Mumbai overtakes MP by 5 wickets to win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Mumbai were stretched on more than one occasion while chasing 175, a target MP built around skipper Rajat Patidar’s unbeaten 81, on a slightly cheesy pitch, but they eventually reached 180 for five in 17.5 overs.

This was Mumbai’s second SMAT title after first winning it in 2022, while MP’s wait for a maiden trophy stretched into another season.

After a brief lull, Suryakumar Yadav reignited his run-making methods and added 52 runs for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane.

This helped Mumbai recover from early dismissals of Prithvi Shaw and skipper Shreyas Iyer, both of whom fell to rather causal shots.

Just when it looked like the two veteran batters would take Mumbai home, Rahane hit Venkatesh Iyer straight into Rahul Batham’s hands at deep.

Suryakumar soon followed, edging Shivam Shukla to Avesh Khan at short, fine leg.

At 129 for five in 14.4 overs, Mumbai needed 46 runs, but any worries were quickly allayed by big hitters Suryansh Sheedge and Atharva Ankolekar who knocked out the remaining runs without much fanfare in just over three overs.

Earlier, Patidar shone by hammering his fifth fifty of this tournament.

The right-hander, who was retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, entertained a crowd of over 15,000, who supported him and MP till the end, with some scintillating shots.

In fact, Patidar single-handedly held the MP innings, the next highest being a 23 from Shubhranshu Senapati.

Madhya Pradesh had a rather calm start to the innings after losing openers Arpit Gaud and Harsh Gawli.

They reached 38 for two in the Power Play, which then rose to 114 for five in 15 overs.

However, Patidar found an effective ally in Batham as he added 56 runs for the sixth wicket as MP added 60 runs in the last five overs.

Patidar, a clean ball striker, has also raised the level of his game, as indicated by a superb pass to six over the line, Shardul Thakur.

But individual brilliance was not enough to stop the Mumbai heavyweight on the night.

Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh: 174/8 in 20 overs lost to Mumbai: 180/5 in 17.5 overs by 5 wickets.

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