170/5 (18.2)
CR : 9.27
168/10 (20.0)
CR : 8.40
MSC Maratha Royals won by 5 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Ayaz Ahmed Afzal
87(49)
18.2
6
Musheer Ahmed Khan to Tushar Deshpande
SIX MORE! GAME, SET, MATCH for the Maratha Royals and they have toppled the SoBo Mumbai Falcons to grab a berth in the top four. Tossed up and full delivery from Musheer at the leg and middle stump. Tushar gets ample time to manufacture room and he slams it over long-on for a biggie. He gets all the plaudits from the dug-out and that is deserving!
Over 19
MSC Maratha Royals 170/5
Tushar Deshpande20(6)
Maxwell Swaminathan18(16)
Musheer Ahmed Khan0-43(3.2)
MMR won by 5 wickets
10:29 PM IST and Local Time: Tushar Deshpande hits a couple of big maximums and sealed the deal for the MSC Maratha Royals! It was a must win game for the Royals and they will be happy to see Ayaz Ahmed Afzal stepping up and score a brilliant 87 in a must needed match. They have defeated the Arcs Andheri by 5 wickets and with 10 balls to spare.
Losing the toss, Arcs Andheri came to bat first and Musheer Khan gave them a solid start. He hit two boundaries off Tushar Deshpande in the first over, a maximum off Irfan Umair in the second over and scored 20 in his first 9 balls. He lost Divyansh Saxena by his side but Arjun Tendulkar got the start at the other end. Arjun hit a boundary and a maximum early in this innings. His catch was dropped by Arjun Dani but he could not capitalize and got out for 14.
That's when Musheer started losing partners at the other end rapidly. He was playing his shots but Pragnesh Kanpillewar, stand-in skipper Prasad Pawar, Ayush Jethwa- nobody stood firm at the other end. Musheer reached his fifty in 27 balls and was dismissed by Aditya Dhumal for 62 off 36. His innings was decorated by 7 fours and 3 sixes but at the time of his dismissal, Arcs Andheri became reduced to 103/6. Musheer was early on the sweep and Dhumal rattled his off stump.
Gaurav Jathar and Moin Khan then took the charge. They overcame their initial struggles and played their shots. That partnership lasted for 49 runs before Jathar got out for 22. Moin hit a boundary and a couple of maximums to score 28 off 22 balls and was dismissed by Tushar in the final over. The Arcs Andheri were bundled out for 168. After Musheer's dismissal, the Arcs posted 65 more runs in the last four wickets and that gave the bowlers some resources to defend.
For the MSC Maratha Royals, barring Siddhesh Lad, every bowler picked up a couple of wickets each. Aditya Dhumal was the most economical and finished with 2/14. Irfan Umair (2/27), Tushar Deshpande (2/39), Atharva Bhosale (2/35) and Maxwell Swaminathan (2/45) got their names in the wicket column.
Coming to chase the target, MSC Maratha Royals lost their opener Sahil Jadhav in the very first ball of the innings. But Ayaz Ahmed Afzal got off the mark with a maximum and continued to play his shots to perfection. Siddhesh Lad was dismissed for 9 but that brought Om Bangar with Ayaz in the crease. Andheri bowlers bowled eleven dot balls across the fourth and fifth over but after that, Royals came back. After that Om Bangar found the boundaries and Ayaz never looked to be in trouble. They added 62 runs for the 3rd wicket before Bangar got out scoring 29.
Prasoon Singh was the most successful bowler for the Arcs Andheri. He removed Siddhesh Lad in his fourth ball of the spell. Broke the settled partnership between Ayaz and Om by dismissing the latter and in that same over, he removed Arjun Dani. He ended with 3/26 from his 4 overs and reduced to the Royals to 105/4.
But Ayaz Afzal did not back out. He played his shots and Maxwell Swaminathan anchored him from the other end. They added 44 crucial runs before Afzal holed out to Musheer Khan in the deep. His innings of 87 runs with 7 fours and 6 maximums helped his team to get home. Tushar Deshpande gave the finishing touch with 3 maximums in his unbeaten 6-ball 20-run knock.
Losing the toss, Arcs Andheri came to bat first and Musheer Khan gave them a solid start. He hit two boundaries off Tushar Deshpande in the first over, a maximum off Irfan Umair in the second over and scored 20 in his first 9 balls. He lost Divyansh Saxena by his side but Arjun Tendulkar got the start at the other end. Arjun hit a boundary and a maximum early in this innings. His catch was dropped by Arjun Dani but he could not capitalize and got out for 14.
That's when Musheer started losing partners at the other end rapidly. He was playing his shots but Pragnesh Kanpillewar, stand-in skipper Prasad Pawar, Ayush Jethwa- nobody stood firm at the other end. Musheer reached his fifty in 27 balls and was dismissed by Aditya Dhumal for 62 off 36. His innings was decorated by 7 fours and 3 sixes but at the time of his dismissal, Arcs Andheri became reduced to 103/6. Musheer was early on the sweep and Dhumal rattled his off stump.
Gaurav Jathar and Moin Khan then took the charge. They overcame their initial struggles and played their shots. That partnership lasted for 49 runs before Jathar got out for 22. Moin hit a boundary and a couple of maximums to score 28 off 22 balls and was dismissed by Tushar in the final over. The Arcs Andheri were bundled out for 168. After Musheer's dismissal, the Arcs posted 65 more runs in the last four wickets and that gave the bowlers some resources to defend.
For the MSC Maratha Royals, barring Siddhesh Lad, every bowler picked up a couple of wickets each. Aditya Dhumal was the most economical and finished with 2/14. Irfan Umair (2/27), Tushar Deshpande (2/39), Atharva Bhosale (2/35) and Maxwell Swaminathan (2/45) got their names in the wicket column.
