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Mumbai defeated Himachal Pradesh by three wickets in the final after producing a brilliant all-round performance to win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title at the Eden Gardens, on Saturday.
While batting first, Himachal posted a below-par total of 143/8 in 20 overs with the help of middle-order batter Ekant Sen who top-scored for them with his 37 off 29 balls. In reply, Mumbai chased down the target in 19.3 overs with three wickets in hand.
𝐂. 𝐇. 𝐀. 𝐌. 𝐏. 𝐈. 𝐎. 𝐍. 𝐒! 🏆 🙌
Say hello to the new #SyedMushtaqAliT20 winners – Mumbai! 👋
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/VajdciaA1p#HPvMUM | #Final | @MumbaiCricAssoc | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/gx1KN9aNyP
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 5, 2022
After being asked to bat first, Himachal lost two batters from their top three in the powerplay as they struggled against Mohit Awasthi’s swing bowling. However, Prashant Chopra and Nikhil Gangta gave their side a bit of revival by adding a 31-run stand from 23 balls for the third wicket.
But the partnership failed to continue as off-spinner Tanush Kotian took two wickets off successive deliveries in the eighth over to put Himachal in trouble at 51/4 in 7.3 overs.
Ekant and Akash Vasisht added a crucial 60-run stand from 46 deliveries between them to rescue Himachal from 58/6 in 9.4 overs to 118/7 in 17.2 overs. Akash scored 25 off 22 balls with three fours while Ekant scored 37 off 29 balls with three fours and two sixes.
In the end, Mayank Dagar’s late came of 21 off 12 balls with two fours and one six helped Himachal to put up a total of 143/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Mumbai were off to a poor start in the powerplay as captain Rishi Dhawan dismissed Prithvi Shaw for 11 (8) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane for 1 (5). However, in-form Shreyas Iyer along with Yashasvi Jaiswal added a valuable 41-run stand from 34 deliveries for the third wicket to take Mumbai from 28/2 in 4.2 overs to 69/3 in 9.5 overs.
Jaiswal scored 27 off 28 balls with three fours and one six before being dismissed by Dagar. Iyer then along with Sarfaraz Khan stitched a crucial 27-run stand from 21 deliveries as Mumbai were slowly getting close to their target. Iyer scored 34 (26) with four fours and one six before being dismissed.
However, when Iyer got out to Vaibhav Arora in the 14th over, Mumbai were at 96/4 in 13.2 overs needing only 48 runs in 40 balls. But, pacer Arora dismissed both Shivam Dube for 7 (9) and Aman Khan 6 (2) in the 17th over to bring Himachal back in the game. In the very next over, Shams Mulani was dismissed on 2 (3) by Dagar as Mumbai were in a tricky position at 119/7 in 17.4 overs needing 25 runs off 14 balls.
It was Sarfaraz, who rescued Mumbai out of trouble as he managed to hit one six and a four off the last two balls in the 19th over from Kanwar Abhinay to bring the equation to six runs off the last over.
With four runs needed off four balls, Kotian finished the game by hiting a six over the fine-leg boundary off Rishi as Mumbai won the match by three wickets with three balls to spare. Sarfaraz remained unbeaten in the end for his 36 runs off 31 balls with three fours and one six while Kotian was unbeaten on 9 off 5 balls with one six.
The pick of the bowler for Himachal was pacer Vaibhav Arora who took 3/27 from his four overs while Mayank Dagar was also good with 2/24 from his four overs.
With this victory, Mumbai clinched their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title and proved their dominance in the shortest format of the game.
Off-spinner Tanush Kotian was awarded Player of the Match for his brilliant 3/15 from his four overs, 2 catches in the field and 9 not out off 5 balls. “I was ready and just wanted to execute. Sarfaraz was giving me confidence and the way he played gave me confidence. So it gave me confidence that I could hit as well,” said Kotian.
“We had previously reached the semi and the quarter. We also lost the Ranji final so we did not want to repeat that feeling. We had good team unity and it paid off. In the semi final and final, having 140-150 runs on the board always makes the game close. I wanted to stay till the end and once I knew there would be five fielders in the ring, I knew it was going to favour me,” said Sarfaraz.
Brief scores: Himachal 143/8 in 20 overs (Ekant Sen 37, Akash Vasisth 25; Tanush Kotian 3-15, Mohit Avasthi 3-21) lost to Mumbai 146/7 in 19.3 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 36 not out, Shreyas Iyer 34; Vaibhav Arora 3-27, Mayank Dagar 2-24) by 3 wickets
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