Mumbai T20 Fight Andrew Flintoff Celebration. Image Credits: X
The final for the Mumbai T20 League 2026 took place on Saturday, with Arcs Andheri taking on MSC Maratha Royals at Wankhede Stadium. And what happened once the match was over reminded fans of Andre Flintoff, England’s one of the most decorated all-rounders, alongside Ben Stokes and Sir Ian Botham.
Flintoff, fondly called ‘Freddie’, stripped his shirt off back in 2002 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium when England defeated India in a nail-biting thriller to level a six-match ODI series with a 3-3 scoreline.
Even though Sourav Ganguly, the then India captain, took his revenge within a few months by taking off his T-shirt at Lord’s following India’s win over England at the NatWest Series Final, Flintoff’s celebration will always be remembered, especially because it does not happen very often on the cricket field.
It is a celebration done by footballers whenever they score winning goals during the latter half of the games. However, a Mumbai T20 League Fight forced Rohan Raje, a 39-year-old veteran, to recreate the same.
Mumbai T20 League Fight Turns Up The Heat
Rohan Raje was once part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League. He represented the franchise in 2008 and 2009, playing 10 matches and picking up 6 wickets.
Raje was once again in the limelight on Saturday while coming to defend 14 runs in the final over. He began with a dot, followed by a bye and then again two consecutive dot deliveries.
Moin Naushad Khan then smashed a four off Raje’s penultimate delivery, but the equation, by then, was down to 9 runs off 1 delivery. All Raje needed to do was bowl a legal delivery, and he finished things off in style by bowling a dot.
Within seconds, Raje took off his MSC Maratha Royals jersey and threw it up in the air, just like how it happens in football.
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The high-adrenaline celebration that Raje did was largely due to Mumbai T20 League fight, which took centre stage throughout the game. In fact, it was something that does not happen in the IPL these days, as players have become friendly off the field rather than competitive.
MSC Maratha Royals Win Back-To-Back Mumbai T20 League Titles
Just like it happens very regularly, MSC Maratha Royals win back-to-back Mumbai T20 League titles. India won the T20 World Cup in consecutive seasons, and so did Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL.
In fact, even in football, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) successfully defended their title.
Let’s not forget the fact that MSC Maratha Royals, led by Siddhesh Lad, qualified for the knock-out stages of the Mumbai T20 League 2026 as the fourth team, winning three out of five matches.
Therefore, winning it from there was a major accomplishment for them.
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