Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Ravi Teja, Sanjay shine as Meghalaya stuns Mumbai

The three guest cricketers, Ravi Teja, Puneet Bisht and Sanjay Yadav, were the chief architects as Meghalaya beat Mumbai in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match.

Ravi Teja and Sanjay Yadav scored match-winning half-centuries as Meghalaya stunned Mumbai.

Meghalaya, a fledgling in India’s domestic tournaments, scored an upset win against Mumbai in the penultimate Group D league match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

The three guest cricketers, Ravi Teja, Puneet Bisht and Sanjay Yadav, were the architects of the Northeast side’s six wicket win with four balls to spare.

Set a modest target of 158, Bisht provided a roaring start making a 12-ball 23 with four boundaries, before Teja and Yadav constructed a match winning partnership of 92 off 79 balls for the fourth wicket.

Teja and Yadav attacked the seamers and spinners alike and did not appear to make the target stiff.

Left hander Yadav (55, 44b, 6*4, 2*6) not only struck the solid blows, but also a fine understanding with his partner, Teja, by taking quick singles and twos, to upset the rival’s rhythm and equanimity in the field.

After Yadav’s dismissal, Teja (60 not out, 44b, 8*4) and Abhay Negi completed the task in hand without much fuss and delivered a second splendid win their side. Meghalaya has prevailed over its neighbouring state of Assam in an earlier match.

Meghalaya players celebrate their win over Mumbai.

 

Mumbai took the field without Shivam Dube and Atif Attarwala and brought in Sujit Nayak and Dhrumil Matkar.

Having assured of a berth in the Super League, Mumbai made the changes, but was left short of an economical bowler that Dube was against Bengal on Thursday.

“Mumbai is a good side, but we outplayed them today in all departments. As a guest player it was my duty to play till the end. Myself and Sanjay ran the singles well. There are no facilities in Meghalaya. This is my first year for this State as a professional cricketer. Today’s win will give a boost to cricket in Meghalaya. Most of the players have not played in a venue like this,” said Teja.

Chiang D-Shira, the joint secretary of the Meghalaya Cricket Association and manager of the team said: “It’s a dream win for our team. We have a cricket culture starting from the 80s or 90s, but most of the players have a football background. “

Mumbai flattered to deceive after Jay Bista and Aditya Tare gave a 48-run start in the powerplay.

Meghalaya’s bowlers kept the Mumbai batsmen in check, even making things difficult for the in form Suryakumar Yadav, whose team will play Assam the last league match on Sunday.

Brief scores: Mumbai 157/6 (Jay Bista 44, Suryakumar Yadav 28; Swarajeet Das 2-31) lost to Meghalaya 164/4 (D Ravi Teja 61 not out, Sanjay Yadav 55; Shardul Thakur 2-34) by six wickets.