Sarfaraz’s brilliant performance helped Mumbai win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time
Domestic cricket giant Mumbai defeated Himachal Pradesh by three wickets in the final to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title for the first time. For Mumbai, spinner Tanush Koten took three wickets for 15 runs and medium pacer Mohit Awasthi took three wickets for 21 runs. Batting first, Himachal Pradesh scored 143 runs for eight wickets. In reply, Mumbai lost early wickets but Sarfaraz scored 36 runs in 31 balls to give victory to the team with three balls to spare.
Mumbai’s decision to field first proved right when Mohit dismissed Himachal wicketkeeper Ankush Bains (four) and Sumit Verma (eight) in the first five overs. Spinner Tanush gave a double blow to Himachal in the eighth over. First he sent Nikhil Gangta (22) to the pavilion and then took the wicket of Nitin Sharma. Himachal’s score was 52 runs for five wickets. In the lower order, Akash Vashisht (25), Ekant Sen (37) and Mayank Dagar (21 not out) played useful innings.
Mumbai had a poor start when Prithvi Shaw (11) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane (1) were dismissed cheaply. Yashasvi Jaiswal (27) and Shreyas Iyer (34) shared a 41-run partnership which was broken by Mayank Dagar. Mumbai’s score was 119 for seven at one time, after which Sarfaraz took one end and led the team to victory. Mumbai needed 23 runs in the last two overs and Sarfaraz hit two fours and a six in the 19th over. In the last over, Tanush took two runs off the first ball but the second ball remained empty. Tanush hit a six off the next ball.
