Ritik Tada's explosive 91* led Jabalpur Royal Lions to a stunning chase against Ujjain Falcons. In another MPL T20 match, Parush Mandal's five-wicket haul (5/11) and Himanshu Mantri's quickfire 61 sealed a win for Royal Nimar Eagles.
Jabalpur Lions pull off remarkable chase
Ritik Tada smashed 91* in 32 balls while skipper Rahul Batham scored 46* in 23 balls as Jabalpur Royal Lions pulled off a remarkable chase to defeat Ujjain Falcons by five wickets in the Aditya Birla Group Madhya Pradesh League (MPL) T20 Scindia Cup 2026 encounter on Thursday.
Batting first, Ujjain Falcons posted an imposing 210/4 in 20 overs, recovering brilliantly after losing two wickets in the opening over. Soham Patwardhan laid the foundation with a well-crafted 50 off 36 balls, while Aryan Pandey contributed a brisk 36 off 24 deliveries, according to a press release.
The star of the innings, however, was Madhav Tiwari, who produced a stunning display of power-hitting. The young all-rounder remained unbeaten on 92 off just 52 balls, smashing nine fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 176.92. His innings propelled the Ujjain Falcons past the 200-run mark and put them in a commanding position heading into the innings break.
Chasing 211, Jabalpur Royal Lions got off to a shaky start, losing two early wickets. However, Akarsh Singh counterattacked with a quickfire 40 off 21 balls, setting the platform for the chase.
The match then turned decisively in the Lions' favour thanks to a breathtaking innings from Ritik Tada, who blasted an unbeaten 91 off just 32 balls, striking 11 fours and six sixes. He found an able partner in Captain Rahul Batham, who remained not out on 46 off 23 deliveries as he played an international type of innings. The duo dominated the Falcons' bowling attack and stitched together a match-winning partnership, guiding Jabalpur Royal Lions to 212/5 in just 18.4 overs.
Royal Nimar Eagles register emphatic victory
The Royal Nimar Eagles registered an emphatic victory over Malwa Stallions at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, chasing down the target of 114 with ease by 8 wickets.
The Eagles suffered an early setback in the chase when Dharmesh Patel was dismissed for 11 off just 4 deliveries in the opening over. However, wicketkeeper-batter Himanshu Mantri took complete control of the proceedings and launched a blistering counterattack. He smashed 61 off just 27 balls, an innings studded with four fours and six sixes, putting the Stallions' bowlers under immense pressure.
Mantri was eventually dismissed with the score reading 87/2, by which time the Eagles were firmly in command of the chase and cruising towards victory. Kanishk Dubey and Anand Bais made sure that there were no more fall of wickets and took the team over the line.
Earlier, it was Parush Mandal who set up the win with a sensational bowling performance. The pacer ripped through the Malwa batting line-up, returning remarkable figures of 5/11 in 2.5 overs, including a maiden over. He received excellent support from Saransh Jain, who picked up two wickets, while Devendra Singh Katheit and Kumar Kartikeya chipped in with a wicket each.
Malwa Stallions, who have endured a difficult campaign, endured another disappointing start as they lost a couple of wickets without troubling the scorers and soon found themselves struggling at 29/4. Captain Ashutosh Sharma and Parth Sahani attempted to revive the innings with some resistance. Ashutosh played a fighting knock of 38 off 24 deliveries, while Sahani remained unbeaten on 27 off 19 balls. However, the Stallions never managed to recover from the early collapse and were eventually bowled out for 113 in 17.5 overs.
'A comeback is always greater than a setback': Parush Mandal
Reflecting on his bowling performance, Parush, who is now the new Purple Cap holder with 8 wickets in two matches to his name, said, "It's a great feeling to contribute with a five-wicket haul for my team. Our team combination has been coming together really well, and I'm grateful that I could deliver a performance that helped us get back to winning ways. This victory was very important for us."
"We always believed in our abilities. As they say, a comeback is always greater than a setback. We had complete faith in our team and knew that we could perform on this stage. Today, both our batting and bowling units delivered, and we were able to show our true calibre. We believe we are a champion side, and we want to play like champions," he concluded. (ANI)
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