ISPL Season 2: Majhi Mumbai, Tiigers of Kolkata record stunning victories

Thane (Maharashtra) [India], January 31 (ANI): Majhi Mumbai and Tiigers of Kolkata dished out clinical performances in their respective Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), Season 2 matches on Friday, which also witnessed popular singer Mika Singh electrifying the crowd with a power-packed performance at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium on their feet.
In the first match of the day, Majhi Mumbai rode excellent batting performances by Mohammed Nadeem, Amit Naik and Karan More to overpower Srinagar Ke Veer by seven wickets before defending champions Tiigers of Kolkata rode Fardeen Kazi's blistering half-century to pip Chennai Singams by five wickets in a last-ball thriller, a release from ISPL stated.
Today's victory saw Majhi Mumbai continue their rampaging form as they have won all four matches they have played this season. On the other hand, this was the second consecutive defeat for Srinagar following their defeat to Chennai Singams on Thursday.
Chasing a stiff target of 70 runs, Mumbai were on to a good start with Nadeem leading the early charge. The opener scored 24 runs off 14 deliveries with one boundary and two sixes before falling to Firoz Shaikh while attempting another big shot.
Firoz dealt another blow to Mumbai with his very next ball, trapping Abhishek Kumar Dalhor lbw with an excellent incoming delivery. The double blow-off consecutive deliveries slowed down Mumbai's run rate, but not for long as Naik and More took charge.
The duo plundered runs almost at will with Naik coming up with the first Niner of the tournament as Mumbai went past the finishing line with seven balls to spare.
Earlier, asked to bat first, Srinagar Ke Veer posted 69/6 in their 10 overs. Sagar Ali anchored the innings and emerged as the top scorer with a calculative 42 off 31 balls to guide Srinagar to a fighting total. The opener batted for almost the entire length of the Srinagar innings and kept the scoreboard ticking on at a healthy rate even as wickets fell at the other end.
Ali finally fell in the final over while attempting a mighty heave off the bowling of Abhishek Kumar Dalhor. But the left-hander was deceived by the slower delivery and mistimed his shot only to see the top edge travel to the third-man position for an easy catch.
Vijay Pawle was the most successful among the Mumbai bowlers, pegging back the Srinagar batting effort with excellent figures of 4/9 in his two overs.
Meanwhile, Kolkata recorded their first win of the season. Put into bat, Chennai Singams rode a collective batting effort from the top three -- Ketan Mhatre, Jagannath Sarkar and Sumeet Dhekele to pile up a mammoth 105/5 in their stipulated 10 overs.
While Ketan top-scored for the Men-in-Yellow with a 23-ball 33, laced with a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, his opening partner Jagannath came up with a blistering 16-ball 25, inclusive of three fours and a six, to set the tone for the mighty total. Sumeet provided the late blitzkrieg with an unbeaten 13-ball 26, coupled with three fours and two monster hits out of the fence to power his side to the three-figure mark.
In response, defending champions Tiigers of Kolkata bounced back from a precarious 9/3, courtesy of Kazi's whirlwind half-century to clinch the contest by five wickets, and finally record their first win of the season. Kazi anchored the Kolkata innings to perfection, remaining unbeaten on 61 off mere 31 deliveries, with his knock containing five glorious boundaries and three sixes. He received notable assistance from captain Thomas Dias, who contributed with 17 runs.

With Kolkata needing 22 off the final over, Kazi slammed the first ball for a six, before taking a couple of singles. With the equation further down to 14 from three, Kazi deposited Rahul Sawant over the boundary twice to seal the contest in Kolkata's favour.
On Saturday, KVN Bangalore Strikers will face Falcon Risers Hyderabad, followed by a clash between Majhi Mumbai locks horns with Chennai Singams. (ANI)