MUMBAI: Tigers of Kolkata were crowned champions of the inaugural Indian Street Premier League - T10 tennis ball tournament after they outplayed Majhi Mumbai by 10 wickets in the summit clash in front of a capacity crowd at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium on Friday.
Opting to bowl after winning the tip-top toss, Tiigers of Kolkata not just kept the big-hitting Majhi Mumbai batters in check but also took wickets at regular intervals to restrict the team that has scored four of the top five scores in the competition to a meagre 58 for 9. They then chased the target in 7.4 overs without losing a single wicket and kicked off a grand celebration after 10 days that showcased the quality of tennis ball cricket.
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, a release said. It endeavours to unite the finest local cricket talent in India, creating a comprehensive platform for players to showcase their skills.
Tigers of Kolkata knew that just containing Majhi Mumbai would be difficult and came up with a plan against their skipper Yogesh Penkar and the tournament's top scorer Abhishek Dalhor. Only Vijay Pawle succeeded in reaching double figures as Bhavesh Pawar claimed three wickets for nine runs and was well supported by Raju Mukhiya (2/12) and Babbu Rana (2/18). In the group matches, Tiigers of Kolkata had bowled out Majhi Mumbai for 45 runs and once again showed why their bowling unit was rated so highly throughout the tournament.
Tigers of Kolkata openers Prathamesh Pawar and Munna Shaikh began cautiously and scored just 16 runs in the first four overs before the latter hit two sixes in the fifth to ease the pressure. Shaikh finished the match with a six.