Left-arm spinner Avinash Yadav took 4 for 13 in his four overs as Mumbai Champs brushed aside Ahmedabad Rockets by six wickets in a league encounter of the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 championship played at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula on Tuesday. The 21-year-old spinner was exceptional in flight, accuracy and control as Champs hit back to restrict Rockets to 131 for 9. Rockets’ openers Wavell Hinds and Sachin Dholpure were associated in a 61-run stand for the opening wicket in 9.2 overs in what seemed to be good batting conditions. Hinds struck a typically composed 33-ball 30 while Sachin Dholpure was the second highest scorer for Rockets with 29 runs off 27 balls. But once Michael Kasprowicz broke through by trapping Dholpure lbw in the tenth over, Rockets lost their way and conceded wickets at regular intervals to be restricted at 131/9.Champs’ start was not bright though but Raviraj Patil (65) was more lubricated in his stroke-making and played with a lot more ease, smashing three fours and three sixes before racing to his fifty in 33 balls. In the process, he first shared a 41-run stand with Nathan Astle and then conjured up 32 runs with Kiran Powar. Once both of them departed, it was up to Patil and Khanolkar to guide Champs home with the Mumbai side needing 23 runs off 22 balls. Brief scores: Ahmedabad Rockets :131/9 in 20 overs (Wavell Hinds 30, S Dholpure 29, A Yadav 4/14)lost to Mumbai Champs :135/4 in 19.4 overs (R Patil 65 n o, , J Gillespie 2/27)
