Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane played a terrific knock of 95 while Suryansh Shedge took three scalps in Mumbai's dominant display against Odisha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). This victory saw Mumbai continue their superb form in the tournament and remain at the top of Elite Group A after winning six out of their seven games.
After winning the toss and being invited to bowl first, Odisha had a poor start thanks to Mumbai skipper Shardul Thakur, who got the wicket of opener Subhranshu Senapati for just a single run in the second over. The Odisha batters tried to score runs freely, but failed to increase their run-rate by a big margin and ended up losing their second wicket during the seventh over.
ALSO READ: SMAT: CSK batter plays match-winning knock of 83 as Maharashtra hand Goa 15-run defeat
The likes of Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar and Sairaj Patil ensured that Odisha kept on losing wickets on regular intervals and got restricted down to 119/6 at one stage. Shedge would complete his 3-fer with the wicket of Soumya Ranjan Lenka as Odisha lost their seventh scalp for 146 runs. Sarbeswar Mohanty's impactful cameo of 21 runs from just five deliveries ensured that Odisha got to a respectable total of 167/7 in 20 overs.
Mumbai began the chase strong
In reply, Mumbai openers Ajinkya Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan provided the team with a strong start to the chase. The duo played some brilliant shots as the side's total crossed the 50-run mark in no time. Rahane in particular looked to be in sensational form and punished the opposing bowlers. Odisha would eventually get the much-needed breakthrough as they dismissed Sarfaraz for 28 runs and brought the 74-run opening stand to an end.
One-sided victory for Mumbai
However, next batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi completely took the game away from Odisha alongside Rahane. The duo's fantastic hitting ensured that Mumbai topped the Elite Group A with a comprehensive 9-wicket victory over Odisha in the SMAT. While Rahane remained unbeaten on 95 and was clearly the team's star performer, Raghuvanshi also played a valiant knock of 37 as Shardul Thakur & Co. chased down the target of 168 in just 16 overs.