Mumbai, June 7 (IANS) Shivam Dube-led ARCS Andheri let a winning position slip away as Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs staged a sensational late comeback to clinch a seven-run victory in the T20 Mumbai League 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing 172, Andheri were cruising for large parts of the innings before a dramatic collapse in the final four overs saw Ankur Singh’s brilliant spell of 4/39 turn the match on its head. Andheri endured an early setback with Divyaansh Sksena (10) and Musheer Khan (1) departing cheaply, leaving the side reeling at 18/2.

Impact Player Ayush Jethwa and the in-form Prasad Pawar rebuilt the innings with a crucial 58-run partnership for the third wicket after the early setbacks. While Jethwa contributed a fluent 36, Pawar once again underlined his consistency, bringing up his third half-century of the season with a composed 54 off 39 deliveries that included three fours and two sixes.

The Tigers, however, fought back through Naman Pushpak, who broke the stand by removing Jethwa, before Shams Mulani dismissed Pragnesh Kanpillewar (15) to apply further pressure. Andheri regained control when skipper Dube launched a counterattack, hammering 25 off just 13 balls with three towering sixes to leave his side firmly in command of the chase.

However, Dube’s dismissal proved to be the turning point. Ankur struck repeatedly at the death as Andheri lost five wickets in the final three overs, collapsing from a winning position and handing the Tigers a dramatic victory.

Earlier, Aakash Tigers MWS recovered from an early setback through a valuable 44-run partnership between Jay Gokul Bista and Varun Lavande for the second wicket. Bista chipped in with 35. Ajit Yadav, later, anchored the innings with a fluent 55, striking five fours and three sixes.

The Tigers looked set for a bigger total at one stage, but regular wickets in the latter half of the innings prevented them from capitalising on the platform, eventually finishing on 171/6.

For Andheri, Ajay Mishra was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/18, while Dube chipped in with 1/31.

In the second affair of the day later in the evening, Shardul Thakur’s Eagle Thane Strikers will be up against table-toppers North Mumbai Panthers, led by Ajinkya Rahane at the same venue.

Brief Scores: Aakash Tigers MWS 171/6 in 20 overs (Ajit Yadav 55, Jay Bista 35; Ajay Mishra 2/18) beat ARCS Andheri 164 all out in 20 overs (Prasad Pawar 54, Ayush Jethwa 36; Ankur Singh 4/39) by seven runs

–IANS

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