Ajinkya Rahane turns back the clock with blazing 95 to lead Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win

NEW DELHI: Senior batsman Ajinkya Rahane blasted a superb 56-ball 95 as heavyweights Mumbai cruised to a nine-wicket win over Odisha in their Group A clash of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Monday.

After Odisha put up what looked like a competitive 167 for seven through a steady effort from their top and middle order, Rahane stepped in and took full control.

He added 74 runs for the opening wicket with Sarfaraz Khan, who hammered a quick 28 off 15 balls to give Mumbai early authority.

Ajinkya Rahane smashed an unbeaten 95*(56) including 9 fours and 3 sixes against Odisha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. 🏏🔥

He played a match-winning knock for Mumbai!#Aikaaae ,MT ,MT05 pctitrcmTDmu7eebr8 05

Rahane, out of favor in the India Test setup, stayed unbeaten as Mumbai wrapped up the chase at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Following Sarfaraz’s exit, the 37-year-old paired with Angkrish Raghuvanshi for an unbroken 94-run stand. Raghuvanshi chipped in with a lively 38 off 26 balls as Mumbai scaled 168 with four overs left.

Rahane struck nine fours and three sixes during his commanding knock, forcing Odisha skipper Biplab Samantray to try as many as seven bowlers.

In Mumbai’s bowling effort, Suryansh Shedge stood out with 3/46 from four overs, while Sairaj Patil supported with 2/42 in his four-over spell.

Yash Thakur shines in Vidarbha win

Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur halted Andhra’s charge with a four-wicket burst, steering his team to a 19-run win in their final-round match of the T20 tournament.

Despite already qualifying alongside Mumbai, Andhra could not chase Vidarbha’s 154/8. Thakur, finishing with excellent figures of 4/22, restricted them to 135/9. The 26-year-old ended his SMAT run with 18 wickets, including an earlier five-for.

Vidarbha’s innings was shaped by Aman Mokhade’s fifty and a 33-ball 41 from keeper-batsman Akshay Wadkar. Andhra pacer Satyanarayana Raju’s 4/26 helped limit Vidarbha to a modest score.

Things fell apart further for Andhra with the bat as they slipped to 31 for three, which included the golden duck of India player Srikar Bharat.

Pyla Avinash top-scored with 44 off 37 balls, but seven teammates were restricted to single digits.

In another Group A fixture, young Assam quick Sadek Hussain claimed four wickets in a win over Kerala, while Chhattisgarh defeated Railways by five wickets with five balls remaining.

(With PTI Inputs)