India star Shreyas Iyer and Aditya Tare guided SOBO Mumbai Falcons to their first win in the Nuvama Private T20 Mumbai League. Tare’s explosive 42 and Iyer’s 30 helped chase down 153 against MSC Maratha Royals for a three-wicket victory.
Iyer, Tare Propel Falcons to Victory Despite Scare
India star Shreyas Iyer and veteran wicketkeeper-batter Aditya Tare led SOBO Mumbai Falcons to their first win of the Nuvama Private T20 Mumbai League 2026, propelling their side to a three-wicket victory over MSC Maratha Royals despite a late scare at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Coming in as the Impact Player, Iyer carried forward the momentum generated by the openers with a fluent 30 off 24 balls, striking two fours and as many sixes, according to a press release. His innings came after stand-in Tare blazed away to 42 off just 19 balls while his opening partner Ishan Mulchandani contributed 29 off 24 in a 57-run opening stand.
The contributions from the top three helped the Falcons race to 106 in 12 overs. However, Iyer’s dismissal triggered a dramatic collapse as the Falcons squandered their dominant start. The Siddhesh Lad-led Royals struck repeatedly, claiming four wickets for just 21 runs to momentarily bring themselves back into the contest. With the asking rate beginning to climb and pressure mounting, Gautam Waghela held his nerve and anchored the chase with an unbeaten 23-ball 26, guiding the Falcons home with five balls to spare.
Jadhav’s Half-Century in Vain for Royals
Earlier, opening alongside skipper Lad, Sahil Jadhav held the MSC Maratha Royals innings together with a defiant half-century despite wickets tumbling regularly at the other end. He struck five fours and three sixes during his 30-ball 52, ensuring that the scoreboard kept ticking even as partnerships remained hard to come by.
The defending champions crawled to the 100-run mark only in the 14th over, with Chinmay Sutar’s 23 the only other notable contribution in the top order. Left-arm spinner Yash Dicholkar then tightened the screws by removing Sahil and Tushar Deshpande within five deliveries to derail the innings further. Although Arjun Dani (35) attempted a late rescue act, supported briefly by Rohan Raje (10), Dicholkar struck again to keep the scoring rate in check. Arjun’s late flourish eventually lifted the Royals to 152/9, but the total ultimately proved insufficient.
In Other Matches
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Onkar Tarmale’s brilliant hat-trick went in vain as Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburb pipped Eagle Thane Strikers by one run in an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Later in the day, Suryakumar Yadav’s Triumph Knights Mumbai North East will take on Suved Parkar-led Bandra Blasters at the same venue. Both sides will be eager to open their account in the tournament.
Brief Scores
MSC Maratha Royals 152/9 in 20 overs (Sahil Jadhav 52, Arjun Dani 35, Chinmay Sutar 23; Akash Parkar 3/22, Yash Dicholkar 3/25) lost to SOBO Mumbai Falcons 156/6 in 19.1 overs (Aditya Tare 42, Shreyas Iyer 30, Ishan Mulchandani 29; Maxwell Swaminathan 2/24) by three wickets. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)