Sporting gesture: Suryakumar Yadav shares his Player-of-the-Match award with Dsouza.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sylvester Dsouza’s five-wicket haul laid the foundation before captain Suryakumar Yadav rolled back the years with a typically inventive knock as Triumph Knights Mumbai North East finally opened its account in T20 Mumbai Season Four with a commanding six-wicket victory over defending champion MSC Maratha Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
Having entered the contest with three defeats in as many matches, Triumph Knights had an opportunity to play spoilers. Suryakumar & Co. grabbed it with both hands, leaving the Siddhesh Lad-led Royals with plenty to ponder in their title defence.
Dsouza, the speedster, set the tone early and finished even stronger. Utilising pace effectively during both the PowerPlay and death overs, Dsouza returned the best bowling figures of the season (3.5-0-21-5). His effort was aided by a curious tactical call from the Royals camp when Chinmay Sutar, after scoring 32 (26b, 2×4), was retired out at the conclusion of the 17th over.
The move backfired immediately. From there, Royals lost their remaining four wickets for only 15 runs, with Dsouza striking three times in his final two overs to derail the innings.
In the run chase, Suryakumar walked in at No. 4 and quickly ensured there would be no complications. The 35-year-old remained unbeaten on 72 (36b, 13×4, 1×6), stitching together a match-defining 103-run partnership with Nutan Goel, who contributed 56 (42b, 4×4, 3×6).
While Goel largely relied on conventional strokeplay, Suryakumar showcased his entire repertoire. At his inventive best, Suryakumar repeatedly employed reverse paddles against both left-arm spinners, manipulating angles and field placements with ease while bringing out the trademark 360-degree batting that has defined his career.
In a sporting gesture after the game, Suryakumar shared the Player-of-the-Match award with Dsouza, acknowledging the pacer’s decisive contribution with the ball.
The scores:
MSC Maratha Royals 152 in 19.5 overs (Chinmay Sutar 32, Maxwell Swaminathan 36, Sylvester Dsouza 5/21, Sagar Mishra 2/30) lost to Triumph Knight MNE 153/4 in 16 overs (Nutan Goel 56, Suryakumar Yadav 72 n.o., Irfan Umair 2/23, Atharva Bhosale 2/27).
On Sunday: North Mumbai Panthers 177/5 in 20 overs (Hardik Tamore 43, Abhigyan Kundu 53, Tanush Kotian 37 n.o., Kartik Mishra 2/31, Shashikant Kadam 2/26) bt Eagle Thane Strikers 113 in 15.3 overs (Mohit Avasthi 2/20, Rahul Sawant 2/21, Vaibhav Mali 2/13, Pravesh Pal 2/15).
Published – June 08, 2026 07:40 pm IST
