New Delhi [India], November 30 : Centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and back-to-back tons from Ayush Mhatre were the highlights of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy action on Sunday.
Opening the innings with Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek tore into a Bengal attack led by Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep. He scored at more than 15 runs per over against both pacers, as well as Saksham Choudhary and Writtick Chatterjee. He reached his fifty with five fours and five sixes, facing just one dot ball in the 12 deliveries it took to get there. Although he never quite threatened Sahil Chauhan's record for the fastest T20 hundred (27 balls), Abhishek did bring up his century in 32 balls.
Abhishek finished on a stunning 148 off 52 deliveries, laced with eight fours and 16 sixes. He already shares the record for the second-fastest T20 century, a 28-ball effort alongside Urvil Patel, who achieved his for Gujarat against Tripura, both of whom came last season.
Punjab posted a massive 310/5 in their 20 overs. Prabhsimran smashed 70 off 35 balls, though his innings was overshadowed by Abhishek's carnage. Punjab's 310 is now the second-highest total in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history, behind Baroda's 349/5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024.
The fastest fifty in men's T20 cricket belongs to Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee, who blasted it against Mongolia in nine balls at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. India's Ashutosh Sharma sits second on the list with his 11-ball fifty for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Akash Deep (2/55) and Mohammed Shami (1/61) did get wickets, but were at the end of receiving a brutal hammering from Punjab batters. In reply, Bengal posted 198/9 in 20 overs, with Abhimanyu Easwaran, the skipper, shining with an unbeaten 130* in 66 balls, with 12 fours and eight sixes. Harpreet Brar (4/23) and Gurnoor Brar (2/40) were the pick of the bowlers for Punjab.
In the clash between Jharkhand and Tripura, Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan shined with an unbeaten 113* in 50 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes as his side chased down 183 set by Tripura with 15 balls and eight wickets in hand. Vijay Shankar (59 in 41 balls, with eight fours and a six) played a standout knock for Tripura as they reached 182/7 in 20 overs. All-rounder Anukul Roy (2/29) bowled a tight spell for Jharkhand.
Mhatre, who had smashed a brutal 110* against Vidarbha, smashed a back-to-back T20 century, starring in a wicket win for Mumbai against Andhra Pradesh. Mumbai chased down the 160 set by AP, with Mhatre (104* in 59 balls, with five fours and nine sixes) and Suryakumar Yadav (31* in 21 balls, with a four and two sixes) standing tall with 28 balls in hand.
In the clash against Chhattisgarh, Sanju Samson starred with an unbeaten 43* in just 15 balls, with two fours and five sixes as Kerala chased down 121 set in just 10.4 overs.
The clash between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh saw MP skipper Rajat Patidar bag the 'Player of the Match' award on his return to competitive cricket. His 43* in just 20 balls, with five fours and two sixes and a fine 49 from keeper-batter Harsh Gawali (49 in 42 balls, with five fours) took MP to 184/7 in 20 overs. Vipraj Nigam (2/36) was the pick of the bowlers for UP, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar also got a wicket. Despite a fighting knock of 65 in 42 balls (with four boundaries and four sixes) by Rinku Singh, UP was bundled out for 147 runs in 18.4 overs.
Delhi secured a nail-biting 10 runs win over Saurashtra in their Group D clash. Skipper Nitish Rana (76 in 47 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) and Yash Dhull (47 in 30 balls, with seven fours and a six) led Delhi's charge to 207/4 in their 20 overs. Prerak Mankad (50 in 28 balls, with three fours and three sixes), keeper-batter Harvik Desai (32 in 19 balls, with five fours and a six), and Ruchit Ahir (39 in 21 balls, with two fours and two sixes) tried their level best, but their side was restricted to 197/5 in 20 overs, with spinner Suyash Sharma getting three of these wickets for 20 runs in four overs.
In a moderately-scoring match between Baroda and Himachal Pradesh in Group C, RCB star Jitesh Sharma (41 in 19 balls, with three fours and four sixes) showcased his finishing abilities, chasing down 143 set by HP in 17.1 overs with five wickets in hand.
The clash between Karnataka and Rajasthan was a nail-biter. Put to bat first by Karnataka, Rajasthan put up 201/5 on the board, powered by knocks from Mahipal Lomror (48* in 30 balls. with seven fours) and Deepak Hooda (43 in 28 balls, with six fours and a six). Despite a half-century from Karun Nair (51 in 32 balls, with six fours and a six) and a fine knock by Ravichandran Smaran (48* in 31 balls, with two fours and two sixes), Karnataka fell a run short, ending at 200/8 in 20 overs, with Kamlesh Nagarkoti (3/52) being a notable contributor with the ball for Rajasthan.
Sai Sudharsan, India's designated Test number three failed yet again, scoring just one as his side, Tamil Nadu, chased 165 set by Uttarakhand with a fiery R Rajkumar (93* in 43 balls, with six fours and eight sixes) leading the team to win with five wickets and 17 balls in hand.
India's rising 14-year-old star Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued his poor show, scoring just five runs as Bihar failed to chase 160 set by Jammu and Kashmir, as Aquib Nabi (4/16) restricted Bihar to 125/9.