CCL2026: Madan Mohan crafts first win for Kerala Strikers; knock out Mumbai Heroes from tournament
CCL2026: After losing to the Bengal Tigers, the Mumbai Heroes were desperate for a win, but that was not to be, with Unni Mukundan’s team comfortably chasing down the target
Last Updated: 12.21 AM, Jan 19, 2026
The last match of the Vizag weekend of Celebrity Cricket League was a do-or-die situation for one team, the Mumbai Heroes, who’d lost against the Bengal Tigers only a day earlier. Another loss would knock them out of the tournament, like last year’s champion Punjab De Sher. This time, they were up against the Kerala Strikers, who are back in the league after missing Season 11. They set what looked like a formidable total, but Madan Mohan’s solid innings of 74 from only 30 balls clinched victory for the Strikers.
Navdeep Tomar at centre of Mumbai Heroes’ score
It’s a surprise that the Mumbai Heroes were able to amass a total of 191 runs in their allotted 20 overs, what with 4 batsmen departing without contributing to that score. The innings rested heavily on Navdeep Tomar’s half century, beside the openers, Shabbir and Saqib, as well as Sharad Kelkar. It helped that the Kerala Strikers gave away 17 runs as extras.
The first wicket fell with the score at 44, as did the second, with Rajeev departing on a duck, immediately after replacing Saqib. Shabir departed with the score on 65, but then, Sharad Kelkar and Navdeep steadied the ship and their partnership played an important part in the team getting to the final total. The question, though, was whether it would be enough to keep the Strikers at bay.
In the first match of the day, the Chennai Kings had chased down 185, but then lost in the super over to the Bengal Tigers. In fact, the Tigers had chased 200 and won in their first match, so, even though the required run was close to 10 per over from the word go, it was nothing a few big overs couldn’t remedy.
Kerala Strikers
Unni joined Arjun Kumar to kickstart the chase albeit cautiously with nothing flamboyant. They ran between the wickets, more often than sending the ball to the boundary. They were cruising along fine, until Heroes captain Riteish Deshmukh send the stumps flying behind Unni. He’d made 18 and the team score was 42. Arjun departed with the score on 71. By the halfway mark, the Strikers were at 76-2; in comparison the Heroes were at 79-3 after 10 overs.
Also read: CCL2026: Asgar Khan and Manoj Tiwari lead Bhojpuri Dabanggs to victory over the Telugu Warriors
But then Jean mistimed a heave to the boundary, which landed in the fielder’s hands, just when it looked like he would give the team the acceleration they needed at that stage, what with the required run rate on the rise with every ball. The singles were not going to cut it; the Strikers needed the big shots and those began to come in from the bat of Madan Mohan.
Incidentally, in the 2015 season of CCL, Madan’s inclusion in the squad had been questioned by the Karnataka Bulldozers and the Telugu Warriors, claiming that he had first-class cricket experience and should, therefore, not be allowed to play in the tournament. Well, he’s back with the team.
Madan and Vivek’s partnership was broken with the Strikers needing 14 of 11 balls. Although they lost another wicket quickly, Madan knew he could steer his team to victory and he did in style with a massive 6 to seal the deal.
CCL2026 now moves to Coimbatore for the next leg of the group stage, which will determine the top 4 teams. Punjab De Sher and Mumbai Heroes have been knocked out.
CCL2026 is streaming on JioHotstar (available via OTTplay Premium also). The league matches resume on January 23.
CCL FAQs
Q. When is Season 12 of CCL starting?
A. Season 12 of the Celebrity Cricket League begins on January 16, 2026. Eight teams are in the fray, with the winner getting a prize of Rs 50L.
Q. Which team is the defending champions of CCL?
A. Punjab De Sher is the reigning champions of CCL.