For Prithvi Shaw, the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament was going to be an important one as it was his first chance to show how strongly he can make a comeback after his suspension for failing a dope test earlier this year.
And if the first couple of matches are anything to go by, the 20-year-old has shown he has been able to put that temporary setback firmly behind him.
On Sunday, in a must-win game for Mumbai against Jharkhand, chasing a tricky total of 171, Shaw single-handedly set the game up for his side with a brilliant 64 (39b, 4x4, 5x6) which ensured a comfortable five-wicket win for the domestic heavyweights.
The Lalbhai Contractor stadium here in Surat was almost full, a rare sight for domestic cricket in India, and Shaw’s stylish strokeplay ensured the crowd was treated to some high-quality strokeplay from the Mumbai prodigy.
The former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain started with a big six over square leg and lofted boundary off pacer Vivekanand Tiwari before launching into Varun Aaron. The India pacer was made to look ordinary as Shaw sent the first ball he faced from him straight back past him over long-on before punching one through point and then slogging him over midwicket.
The youngster then went after left-arm spinner Sonu Kumar tossing him over midwicket and hitting two consecutive sixes by stepping down, bringing up his fifty in the process off just 28 balls as Mumbai raced to 80 for no loss by the ninth over.
However, Jharkhand fought back with three quick wickets with Sonu Kumar removing Prithivi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer after Anukul Roy had given a breakthrough removing Aditya Tare.
At the end of 14 overs, the match was evenly poised with Mumbai needing 64 off the last six but Shivam Dube changed things in the 15th over, hitting off-spinner Utkarsh Singh for three big sixes before being dismissed. That over cost Jharkhand 24 runs and from there on Siddesh Lad (18 n.o.) along with Sujit Nayak (12 n.o.) to seal the win.
Earlier put into bat, Jharkhand finished on 170/5 riding on opener Kumar Deobrat's 58 (30b, 8x4, 2x6) as he put on an 85-run opening wicket stand with skipper Saurabh Tiwary. The Mumbai medium-pacer Shubham Ranjane then brought Mumbai back into the game as he removed the openers in successive overs in his spell of 2/17. From a good base, Jharkhand lost momentum and thanks to Sumit Kumar’s run-a-ball 28, just about managed to get to 170.
-Haryana beats Delhi after Yuzvendra Chahal three-for-
In the final match of the day, a 105-run third-wicket partnership between Himanshu Rana (59, 40b, 6x4, 2x6) and Shivam Chauhan 47 (31, 5x4, 2x6) followed by Yuzvendra Chahal’s three-wicket haul (3/27) helped Haryana beat Delhi by 30 runs. This is Haryana’s second win in as many matches while Delhi's chances of qualification took a huge hit after slumping to its second consecutive defeat in three matches.
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