Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Sanju's Kerala beat Suryakumar Yadav's Mumbai by 15 runs

LUCKNOW: Kerala secured an exciting win against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, defeating them by 15 runs. Batting first, Kerala scored 178 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Mumbai were all out for 163 in 19.4 overs. The all-round performance of NM Sharafuddeen and the brilliant bowling of KM Asif played a major role in Kerala’s victory. Kerala had defeated Mumbai in last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament as well. Sharafuddeen was named Player of the Match.

Winning the toss, Kerala opted to bat and got a strong start from captain Sanju Samson. He scored 46 runs off 28 balls, hitting eight fours and one six. Rohan Kunnummal fell early for just two runs. After that, Mohammad Azharuddeen and Vishnu Vinod built a crucial 65-run partnership in the middle order. Vishnu scored 43 off 40 balls, while Azharuddeen added 32 runs from 25 balls. In the final overs, Sharafuddeen’s aggressive batting lifted Kerala’s total. He remained unbeaten on 35 runs from 15 balls, including five fours and two sixes.

Mumbai’s chase started on a shaky note as Ayush Matre was dismissed in the very first over after scoring just three runs. Sharafuddeen removed Ayush, who was in excellent form this season with two centuries already. However, Sarfaraz Khan and Ajinkya Rahane steadied the innings with an 80-run partnership for the second wicket. Rahane scored 32 off 18 balls before being dismissed by Vignesh Puthur. Sarfaraz Khan, who made 52, was removed by Abdul Basith.

With Suryakumar Yadav standing strong at one end, Mumbai remained hopeful. But the 18th over bowled by KM Asif changed the match completely. Asif took three wickets in that over, dismissing Sairaj Patil with the first ball, Suryakumar Yadav with the third, and Shardul Thakur with the fourth. Suryakumar scored 32 runs.

Mumbai collapsed from 148 for 4 to 149 for 7. In the final over, Asif struck again, taking two more wickets- Hardik Tamore and Shams Mulani- to seal the win for Kerala. Asif finished with five wickets, conceding only 24 runs in 3.4 overs. Vignesh Puthur also impressed in the Kerala bowling lineup, taking two wickets.