ISPL 2: Majhi Mumbai Begin Campaign With 8-Wicket Win Over Tiigers Of Kolkata

The second season of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) got off to a flying start with an exhilarating opening ceremony featuring the likes of Bollywood diva Jacqueline Fernandez and the popular comic duo of Krushna and Kiku, before the on-field action witnessed a clinical Majhi Mumbai registering a convincing eight-wicket victory over Tiigers of Kolkata at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium on Sunday. In a showdown between the finalists of the inaugural season, Majhi Mumbai came up with a disciplined show with the ball to first restrict Tiigers of Kolkata for 68/8 before getting over the line with a couple of overs to spare.

Electing to bowl, the Mumbai outfit put up with a disciplined effort, with Ankur Singh triggering a top order collapse to dismiss Fardeen Kazi, Thomas Dias and Navaz Khan and reduce Kolkata to 22/3, before Rajendra Singh rocked the opposition with two more wickets.

The Mumbai bowlers took full advantage of the Tape Ball overs (3rd and 5th), with Rajat Mundhe leaking just five runs from his two overs. With pressure mounting on Kolkata, the men in Red & Green opted to take the 50-50 over on the 7th over, but in an anti-climax, they lost two wickets, including skipper Moyoddin Alimuddin Shaikh (15), and eventually got only a single after managing three runs from it. Towards the end, Sarfaraz Khan (11) and Bhavesh Pawar (16) hit a couple of lusty blows to propel Kolkata to 68 even as the batting side lost three wickets on the final over of their innings.

In response, Majhi Mumbai lost opener Mohammed Nadeem on the third ball of the first over, but Rajat Mundhe and Karan More (26 not) stabilised the innings, and more importantly survived the Tape Ball over (3rd) from Vivek Mohanan. During the strategic time-out, Mumbai, comfortably placed at 31/1, picked the 8th over for the 50-50 challenge.

After the breather, Rajat picked Shivam Kumar for a boundary but perished the next ball, leaving the job for Karan and new man Amit Naik (21 not out). With Mumbai needing 22 off 18 at the start of the 50-50 over, Karan deposited Imroz Khan for a couple of boundaries off the first two deliveries, before Amit took the bowler to the cleaners twice consecutively to help his side romp home by 8 wickets. 
 
Earlier, the grand opening ceremony of ISPL Season 2 witnessed a laughter riot as popular comedy artists Krushna and Kiku brought the house down in their iconic roles of Pushpa and Srivalli. Their hilarious act set the perfect tone for an exciting season ahead. Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez added glamour to the opening ceremony with her sizzling performance. 

The crowd at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium reserved louder cheers for legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar, who made his way into the ground amid a thunderous applause, to wish the players. 

"Be fearless but don't be careless," came Sachin's message for the players.

Highlighting on the changes this season, Tendulkar, who also is one of the ISPL core committee members, said, "This season ISPL & SG co-created the reverse swing ball, which will make life a little difficult for the batters. With that, strategy will come into play. All the teams have got a fair idea about the usage of the tape ball during training sessions in the build-up to the tournament.

During the opening ceremony, Sachin, along with the other members of the core committee Ashish Shelar, Minal Amol Kale, Suraj Samat, also paid tributes to former Mumbai Cricket Association president, who passed away last year. The core committee also presented a cheque worth Rs 3 lakh as part of Children Education Scholarship to Muktangan Foundation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)