Saxena shines as Andheri Arcs beat Eagle Thane Strikers

Arcs Andheri`s Divyaansh Saxena during his 88 not out against Eagle Thane Strikers at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. PIC/Ashish Raje

A second consecutive punishing fifty by former India Under-19 left-handed opener Divyaansh Saxena took Arcs Andheri (AA) to their second win in as many matches in T20 Mumbai League on Friday as AA crushed Eagle Thane Strikers (ETS) by nine wickets with 8.2 overs to spare.

Saxena blazed his way to 88 not out (39b, 12x4, 4x6), making light of the 130-run target after AA's bowlers, largely spinners, bundled out ETS for 129. "The input we got from our bowlers was that the ball was turning a bit. So, I decided to take chances against the pacers and score as much as possible in the Powerplay. It paid off," Saxena said after the win.

Choosing to bat, ETS found runs difficult to come by on a slow pitch. Left-arm spinner Musheer Khan proved this by castling centurion of the previous match, Shashwat Jagtap, in the fifth over with a ball that turned away to hit off-stump. ETS managed only 34-2, registering the lowest Powerplay score of this edition. Eknath Kerkar (27) and Sairaj Patil (34) tried to salvage things a bit, with a 41-run stand for the fourth wicket.

In reply, as AA began their chase, the Agra-born Saxena made it a no-contest. He smashed 10 fours and a six to reach his 50 off just 17 balls, recording TML's joint-fastest 50, alongside Hardik Tamore. Saxena, 25, who featured in the 2020 ICC U-19 World Cup alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and Ravi Bishnoi, made the most of the field restrictions and spared no bowler, including Shardul Thakur.

Fellow left-hander Ayush Jathwa (25) was a silent partner in their 105-run opening stand, such was Saxena's dominance.