Tushar Deshpande celebrates his half-century in the T20 Mumbai match between Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals and Bandra Blasters at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, June 6, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The seasoned Tushar Deshpande and veteran Rohan Raje rolled back the years to help defending champion Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals script a remarkable 25-run victory over Bandra Blasters and move closer to the T20 Mumbai semifinals.
At 130 for eight in the 15th over at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Royals looked headed for a below-par total. Instead, Deshpande and Raje unleashed a brutal counterattack, sharing an unbeaten 73-run stand for the ninth wicket to propel their side to 203 for eight.
Deshpande led the assault with a stunning unbeaten 55 (25b, 6×6), while Raje complemented him with 28 not out (14b, 3×6), turning what appeared an average total into a formidable one.
For long periods of the chase, Bandra Blasters seemed firmly in control.
Powered by opener Prateek Yadav’s explosive 47 (22b, 4×4, 4×6), Jay Jain’s fluent 46 (23b, 4×4, 3×6) and captain Suved Parkar’s half-century, the Blasters cruised to 160 for two after 14 overs, requiring only 44 from the last six.
Then came the collapse. Deshpande triggered the turnaround, dismissing Jain and Dhrumil Matkar off successive deliveries in the 15th over. Panic spread quickly when Om Keshkamat was run out attempting a risky single after Maxwell Swaminathan’s direct hit from mid-on.
Left-arm spinner Atharva Bhosale then accounted for Parkar (56), before Raje delivered perhaps the decisive over of the evening.
Introduced only in the 17th over, Raje struck with his first delivery and then indirectly caused another run-out as Bandra imploded spectacularly.
From 160/2, the Blasters lost eight wickets for just 18 runs across 21 deliveries and were eventually bowled out for 178, leaving their semifinal hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads.
The scores: MSC Maratha Royals 203/8 in 20 overs (Tushar Deshpande 55 n.o., Chinmay Sutar 31, Ayaz Khan 31, Om Keshkamat 2/28, Royston Dias 2/31, Aashray Sajnani 2/43) bt Bandra Blasters 178 in 17.5 overs (Suved Parkar 56, Prateek Ravishankar 47, Jay Jain 46, Tushar Deshpande 2/12, Irfan Umair 2/35).
North Mumbai Panthers 194/6 in 20 overs (Ayush Vartak 83 n.o., Anish Chaudhary 44, Vinayak Bhoir 2/23) bt Aakash Tigers MWS 172/9 in 20 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 62, Vaibhav Mali 3/15, Pravesh Pal 2/6, Pratik Mishra 2/33).
Women’s League: Thane Sky Risers 156/6 in 20 overs (Mansi Patil 40, Vrushali Bhagat 29; Siddhi Kamthe 3/29) lost to Aakash Tigers MWS 157/3 in 19.2 overs (Sanika Chalke 68, Soumya Singh 2/34).
Published – June 06, 2026 09:43 pm IST
