MSC Maratha Royals retain T20 Mumbai League title, beat Andheri by 8 runs
Synopsis
MSC Maratha Royals became back-to-back T20 Mumbai League champions, holding off a spirited ARCS Andheri chase by eight runs at a packed Wankhede Stadium. Chinmay Sutar's anchor knock of 61 and Tushar Deshpande's clutch wickets — including the key dismissal of Shivam Dube — proved the difference in a final that went down to the wire before more than 31,000 fans.
Key Takeaways
MSC Maratha Royals retained the T20 Mumbai League title on 14 June , beating ARCS Andheri by 8 runs at Wankhede Stadium .
Chinmay Sutar scored 61 retired out off 52 balls to anchor the Royals' total of 154/5 .
Divyaansh Sksena top-scored for Andheri with 51 off 40 balls — his third fifty of the season — but the chase fell short at 146/8 .
Tushar Deshpande dismissed Shivam Dube at a critical juncture and claimed the Purple Cap with 12 wickets in the tournament.
Sksena won the Orange Cap with 261 runs , the highest tally of the season.
SOBO Mumbai Falcons won the inaugural Nuvama Private T20 Mumbai Women's League title earlier on the same day, beating Aakash Tigers MWS by 25 runs .
MSC Maratha Royals defended their T20 Mumbai League title on 14 June, edging past ARCS Andheri by eight runs in a gripping final at the Wankhede Stadium before a crowd of more than 31,000 fans. A composed half-century from Chinmay Sutar and a sharp bowling performance led by Tushar Deshpande sealed back-to-back championships for the Royals.
Royals' Innings: Sutar Anchors the Chase
Put in to bat, the Royals stumbled early, slipping to 29/2 inside three overs after Arjun Tendulkar removed two top-order batters in quick succession. Sutar and skipper Siddhesh Lad steadied the ship with a crucial 65-run fourth-wicket stand. Lad contributed 33 off 25 balls — laced with three fours and a six — before being dismissed.
Sutar continued to anchor the innings, hitting four boundaries and two sixes in a 52-ball knock, eventually retiring out in the penultimate over after laying a solid platform. The Royals, however, could not accelerate at the death, with the Andheri bowlers maintaining disciplined lines to restrict them to 154/5 in 20 overs. Tendulkar finished with figures of 2 for 36.
Andheri's Chase Falls Short
Opener Divyaansh Sksena gave Andheri a fighting chance, top-scoring with 51 off 40 balls — his third half-century of the season, making him the only batter to achieve that feat in this edition. He stitched a 38-run second-wicket partnership with Arjun Tendulkar and later added 25 runs with Pragnesh Kanpillewar for the fourth wicket before falling to Deshpande after striking four boundaries and three sixes.
Kanpillewar showed promise during his brisk 21-ball stay of 28, hitting two fours and a six, before left-arm spinner Aditya Dhumal removed him off the very next delivery to leave Andheri at 104/5. The onus then fell on skipper Shivam Dube, but Deshpande — who had taken charge of the side after Lad left the field with an injured arm — dismissed the India all-rounder for 15, putting the Royals firmly in control.
A late cameo of 23 off 17 balls by Gaurav Jathar briefly kept Andheri's hopes alive, but the Royals tightened the screws to restrict the challengers to 146/8, sealing victory by eight runs. Deshpande finished with 2 for 33 and Dhumal with 2 for 20.
Individual Awards
Despite Andheri's defeat, opener Sksena claimed the Orange Cap as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 261 runs, including three fifties. Deshpande secured the Purple Cap with 12 wickets across the tournament — the highest wicket haul of the season.
Women's Final and Ceremony
Earlier on the same day, the SOBO Mumbai Falcons claimed the inaugural Nuvama Private T20 Mumbai Women's League title, defeating the Aakash Tigers MWS by 25 runs in a comprehensive all-round display.
The presentation ceremony was attended by Mumbai Cricket Association President Ajinkya Naik, League Governing Council Chairman Rajdip Gupta, and other MCA office-bearers. With back-to-back titles now secured, the Maratha Royals head into the off-season as the dominant force in Mumbai's premier T20 franchise competition.
Brief Scores: MSC Maratha Royals 154/5 in 20 overs (Chinmay Sutar 61 rtd out, Siddhesh Lad 33; Arjun Tendulkar 2-36) beat ARCS Andheri 146/8 in 20 overs (Divyaansh Sksena 51, Pragnesh Kanpillewar 28, Gaurav Jathar 23; Aditya Dhumal 2-20, Tushar Deshpande 2-33) by 8 runs.
Point of View
And the Royals earned this one the hard way — rescued from 29/2 by a single batter's composure, then saved at the death by their strike bowler stepping up as captain under injury-forced circumstances. What the final also revealed is how thin the margin between these two sides is: eight runs in a 155-run game is a single over's difference. Deshpande's dismissal of Shivam Dube was the pivot; without it, Andheri had the firepower to overhaul the target. For Mumbai cricket, the deeper story is the infrastructure: a 31,000-strong crowd for a domestic T20 final, a concurrent women's league final on the same day — these are signals that the city's franchise ecosystem is maturing well beyond a novelty.
NationPress
9 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the T20 Mumbai League 2025 title?
MSC Maratha Royals won the T20 Mumbai League title on 14 June, defeating ARCS Andheri by eight runs in the final at Wankhede Stadium. It was their second consecutive title in the competition.
What was the scorecard of the T20 Mumbai League final?
MSC Maratha Royals posted 154/5 in 20 overs, with Chinmay Sutar retiring out on 61 and Siddhesh Lad contributing 33. ARCS Andheri fell short at 146/8, with Divyaansh Sksena top-scoring on 51.
Who won the Orange Cap and Purple Cap in the T20 Mumbai League?
Divyaansh Sksena of ARCS Andheri won the Orange Cap with 261 runs, including three fifties — the only batter to register three half-centuries in the season. Tushar Deshpande of MSC Maratha Royals claimed the Purple Cap with 12 wickets.
What happened in the T20 Mumbai Women's League final?
SOBO Mumbai Falcons defeated Aakash Tigers MWS by 25 runs to claim the inaugural Nuvama Private T20 Mumbai Women's League title, in a match played earlier on the same day as the men's final.
Who led MSC Maratha Royals in the final after Siddhesh Lad was injured?
Tushar Deshpande took over as captain after Siddhesh Lad left the field with an injured arm during the chase. Deshpande then dismissed Shivam Dube at a critical stage to put the Royals in control of the final.
