NEW DELHI: Ayush Mhatre lit up the evening with a stunning 53 ball 110 not out, steering Mumbai to a comfortable seven wicket win over Vidarbha in their Elite Group A clash of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Friday.
Supported by India all rounder Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 39, the defending champions chased down 193 with ease, finishing at 194 for 3 in 17.5 overs at the Ekana Stadium.
The 18 year old left hander dominated the on side with eight sixes in a breakthrough knock that rescued Mumbai from early trouble. They slipped to 21 for 2 after Ajinkya Rahane fell for a duck and Hardik Tamore departed for 1.
Suryakumar Yadav continued to show signs of rhythm, scoring a fluent 35 off 30 while adding 88 for the third wicket with Mhatre. His dismissal in the 12th over brought Dube to the middle, and the pair accelerated sharply, adding 85 from only 35 balls.
Vidarbha had earlier posted 192 for 9, courtesy half centuries from Atharva Taide (64) and Aman Mokhade (61). Their opening stand of 115 inside ten overs gave them a strong launchpad, but Dube’s 3 for 31 and Sairaj Patil’s 3 for 33 kept the target within reach.
Samson falls cheaply as Kerala suffer defeat
In the morning fixture, Sanju Samson scored a patient 19 from 25 balls before falling to Karn Sharma, with Kerala failing to recover from their slow start. They managed only 117 for 8 in reply to Railways’ 149 for 7, losing the contest by 32 runs.
Andhra and Assam cruise to victories
Andhra dismissed Odisha for 118 in 17.2 overs after Prithvi Raj Yarra (3 for 4) and Saurabh Kumar (3 for 23) shared six wickets. Earlier, their total of 184 for 7 was shaped by KS Bharat’s 42, Ashwin Hebbar’s 39 and Ricky Bhui’s 47.
Assam capped the day with a 48 run win over Chhattisgarh. Skipper Sumit Ghadigaonkar struck 79 to lift them to 167 for 9, before Mukhtar Hossain ripped through the opposition with exceptional figures of 6 for 20 from four overs.
(With PTI Inputs)
