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Oh my word! Gautam Waghela can hold his head high. He has stolen this chase from the jaws of defeat. Incredible hit to finish it off.

SMF won by 3 wickets

6:12 PM IST and Local Time: SoBo Mumbai Falcons win by 3 Wickets! This match was never supposed to be this close. The Mumbai T20 league continues to fly with games and competition like this. The first half of the chase was painted with SMF all over it. Then the Royals did so well to scratch all that off and make a thriller out of it. Eventually, it was Gautam Waghela who filled the crucial spots with his brush to see his team over the line. 

Royals will feel hard done here. They did everything they could but ball number 16.4 did not go in their favour, which will be debated for a while, and that cost them the match. Waghela would have been out but as it stands, he continued to bat and got his side over the line!

SMF won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sahil Jadhav started off well with the bat despite not getting great support from the other end. MMR were 29/2 and in a spot of bother. However, that is when Sahil found support in Chinmay Suthar. The pair added 61 runs for the third wicket and revived the innings. Sahil crossed his fifty in that span.

However, that is when another mini collapse took place. From 90/2 the Royals collapsed to 95/5. The two set batters and Tushar Deshpande fell in that period. Only Arjun Dani had something to show in the lower order as he finished with 35(30). Apart from him no one crossed 10 and with that failure in their batting effort, the Royals were restricted to 153/9 in 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers for the Falcons were Akash Palkar (3-22) and Yash Dicholkar (3-25).

The chase started off in fine fashion for the Falcons. Captain Aditya Tare came out all guns blazing in the powerplay. He struck almost at 250 as he smashed 42(19). Ishan Mulchandani (29 off 24) and Shreyas Iyer (30 off 24) did well to motor along and make sure that they eat into the chase effectively. Falcons were dominating the chase at 99/1 in 10 overs.

That is when a remarkable collapse took place. Ishan Mulchandani was dismissed courtesy of a direct hit at the bowler's end. Shreyas Iyer too missed a pull as the ball stayed low and pinned him in front. The middle order could not put bat to ball and matters became worse with every passing over. From 99/1, Falcons collapsed to 115/6. That span of 5 overs yielded just 16 runs and brought about 5 wickets. Royals were all of a sudden right in the game and the contest hung in great fragility.

The 4th ball off the 17th over saw Gautam Waghela mistime a pull shot to deep square leg. The fielder was clearly in control of the ball as he completed the catch. However, just as he was about to get up, the ball flicked the ground. The TV umpire gave it not out.

Guess what with all the drama and the wickets tumbling around him Gautam Waghela ended up being the hero of the match as he stayed 26(23) Not Out and saw his side over the line.

The Royals fought really hard and brought the match down to 18 off 12. Waghela nailed a six in that over and then followed it up a six in the next one as well to see his team win the contest with 5 balls to spare. The pick of the bowlers for Royals was Maxwell Swaminathan for his 2-24. This has been an absolute nail biter and one to remember for the ages.

Siddhesh Lad (MSC Maratha Royals Captain): "(Are you disappointed with the result?) Yes I would say that we got depth in our batting but we could not pace the innings. We will go back and do the homework and I am sure that we will comeback stronger next game.

(It was a brilliant work by your bowlers to pull it back) From the start of the tournament, we have set a standard. We were the champions last year. So we want to continue playing that way. We believe that we can win the game and are very proud of the boys. At one point, it looked like it could have been finished in 16 overs but we took it to 20 overs.

(On Aditya Tare's knock) Yes they played really well. Specially Aditya and Mulchandani. Also I want to mention Tushar Deshpande. He came after a long season and is giving more than 100%. It sets an example for the young players."

Vedant Gore (Player of the Match): "(On the talks with senior cricketers like Aditya Tare and Shreyas Iyer) Talks remain normal. They do not pressurize much and tell me to play my natural cricket. They give a normal plan and I try to stick to it.

(What were your thoughts while bowling?) I try to bowl according to the situation of the match. Today runs were on the board so I tried to bowl a few dot balls. I got a different role today. 

(Idea while batting?) I keep it simple. Bowlers bowl good balls and also bad balls. I try to cash on the latter ones.

(What your family says?) Just normal reactions."

Aditya Tare (SoBo Mumbai Falcons Captain): "(Are you happy that the match went till the last over?) Not at all. At the end I could not watch so I went up in the dressing room. I was really nervous but ya I mean it was an easy run chase to be honest. We were 99 after 10 overs and could have finished it in next 5 or 6 overs. We need to look back to the approach of our batting to try and get better.

(What went wrong after the powerplay) Credit to their opener as well. The left hander was very aggressive in his mindset and we could not find the answer. We have given some runs in the second half of the powerplay and that's what we need to look into.

(Speak to us about your knock) I always enjoy batting at Wankhade. Personally, having played all my life at Mumbai, at this stadium, this is a special tournament. I have played in alternative editions. I missed the last season but I am back now. I like the way the tournament is held and the pitches are great for batting.

(Your family is cheering for you) They are always there. They are my support system and my motivation. They keep me motivated to train and do better. My wife is here and she looks after me. It is special to bat in front of them and they like it as well."

That's a wrap of our coverage from the 7th T20 match of the ongoing Mumbai T20 League 2026 between MSC Maratha Royals and SoBo Mumbai Falcons. After a grueling battle, the latter came back well and held their nerves to seal the deal.

For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Manan Mehta and Akshay Bhide and the scorer/analyst of this match Ashok Dayma.