masterclass in economical bowling in the game against Shivaji Park Lions where he conceded just four runs in his three over spell, with one maiden as well.
Even more astounding was the fact that he bowled two of his three in the powerplay with only two fielders outside the 30-yard-circle. Dhumal clinical display ensured that the NaMo Bandra Blasters ultimately won the game by three runs to register their first victory of the season.
