Mumbai Falcons clinch T20 Mumbai League title by defeating Maratha Royals

Mumbai: A half-century by Rajesh Sutar and useful contribution by Awais Naushad helped Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals defeat SoBo Mumbai Falcons by five wickets in a low-scoring final and clinch the T20 Mumbai League title.

Electing to bowl, Maratha Royals restricted Mumbai Falcons to 157 for 4 in 20 overs and then reached the target with four balls to spare with Sutar scoring 53 off 49 balls, studded with two boundaries and as many sixes.

Naushad struck a quick-fire 38 (24 balls) and shared a 67-run partnership with Sutar for the fourth wicket as the pair took Maratha Royals to the doorstep of victory.

Earlier, Mayuresh Tandel (50 not out)and Harsh Aghav's (45 not out) unbroken partnership of 85 runs off 49 balls helped Mumbai Falcons put on 157/4.

The team was in trouble at 60/3 at the halfway stage before captain Shreyas Iyer's dismissal reduced them to 72/4 in the 12th over.

Aghav, who slammed four sixes, accelerated the scoring with Tandel but still the team ended with a below-par total.

Brief scores: SoBo Mumbai Falcons 157 for 4 in 20 overs (Mayuresh Tandel 50 not out, Harsh Aghav 45 not out; Vaibhav Mali 2/32) lost to MSC Maratha Royals 158/5 in 19.2 overs (Chinmay Sutar 53, Awais Khan 38) by five wickets.