Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Shreyas ton helps Mumbai beat Madhya Pradesh

On an overcast afternoon in front of a sizeable crowd, Shreyas and Suryakumar’s unbroken third wicket partnership of 138 runs — their third century stand in as many matches — meant Mumbai cruised to the target of 144 with eight wickets and four overs to spare.

Fans a give a standing ovation to Shreyas Iyer as he walks back to the pavilion after scoring a century in Indore on Sunday.

Mumbai may have moved to the Holkar Stadium from the far-off Emerald Heights International School but the script of its Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group C campaign remained the same.

An immaculate bowling effort, followed Shreyas Iyer (103 not out, 55b, 5x4, 10x6) and Suryakumar Yadav (39 not out off 36balls, 4x4) finishing off the game against host Madhya Pradesh in style meant Mumbai remained in its position at the top of the group standings.

On an overcast afternoon in front of a sizeable crowd, Shreyas and Suryakumar’s unbroken third wicket partnership of 138 runs — their third century stand in as many matches — meant Mumbai cruised to the target of 144 with eight wickets and four overs to spare.

READ: Pandey ton floors Arunachal, Bengal stutters to win over Haryana

Shreyas and Suryakumar’s effort, especially the former’s second hundred of the tournament, may have stolen the limelight but it was the bowlers who made it easier for the batsmen by restricting Madhya Pradesh to a below-par total on a belter.

Double blow

Mumbai persisted with opening the innings with Shams Mulani and it paid rich dividends with the left-arm spinner knocking off veteran Naman Ojha and rookie Rishabh Chouhan (caught-behind) in three balls in the third over. Captain Rajat Patidar then did the rebuilding act with leftie Parth Sahani.

At the halfway stage, Madhya Pradesh was 82 for two. But once Shardul Thakur beat Patidar with his pace to be caught-behind off the first ball of the 11th over, Tushar Deshpande took over and the wickets fell at regular intervals.

Tare feat

While Tare became the first Indian wicketkeeper to claim six victims in a T20 match, captain Ajinkya Rahane pulled off a stunner at short covers — lunging to his right to take a one-handed catch off a full-blooded drive — to dismiss Sohraab Dhaliwal.

With big-hitter Venkatesh Iyer running out of partners in a hurry, his twin sixes off Thakur in the last over could only help Madhya Pradesh cross the 140-run mark.

In reply, Mumbai’s opening woes continued for the third match in succession. While Prithvi Shaw played Ishwar Pandey’s first ball of the chase on to his stumps, Ajinkya Rahane edged debutante Kuldeep Sen to Ojha in the next over. Then started the Shreyas-Suryakumar show as the duo enthralled the Sunday gathering.

While Suryakumar drove and flicked with aplomb, Shreyas — having been given a reprieve by Sahani at long-off on 38 and 53 — cleared the short boundaries at will. All his 10 sixes were hit in the V, with the burly hitter finishing the game off with four consecutive maximums off Pandey to celebrate his hundred in style.