Mumbai Win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Beat MP By 5 Wickets

Domestic giants Mumbai Won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 after defeating Madya Pradesh by five wickets.

Bengaluru:Domestic giants Mumbai added another Trophy to their glittering cabin as they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 after defeating Madya Pradesh by five wickets in a pulsating final held here on Sunday. The Chandrakant Pandit led Madhya Pradesh ended as runners up. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the domestic T20 championship.

It was Suyash Shedge, whose unbeaten cameo of 36 runs off 15 balls, sealed the game for Mumbai, which had batters like Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw in their ranks.

Put into bat, Madhya Pradesh put on a respectable 174 for 8 on the board in their 20 overs, as they rode on skipper Rajat Patidar's blistering unbeaten 81 off just 40 balls. Patidar toyed with a formidable Mumbai attack and hammered six fours and as many sixes in his innings at the famed M Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

However, Patidar was devoid of partners as Mumbai kept on taking wickets at regular intervals. For Mumbai Shardul Thakur (2/41) and Royston Dias (2/32) picked two wickets each while Atharva Ankolekar (1/19), Suyash Shedge (1/32) and Shivam Dube (1/27) took a wicket each. Chasing 175, Mumbai lost opener Prithvi Shaw (10) early. One down Shreyas Iyer (16) also perished cheaply.

But then two senior batters Ajinkya Rahane and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav took the onus on themselves and added 52 runs for the third wicket to being back Mumbai into the game. Inform Rahane made 30 ball 37 and struck four boundaries while Surya was more aggressive as he scored a quickfire 48 off 35 balls. Surya hammered four boundaries and three sixes.

MP however kept the game alive by sending back Rahane and Shivam Dube (9) to the pavilion in quick succession. When Surya fell, Mumbai's score was 129 and it was then on Shedge and Athava Ankolekar to finish the game. The duo added unbroken 51 runs in just 19 balls for the sixth wicket as Mumbai finished the chase with 13 balls to spare.

Ankolekar finished the game with a towering six off Tripuresh Singh as celebrations erupted in the Mumbai dressing room. Shedge was adjourned as the Player of the Match while Rahane won the Player of the Series Award. Mumbai Cricket Association President Ajinkya Naik congratulated the victorious Mumbai team.

"Congratulations to the Mumbai team for winning the BCCI Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024! A remarkable achievement showcasing true grit and teamwork," Naik told ETV Bharat.