Coming to chase the target, MSC Maratha Royals lost their opener Sahil Jadhav in the very first ball of the innings. But Ayaz Ahmed Afzal got off the mark with a maximum and continued to play his shots to perfection. Siddhesh Lad was dismissed for 9 but that brought Om Bangar with Ayaz in the crease. Andheri bowlers bowled eleven dot balls across the fourth and fifth over but after that, Royals came back. After that Om Bangar found the boundaries and Ayaz never looked to be in trouble. They added 62 runs for the 3rd wicket before Bangar got out scoring 29.
Prasoon Singh was the most successful bowler for the Arcs Andheri. He removed Siddhesh Lad in his fourth ball of the spell. Broke the settled partnership between Ayaz and Om by dismissing the latter and in that same over, he removed Arjun Dani. He ended with 3/26 from his 4 overs and reduced to the Royals to 105/4.
But Ayaz Afzal did not back out. He played his shots and Maxwell Swaminathan anchored him from the other end. They added 44 crucial runs before Afzal holed out to Musheer Khan in the deep. His innings of 87 runs with 7 fours and 6 maximums helped his team to get home. Tushar Deshpande gave the finishing touch with 3 maximums in his unbeaten 6-ball 20-run knock.
Prasad Pawar (Arcs Andheri Captain): "(Where did it go wrong for your team?) Firstly I think we were 10-15 runs short. We lost the wickets in the middle and lost the momentum. But we fought back and bowled well in the powerplay. I think Ayaz batted really well and Tushar did a good finish.
(On Musheer's batting and nobody partnering him well) I think we can say that as a point but I think Musheer should have carried. I told him that he could have batted the entire 20 overs. We could have had 20-30 more runs. He has the IPL experience and it was a shortcoming for us.
(What are the areas to consolidate ahead of the semi-final against Aakash Tigers MWS?) I think we could have had the partnerships. I think we should built partnerships to have the momentum. We could have gone over 180. In bowling, it was an off-day for us. We will bounce back better and stronger tomorrow."
(On Musheer's batting and nobody partnering him well) I think we can say that as a point but I think Musheer should have carried. I told him that he could have batted the entire 20 overs. We could have had 20-30 more runs. He has the IPL experience and it was a shortcoming for us.
(What are the areas to consolidate ahead of the semi-final against Aakash Tigers MWS?) I think we could have had the partnerships. I think we should built partnerships to have the momentum. We could have gone over 180. In bowling, it was an off-day for us. We will bounce back better and stronger tomorrow."
Player of the Match: Ayaz Ahmed Afzal
Ayaz Ahmed Afzal (Player of the Match): "(What was the talk when you came to bat?) No actually I wanted to keep the intent. The idea was to play good shots in the powerplay and back myself.
(On your practice to hit sixes) Yes I do a lot of practice. I tried to hit through the line and my confidence was boosted as I was connecting it well.
(On his chat with Siddhesh Lad in the crease) Siddhesh bhai said to keep the intent. T20 is all about controlling the innings. It was just playing risk free shots and keeping things simple."
(On your practice to hit sixes) Yes I do a lot of practice. I tried to hit through the line and my confidence was boosted as I was connecting it well.
(On his chat with Siddhesh Lad in the crease) Siddhesh bhai said to keep the intent. T20 is all about controlling the innings. It was just playing risk free shots and keeping things simple."
Siddhesh Lad (MSC Maratha Royals Captain): "(Relieved?) Of course. Very happy with how the boys responded. It was a must win game for us. Coming in pressure situation, special mention goes to Ayaz for the way he batted. We lost wicket in the first ball. He showed the intent, a quality player. This innings will take him a long way I feel.
(What was the conversation when SoBo Mumbai Falcons won the earlier game?) No the chat was just to focus on what we can do, what is in our control. We tried to win the small moments. We got quality players and it was all about stepping up under pressure. Very very satisfied with the way boys responded.
(You are up against North Mumbai Panthers. How big the challenge is it going to be?) Obviously knock-out games are pressure games. We have to focus more on what we can do better as a team, what are our strengths. It's all about keeping the nerves calm."
(What was the conversation when SoBo Mumbai Falcons won the earlier game?) No the chat was just to focus on what we can do, what is in our control. We tried to win the small moments. We got quality players and it was all about stepping up under pressure. Very very satisfied with the way boys responded.
(You are up against North Mumbai Panthers. How big the challenge is it going to be?) Obviously knock-out games are pressure games. We have to focus more on what we can do better as a team, what are our strengths. It's all about keeping the nerves calm."
The league stage of the Mumbai T20 2026 is over. Now we have the four semi-finalists. In a grueling competition, North Mumbai Panthers, Arcs Andheri, Aakash Tigers MWS and MSC Maratha Royals have qualified for the semi finals.
Tomorrow we will be back again. In the first semi-final, Aakash Tigers MWS will lock horns with Arcs Andheri with the first ball to be bowled at 2 PM IST and Local Time. In the other semi-final, North Mumbai Panthers and MSC Maratha Royals will compete for a spot in the grand finale. Do join us for those coverages.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf the scorer/analyst of this game Ashok Dayma. Good night.
Tomorrow we will be back again. In the first semi-final, Aakash Tigers MWS will lock horns with Arcs Andheri with the first ball to be bowled at 2 PM IST and Local Time. In the other semi-final, North Mumbai Panthers and MSC Maratha Royals will compete for a spot in the grand finale. Do join us for those coverages.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf the scorer/analyst of this game Ashok Dayma. Good night.