Mumbai's underfire batter Prithvi Shaw had a disappointing outing with a three-ball duck but India's T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube returned to action in style with blistering knocks against Services in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024.
Unimpressive start
Services skipper Mohit Ahlawat won the toss and opted to bowl first. Poona Poonia knocked over Shaw with the third ball of the innings. In five matches he has played in the tournament, he has two ducks so far. On three occassions, he hasn't been able to convert starts into big scores.
In-form Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer hit for fours in his 14-ball 20. He was dismissed by Vikas Yadav. Ajinkya Rahane could not carry on either and fell to Amit Shukla in the ninth over for an 18-ball 22.
Surya-Dube go berserk
While Suryakumar joined Mumbai for his first match of SMAT 2024, Dube who missed the T20I series against Bangladesh and South Africa made a comeback. They did not look out of touch at all and went after Services bowlers. The spinners were no match for the attacking duo as they shared a 130-run partnership in just 66 balls. Suryakumar hit four sixes and seven fours in his 46-ball 70. He was dismissed by Vishal Gaur in the final over. Dube remained unbeaten for 71 off 37 deliveries. He hit as many as seven sixes and a couple of fours. They helped Mumbai post 192/4.
Thakur makes the new ball talk
Services' run chase got off to a horrible start. Shardul Thakur dismissed Nitin Tanwar off fourth ball of the innings. In his second over, he struck twice to dismiss Kuwar Pathak and Vineet Dhankhar. He was destructive in the powerplay overs and knocked over Gaurav Kochar. After three lackluster matches where he went for plenty and going unsold in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, Thakur has made an emphatic comeback.
Ahlawat's fifty, cameos in vain
Skipper Ahlawat and Vikas Hathwala steadied the ship in the middle overs. They shared a 74-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Hathwala struggled to score freely and got out caught and bowled for 24-ball 22. In the next over, Shams Mulani struck off consecutive balls to dismiss Ahlawat and Vikas. The captain scored 54 runs from 40 balls including three fours and as many sixes. Mohit Rathee and Poonia tried to revive the run chase. Rathee fell to Mulani for a 11-ball 20 whereas Poonia got out lbw to Dube for a 13-ball 19. Services were bowled out for 153 in 19.3 overs as they lost the match by 40 runs.
