T20 Mumbai League: Skipper Dube powers ARCS Andheri into final

Shivam Dube during his 45 not out. Pic/Atul Kamble

ARCS Andheri captain Shivam Dube held himself till No. 7 when his team needed 59 in 7.2 overs. It was a tricky situation as the pitch was assisting the spinners at Wankhede.

Dube pulled mightily for sixes to remain unbeaten on 45 off 26 balls (1x4, 5x6) as AA defeated Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs (ATMWS) by five wickets with nine deliveries to spare in the first semi-final on Thursday and storm into Saturday's final.

Batting first, ATMWS posted 150-7. The total may have been enough for ATMWS if not for Dube. Jay Bista (34) and Sarfaraz Khan (35) raised 56 in 5.3 overs to give ATMWS a brisk start. The Powerplay saw the Khan siblings have a go at each other. In the third over, Sarfaraz smashed a six over long-on before finishing with three successive fours off his younger brother Musheer.

Soon after, Sarfaraz Khan missed a sweep and was leg before to left-arm spinner Ajay Mishra. The run-rate dipped gradually from the ninth over.

ATMWS lost wickets regularly and the boundaries drained after 34-year-old Ashutosh Ghagre mixed his off-spin, leg-spin and googly with great precision.

Ghagre (2-21), who played one match in the league stage and bowled one over, was a surprise package in the semi-final. Having begun his career as an off-spinner in the local circles, Ghagre developed variations over the last two years if he had to confuse the batters. On Thursday, he caught Bista and Saksham Parashar unawares, castling them with googly off successive deliveries.

Ghagre said: "The pitch was helpful for spinners. I was waiting for my chance. My practice sessions and preparations were going well. Whenever I got my chance, even if it was in the semi-final, I had to ensure that I made it count."

With the pitch offering turn, ATMWS relied on their slow bowlers to take wickets. Off-spinners Shashank Attarde and Ajit Yadav, and left-armer Shams Mulani shared five wickets between them before Dube walked in and changed the course of the game with his powerful strikes.

ATMWS head coach Vinayak Mane agreed Ghagre's inclusion for AA was "the game-changer inclusion in the team".

"Our players hadn't played much against him in local tournaments. He is an unknown guy. That augured well for Arcs. His variations, the wickets he took changed the game in their favour. And, had it not been for Dube, we'd have won," Mane said.