T20 Mumbai League: Eagle Thane Strikers' Shashwat Jagtap becomes first centurion of season

Eagle Thane Strikers opener Shashwat Jagtap during his 100 on Monday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Eagle Thane Strikers (ETS) opener Shashwat Jagtap stole the show in his debut match on Day One of the T20 Mumbai League (TML), becoming the first centurion of Season-4. Jagtap's match-winning unbeaten century (50-ball 100 not out) helped ETS beat Bandra Blasters (BB) by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Jagtap, who is pursuing a degree in sports management at the International Institute of Sports Management (IISM) reckoned that he's giving equal importance to the studies given the uncertainties in sport. "We all know how uncertain cricket is, so I'm pursuing sports management [first year] as a back-up plan because I like the field of sports a lot. It's not difficult to manage both cricket and studies together, if you can give proper time to both," Jagtap said during the post-match press conference on Monday.

Tarmale claims 3-28

Put into bat, Bandra outfit posted 189-9 in the allotted 20 overs with Jay Jain (21-ball 45) and Om Keshkamat (26-ball 40) being the chief contributors. For the Thane side, pacers Onkar Tarmale claimed 3-28, while skipper Shardul Thakur and left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar took two wickets apiece.

In reply, riding on Jagtap and Sumeir Zaveri's (36-ball 80) 155-run opening stand, ETS chased down the target convincingly in 15.2 overs. His innings were laced with 14 fours and three sixes, which exhibited his front foot as well as back foot batting skills perfectly.

No chance last season

Interestingly, Jagtap, was part of Maratha Royals team last season, but didn't get to play a single match for the defending champions.

Brief scores
BB 189-9 in 20 overs (J Jain 45, O Keshkamat 40, S Parkar 30; O Tarmale 3-28, S Thakur 2-33, A Ankolekar 2-34) lost to ETS 194-1 in 15.2 overs (S Jagtap 100', S Zaveri 80) by 9 wkts