Dashing opener Prithvi Shaw's blazing blade decimated Mizoram as Mumbai started their campaign in style with a nine-wicket victory in the opening group A league match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Rajkot on Tuesday.
After Mizoram were restricted at 98 for 8 in 20 overs, Mumbai racked up the required runs in just 10.3 overs with Shaw remaining unbeaten on 55 off 34 balls. He and Aman Hakim Khan (39 not out off 22 balls) added 91 runs in just 8.4 overs to finish off the match in a jiffy.
When Mizoram batted, Shreevats Goswami (31) was the only significant scorer but the seasoned Mumbai attack led by Dhawal Kulkarni kept the minnows under check.
Dhawal and spin twins Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian got a couple of wickets apiece.
When Mumbai started the chase, skipper Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed cheaply for 9 but Shaw smashed nine fours and a six to quickly finish the proceedings. Aman also hit five fours and two sixes.
Summarised Scores (Group A)
Mizoram: 98/8 (Shreevats Goswami 31, Dhawal Kulkarni 2/16, Tanush Kotian 2/12, Shams Mulani 2/20). Mumbai 103/1 in 10.3 overs (Prithvi Shaw 55 not out off 34 balls, Ajinkya Rahane 9). Mumbai won by 9 wickets
Railways: 150/6 (Upendra Yadav 67 off 52 balls, B Vivek Singh 68 off 49 balls, A Madhwal 4/25). Uttarakhand 154/3 (Jiwanjot Singh 77 not out off 55 balls). Uttarakhand won by 7 wickets.
Assam: 161/5 (Rahul Hazarika 68 off 52 balls, Riyan Parag 19, Darshan Nalkande 2/31). Vidarbha 162/4 (Akshay Wadkar 49 off 38 balls, Aman Mokhade 40 off 32 balls). Vidarbha won by 6 wickets.
Delhi make first use of 'Impact Player' in win over Manipur
Jaipur: Delhi made the first and smart use of the 'Impact Player' option to outplay Manipur by 71 runs in their opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Tuesday.
Opener Hiten Dalal smashed a 27-ball 47 to push Delhi to 167 for seven. The Nitish Rana led squad then decided to replace Dalal with off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen, who took a couple of wickets in his three over spell as Manipur were bundled out for 96 in response.
Impact Player rule allows a team to make a tactical substitution in the middle of the game.
Shokeen had made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians earlier this year
Making his senior T20 debut after making a mark as a first class cricketer, India U-19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull struck 24 off 23 balls, including a six and four.
Ayush Badoni, who grabbed eyeballs while playing for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, came up with an important 15-ball 20. Himmat Singh provided the late flourish with a seven-ball 25 that included six boundaries.
Delhi boast a potent pace attack in the presence of 100-Test veteran Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini but debutant medium pacer Mayank Yadav's two for 23 in four overs stood out.
Ishant, who is eyeing a national comeback via a successful domestic season, picked up the wicket of Manipur opener Nitesh Sedai to end with figures of 1 for 17 in three overs.
Delhi, who failed to make the knockouts across the three formats in the last domestic season, is aiming for a turnaround under new management led by captain Rana and head coach Abhay Sharma.
They await tougher battles in Group B which also has the likes of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
Meanwhile in other Group B matches, Goa too got off to a winning start with a five wicket victory over Tripura while UP won against Puducherry by 10 wickets via VJD method.
Mohit, Mishra star in thrilling win for Haryana
Mullanpur: Seasoned seamer Mohit Sharma and veteran spinner Amit Mishra dug deep into their reserves as Haryana edged out Services by 1 run in a thrilling group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Batting first, Haryana were all out for 126 in 18.2 overs with Sumit Kumar (24) and Shivam Chouhan (23) crossing the 20-run mark. Off-spinner Pulkit Narang took 3/18 for Services.
In reply, Services were cruising along at 78 for 3 in the 15th over but ultimately finished at 125 for 7 in 20 overs.
Mishra was the best Haryana bowler with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs while Rahul Tewatia in his 2 overs got 2/18.
Mohit, who in 2015, was an India white-ball regular, got 1/24 in 4 overs.
Services skipper Rajat Paliwal top-scored with 35.
Summarised Scores
Haryana 126 all out in 18.2 overs (Sumit Kumar 24, Pulkit Narang 3/18).
Services 125/7 in 20 overs (Rajat Paliwal 35, Amit Mishra 2/21, Rahul Tewatia 2/18). Haryan won by 1 run.
Jammu and Kashmir 81/3 in 9 overs (Abdul Samad 22 off 12 balls)
Meghalaya 85/2 in 7.3 overs (Punit Bisht 51 not out off 23 balls). Meghalaya won by 8 wickets.
Karnataka 215/2 (Devdutt Padikkal 124 off 62 balls, Manish Pandey 50)
Maharashtra 116/8 (Vidhwath Kaderappa 3/19). Karnataka won by 99 runs.
Chhattisgarh pip defending champions TN in thriller
Former Andhra pacer M Ravi Kiran bowled a perfect final over as Chhattisgarh stunned defending champions Tamil Nadu by six runs in their group E Syed Mushtaq Ali opener here on Tuesday.
Chasing 133, the reigning champions needed just nine runs from the final over with G Ajitesh looking in ominous form with three sixes and one boundary, while Shahrukh Khan was at the other end.
But all hell broke loose as the tall former Andhra pacer dismissed Shahrukh Khan (11; 9b), R Sai Kishore (0) and Ajitesh (23; 8b) in four balls, before Varun Chakravarthy (0) had a suicidal runout to be restricted to 126/9. The 31-year-old returned with fine figures of 4-0-26-3.
Tamil Nadu got off to a jittery start when opener Narayan Jagadeesan (7) fell cheaply inside fourth over and it was Hari Nishaanth (33), who came in as an Impact Player replacing T Natarajan, who built the early damage, adding 37-run for the second wicket with skipper Baba Aparajith (18).
Opting to bat, Chhattisgarh managed just 132/5 in the stipulated 20 overs which came courtesy skipper Harpreet Singh's valiant 40-ball 49, studded with two sixes and two fours.
But he failed to convert his start becoming Varun Chakravarthy's second victim (2/12). Just when they were staring down the barrel, Ajay Mandal propped up the total with a 32-ball 38 not out with three sixes and one four.
Brief Scores
Chhattisgarh 132/5; 20 overs (Harpreet Singh 49, Ajay Mandal 38 not out; Varun Chakravarthy 2/12). Tamil Nadu 126/9; 20 overs (Hari Nishaanth 33, G Ajitesh 23; Ravi Kiran 3/26, Sahban Khan 2/21). Chhattisgarh won by six runs. Points: Chhattisgarh 4, Tamil Nadu 0.
Sikkim 100/6; 20 overs (Pankaj Rawat 34; Jayanta Behera 2/19). Odisha 101/1; 15.2 overs (Anshy Rath 33 not out, Subhranshu Senapati 33 not out). Odisha won nine wickets. Points: Odisha 4, Sikkim 0.
Bengal v Jharkhand: Match abandoned without a ball bowled. Points: Bengal 2, Jharkhand 2.
