Shreyas Iyer played a dominating knock against Vidarbha to help Mumbai register a comprehensive five-wicket win to reach the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022. Iyer scored a match-winning 44-ball 73 in the middle over to make the run chase look easy at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
In the run chase of 165, Mumbai lost their skipper Ajinkya Rahane (5) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) early in the innings to Darshan Nalkande. Opener Prithvi Shaw did what he does best and used the fielding restrictions to hit three sixes and two boundaries in his cameo of 21-ball 34 to help Mumbai release the pressure.
In the middle overs, wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Khan played second fiddle to Shreyas. In the 14th over, he reached his half-century with as six off Yash Thakur from 33 deliveries. After getting the milestone, Shreyas decided to end the run chase early and hit three more boundaries in the over. He took Mumbai to the doorstep of victory before getting dismissed by Akshay Karnewar in the 16th over. His 73-run knock was studded with seven fours and four sixes.
Sarfaraz lost his wicket in the next over as well after a 19-ball 27 but Shivam Dube finished the run chase with a couple of sixes to guide Mumbai over the line with 19 balls to spare.
“I am happy that I took it till the end. My mindset was to stay in the attacking mode. Dew factor played an important part as well. We tried to punish the loose balls. The spinners also didn't get much turn,” Shreyas said in the post-match presentation.
Earlier Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar won the toss and opted to bat first. Sanjay Raghunath (4) and Wadkar perished in the powerplay overs. Atharva Taide (29) got a good start but could not covert it into a big score. Apporv Wankhade (34) got a start as well but could not carry on. The middle overs were dull for Vidarbha. It was only wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma's unbeaten 24-ball 46 which took Vidarbha to 164/7.
Mumbai, Shams Mulani turned out to be the most successful bowler as he took three wickets for 20 runs in his quota of four overs.
Mumbai will now take on Rishi Dhawan-led Himachal Pradesh in the final of the tournament at the same venue on November 5.
