03 June,2026 08:49 AM IST | Mumbai | G Krishnan
North Mumbai Panthers’s Hardik Tamore during his 67 against the Triumph Knights at Wankhede on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
In a match between the winners of the first two editions of the T20 Mumbai League, the 2019 victors North Mumbai Panthers (NMP) prevailed over Triumph Knights Mumbai North East (TKMNE), triumphant in the inaugural edition in 2018, by 21 runs on Tuesday.
Riding on opener Hardik Tamore's 67 (off 43 balls, 9x4s, 2x6s) and vital contributions by Ayush Vartak (39 off 21, 2x4s, 3x6s) and Tanush Kotian (30 not out off 15 balls, 1x4s, 2x6s), NMP reached 209-5 after being sent in to bat.
Vartak said he followed the advice given by MS Dhoni at the Chennai Super Kings trials earlier this year. "Dhoni told me that I should stay calm as I was a finisher and take the game till the last ball," Vartak said after the match.
Vartak, 21, who has been knocking on the Mumbai Ranji team's doors for some time, isn't thinking too far ahead and wants to stay in the present. "Winning the first game is always helpful. It gives us momentum," he said.
TKMNE were restricted to 188-8 with Nutan Goel scoring a fighting 93 (off 56 balls, 9x4s, 5x6s).
For TKMNE to notch up their first points in this season, they needed their captain Suryakumar Yadav to shine, but, as was his woeful form in the just-concluded IPL, he could not get going.
Suryakumar played his trademark sweep and was caught at deep backward square-leg for 19 off left-arm spinner Rahul Sawant in the seventh over.
Brief scores
NMP 209-5 in 20 overs (H Tamore 67, A Vartak 39; S DSouza 2-23) beat TKMNE 188-8 in 20 overs (NK Goel 93; M Avasthi 2-32, R Sawant 2-34, H Tanna 2-44) by 21 runs
