Arcs win as Mumbai T20 league kicks off

Mumbai: When First Arcs Andheri lost the toss and four quick wickets inside three overs with only 16 runs on the board, it appeared that the first match of the inaugural T20 Mumbai League between Arcs Andheri and North Mumbai Panthers would be a damp squib.
But Shubham Ranjane (65) and Parag Khanapurkar (61) had other plans. The duo stitched a 120-run match-winning partnership to help Arcs Andheri score a competitive 164.Their opposition North Mumbai Panthers, led by Ajinkya Rahane, could manage only 141 in 19.1 overs to hand Arcs a 23-run win.
Arcs Andheri got off to a terrible start after being put in as they lost their first wicket off the first delivery of the tournament-opener. Andheri opener Akhil Herwadkar was caught at mid-on by Hersh Tank off the bowling of Shivam Thakur. Next to follow Herwadkar were Doraiswamy Subramanian and Anup Rewandkar as both failed to trouble the scorers. Sure, Arun Yadav slammed three boundaries, but he tried one shot too many and was caught by Akhtar Shaikh off the bowling of Rakesh Prabhu. With four wickets down and only 16 runs on the board, Arcs were in deep trouble.
Ranjane and Khanapurkar then started the repair job. Initially the duo played with caution, ensuring no further damage was done. But once they settled down, they started playing their shots. Ranjane was the dominant partner. Khanapurkar, meanwhile, was happy rotating the strike and picked the occasional two on offer. Ranjane, who hit six boundaries in his 50-ball knock, launched left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil over long-off for his only six. Khanapurkar, who initially played second fiddle, later upped his scoring rate and eventually finished with a 38-ball 61. His knock included three sixes and two fours.
Having put on a competitive score, the Arcs needed their bowlers to bowl a disciplined line. But with skipper Rahane and rising star Prithvi Shaw opening the innings, it was never going to be easy for the Arcs bowlers. Rahane (22) and Shaw (14) both found boundaries easily and in a jiffy wiped off 38 runs from the required total. Shaw, however, mistimed one of his drives and holed out to Chitnis off Ranjane.
Panthers had added only 10 runs more when No 3 Tank and Rahane were involved in a mix-up leading to the run out of Tank at the non-strikers’ end. Ranjane scored the run out with his presence of mind. The big moment for the Arcs, though was the dismissal of skipper Rahane. Khanapurkar caught Rahane off Ranjane. With three wickets, including Shaw and Rahane, Panthers were in deep trouble. Left hander Yashasvi Jaiswal did try his best, scoring a 23-ball 37, but his effort was not enough, simply because the Panthers kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Brief scores: Arcs Andheri 164 (Shubham Ranjane 65, Parag Khanapurkar 61; Shivam Malhotra 3-41, Rakesh prabhu 3-20) beat North Mumbai Panthers 141 (Ajinkya Rahane 28, Yashasvi Jaiswal 37; Tushar Deshpande 3-25)