New Delhi [India], December 2 : A record-breaking century from 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a statement ton from Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan and other fine performances from a returning Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Devdutt Padikkal and Abhishek Sharma were the highlights of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday.
In Kolkata, Vaibhav Suryavanshi turned heads with an unbeaten 61-ball 108, hitting seven fours and seven sixes, after a slow start with scores of 14, 13, and 5 in his first three SMAT knocks. This impressive innings helped Bihar post 176 for 3. He became the youngest batter to score a century in SMAT at the age of 14 years and 250 days against Maharashtra.
Suryavanshi's three centuries in 2025 are the joint-most by an Indian, alongside Abhishek Sharma, while Ayush Mhatre and Ishan Kishan have two hundreds each.
Suryavanshi's impressive knock could not help Bihar get a win-win, as Maharashtra captain Prithvi Shaw continued his fine domestic run with a blistering 30-ball 66, powering his team to a thrilling three-wicket victory with one over to spare. Shaw's knock consisted of 11 fours and a six, helping Maharashtra chase down 177.
Hardik made a sensational comeback to competitive cricket, scoring an unbeaten 77 off 42 balls to lead Baroda to a thrilling seven-wicket win over Punjab, smashing seven fours and four sixes to help Baroda chase down 223 against Punjab. He also took one wicket with the ball in hand, though he gave away 52 runs.
Punjab's innings got a boost from Abhishek Sharma's 19-ball fifty and Anmolpreet Singh's explosive 69 off 32 balls, consisting of seven fours and four sixes. But it was not enough as Baroda chased down the target with ease, winning by seven wickets.
In Mumbai's clash with Assam, Mumbai put on a massive 220/4 on the board, with a 47-ball ton from Sarfaraz Khan (100* with eight fours and seven sixes) and Ajinkya Rahane's 32-ball with five fours playing a crucial role. Later on, Shardul's 5/23 in three overs wrapped up the Assam innings in just 19.1 overs for 120 runs.
The clash between Jharkhand and Saurashtra saw Ishan Kishan (93 in 50 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes) taking his side to 209/8 with his captain's knock. Saurashtra was bundled out for 125 in 15.1 overs, with Prerak Mankad (39 in 19 balls, with six fours and two sixes) being the top-scorer. Anukul Roy (3/25) continued his fine all-round run in the tournament, having chipped in a quick-fire 27 in 18 balls earlier.
Delhi Cricket continued to hit new lows, registering their first-ever loss to Tripura in domestic cricket history. While youngsters Digvesh Rathi and Suyash Sharma took two wickets each to restrict Tripura to 157/5 with their masterful spin, they were restricted to 145/8 in their 20 overs, with skipper Nitish Rana (45 in 40 balls, with five fours) being the top-scorer. Manisankar Murasingh (2/19) and Viki Saha (2/29) pulled Delhi back with their brilliant spells.
Indian pace star Mohammed Siraj (1/16) delivered a brilliant four-over spell to restrict UP to 127 all out in 19.2 overs, with Rinku Singh (14) flopping. Tanmay Agarwal (43 in 26 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) top-scored for Hyderabad, as they chased down the total with three wickets and 17 balls in hand.
Turning attention to Ahmedabad, Paddikal's 46-ball 102, with 10 fours and 10 sixes, took Karnataka to 245/3 against Tamil Nadu. TN's chase was a failure, as they were bowled out for just 100 in 14.2 overs, with N Jagadeesan's 21 being the top score. B Sai Sudharsan managed just 8. Karnataka's legspinning duo of Shreyas Gopal and Pravin Dubey picked up three wickets each.
In Kolkata, Arjun Tendulkar, having recently traded to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), shone bright in Goa's impressive win over Madhya Pradesh, taking 3 for 36 and helping restrict MP to 170 for 6. His crucial wickets included Venkatesh Iyer for 5. Goa chased down the target with ease, winning by seven wickets with nine balls to spare, thanks to Abhinav Tejrana's 55 off 33 and Suyash Prabhudessai's unbeaten 75 off 50.