Chennai Singams go on top of standings; Tiigers of Kolkata win low scoring clash against Majhi Mumbai

Khel Today Bureau 

Mumbai: Exceptional bowling displays helped Chennai Singams and Tiigers of Kolkata register crucial victories on day 3 of the Indian Street Premier League T10 tennis ball cricket tournament at the Dadoji Kondadev stadium here on Friday.

While Dilip Binjwa’s last over heorics helped Chennai Singams defeat Bangalore Strikers by 3 runs, Tiigers of Kolkata successfully defended a modest total of 71 runs and registered a 26-run win over Majhi Mumbai.

The Indian Street Premier League – T10 is a pioneering Tennis Cricket League with a primary mission to discover, nurture, and elevate cricketers from grassroots levels. It endeavours to unite the finest local cricket talent in India, creating a comprehensive platform for players to showcase their skills.

Chennai Singams, who had got the better of Tiigers of Kolkata on Thursday, were not really free flowing with the bat in the first match of the day. But once again came up with a solid bowling performance to inflict a second successive loss on Bangalore strikers.

Defending a modest total of 99 for 7, Chennai Singams looked in trouble when Bangalore Strikers raced to 74 for 4 in seven overs with big hitter Mansoor KL going strong. Bangalore Strikers had started cautiously as they wanted to avoid losing early wickets. At the halfway stage, they had reached 28 for 3 and looked a bit in trouble.

But then they decided to target Chennai’s star bowler of the opening match, R Thavith Kumar for a 50-50 over and scored 26 runs and got a bonus of 13 to put them in the driver’s seat.

However, Chennai Singams stuck to their game plan and found a hero in Binjwa in the final over, who took two wickets while giving away just three runs in the last over.

Earlier, Chennai Singams had failed to capitalise on a solid start thanks to opener Ketan Mhatre quickfire 25 runs of just 15 balls. They lost quick wickets in the middle overs and only a late cameo from Bablu Patil (29 runs in 15 balls) helped them set a competitive target.

In the second match of the day, Majhi Mumbai looked set to go on top of the points table after they restricted Tiigers of Kolkata for a paltry 71 all out. 

But the Kolkata outfit came out with a game plan and squeezed the run flow of Mumbai batsmen and forced them to take risks. This meant that Mumbai wickets kept tumbling at regular interval and they were bowled out of just 45 runs in 8.2 overs.