Mumbai T20 League: Bowlers, Pawar power Supersonics to victory

Mumbai: SoBo Supersonics scored their second win of the T20 Mumbai League on Thursday, beating NaMo Bandra Blasters by 50 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.

Put in to bat first in this game that was curtailed to 18 overs per side due to a light drizzle, Supersonics scored 149 for six, thanks to Prasad Pawar’s half century. Supersonics then came up with a superb team bowling performance to contain Blasters to 99 for 9 in 18 overs. This was Blasters’ first loss of the tournament, having won both their previous games.

Blasters lost their way in the chase very early. They lost four wickets in the first six overs, and as a result, the run-rate dropped to below four runs per over. Blasters still looked very much in the game, with skipper Shreyas Iyer still out there.

But once Iyer was dismissed by his opposite number Abhishek Nayar, the game looked very much over as a contest. Nayar bowled an absolute beauty to find the outside edge of Iyer’s bat in the eigth over. Nayar finished with impressive figures of 3-17 in four overs. Jay Bista made up for his first low score of the tournament with two wickets for 13 runs in three overs, while Rohan Raje’s 3-24 from three overs was equally impressive.

Prasad Pawar was the star of the show with the bat for Supersonics, scoring more than 50 per cent of his team’s total. Blasters’ bowlers used the slightly helpful conditions well, especially with the new ball.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer introduced leg-spinner Pravin Tambe early, and the 46-year-old responded by dismissing Supersonics’ in form opener Jay Bista. Skipper Nayar once again looked in good touch, but failed to post a big score.

His dismissal brought in Pawar, who batted with intent right from the start. Akarshit Gomel and Pawar kept hitting boundaries regularly, and ensured that the run-rate stayed around eight runs per over. The duo added 41 runs in six overs for the third wicket, with Gomel scoring 31 off 22 balls (one four, two sixes).

Pawar then had another valuable partnership; 67 runs in 42 balls with Sujit Nayak. Nayak’s contribution in that was just 10 runs, such was the dominance of Pawar. It was only due to Azhar Ansari’s superb final over, in which he gave away just four runs and took three wickets, that Supersonics didn’t cross the 150-run mark. Pawar was one of Ansari’s three victims in the final over, having scored 83 from 53 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.

Brief score: Sobo Supersonics 149 for 6 in 18 overs (Prasad Pawar 83, Akarshit Gomel 31, Azhar Ansari 3-21) beat Namo Bandra Blasters 99 for 9 in 18 overs (Shreyas Iyer 25, Abhishek Nayar 3-17, Rohan Raje 3-24, Jay Bista 2-13) by 50 runs.