T20 Mumbai League: Shikhar Thakur, Sumit Ghadigaonkar take TK into knockouts

TK's Sumit Ghadigaonkar en route his 41. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Opener Shikhar Thakur and Sumit Ghadigaonkar set the tone with their knocks of 41 each to help Triumph Knights (TK) beat North Mumbai Panthers by 34 runs to become the first team to qualify for the knockout stage in the T20 Mumbai League at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Put into bat, TK scored 179 for eight, thanks to Thakur's crisp batting at the top and Ghadigaonkar's 13-ball blitzkrieg at the No.8 position. Panthers' young leg-spinner Yashasvi Jaiswal claimed three for 23.

Panthers, in reply, managed only 145 for eight in 20 overs with Sairaj Patil top-scoring with 34. TK pacer Vaibhav Singh (3-21) and left-arm spinner Aditya Dhumal (2-11) bowled splendidly to thwart Panthers' chase. The absence of India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who is nursing a back injury, also affected Panthers' performance.