Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur who picked a three-wicket haul against Nagaland in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket championship Group E match at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Sunday, December 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
Mumbai, which suffered a disappointing defeat against Kerala in the previous round, couldn’t have expected a far easier opposition than Nagaland and it expectedly pulled off a convincing, seven-wicket win in a Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket Group E match at Gymkhana Ground here on Sunday.
Batting first, Nagaland put up a dismal show but for opener Dega Nischal (42, 39b, 7×4), who played some fluent strokes on either side of the wicket. Captain R. Jonathan (24, 25b, 4×4) happened to be the only other Nagaland batter to cross double-figures as the team eventually posted a below-par total of 107 on a beautiful T20 wicket.
The Mumbai pace duo of Shardul Thakur — putting behind the disappointing show against Kerala (4-0-69-1) in the previous game — and Mohit Avasthi bowled well to pick three wickets apiece.
In reply, Prithvi Shaw and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were slow to start scoring 28 in the first five overs, a phase which also saw the former dropped on five, going for a big heave, at deep square-leg off leggie Khrievitso Kense.
Mumbai Prithvi Shaw, who scored a breezy knock against Nagaland in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket championship Group E match at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Sunday, December 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
But once Shaw and Raghuvanshi decided to open up, it was pretty obvious it was going to turn out to be a mismatch as the two put on 77 in 9.2 overs. Shaw (40, 29b, 3×4, 3×6), who earlier hit three towering sixes, was bowled trying to swing Lemtur but not before giving glimpses of his class with some wonderful strokes.
At the other end, Raghuvanshi (41 n.o., 31b, 5×4, 1×6) was more solid and displayed controlled aggression, not hesitating even to play a beautifully timed reverse sweep besides some flowing drives in the ‘V’ to guide Mumbai to an easy win.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi who scored a fluent 41 against Nagaland in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T-20 cricket championship Group E match at Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Sunday, December 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
In another match at Uppal Stadium, Andhra, thanks to half-centuries by K. Srikar Barat (63, 39b, 6×4, 3×6) and captain Ricky Bhui (84, 35b, 10×4, 5×6) and a three-wicket haul apiece by pacers C. Stephen and K.V. Sasikanth scored its fourth win defeating Services by 23 runs.
The scores: Group E: At Gymkhana: Nagaland 107 in 19.4 overs (Dega Nischal 42, Shardul Thakur 3-12, Mohit Avasthi three for 10) lost to Mumbai 108/3 in 12.1 overs (Prithvi Shaw 40, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 41 n.o.).
At Uppal: Andhra 222/8 in 20 overs (K. Srikar Bharat 63, Ricky Bhui 84) bt Services 199/9 in 20 overs (Rajat Paliwal 33, Vineet Dhankhar 51, Mohit Ahlawat 74, C. Stephen 3/26, K.V. Sasikanth 3/50).
Published – December 01, 2024 06:16 pm IST
