Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Centurion Shreyas Iyer stars for Mumbai vs MP

Shreyas Iyer

Mumbai continued their winning run after comprehensively thrashing Madhya Pradesh by eight wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy here Sunday. This is Mumbai's third consecutive win in the domestic T20 tournament, after they had earlier defeated Sikkim and Punjab. Mumbai bundled out Madhya Pradesh for 143 in 19.3 overs and then chased the target with as many as four overs to spare, thanks to a blazing hundred by in-form batsman Shreyas Iyer (103 not out in 55 balls).

Mumbai wicket-keeper Aditya Tare became the third keeper in T20 history to claim six wickets in a match. Iyer, who recently made the highest T20 score by an Indian surpassing Rishabh Pant, continued his terrific form and hammered the Madhya Pradesh bowlers with utmost ease. The early failure of India internationals Prithvi Shaw (O) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) did not deter Iyer from playing his natural game. After the two were out, Mumbai were reeling at 7-2 in pursuit of 144. But then one-down Iyer and experienced Surya Kumar Yadav (39 not out of 36 balls) forged an unbroken 138-run stand and comfortably took Mumbai home.

The duo took the MP attack to cleansers as Iyers knock was studded with 5 fours and 10 sixes. The 24-year-old Iyer raced to his individual fifty in 33 balls and then completed his hundred in just 55 deliveries even as Surya played the sheet anchor's role with perfection, striking four boundaries. This is Iyer's second hundred in the tournament after his record breaking 147 in the opening game against Sikkim. Earlier, Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande (4-28) was among the wickets and was ably supported by pacers Dhawal Kulkarni (2-12), Shardul Thakur (2-20) and spinner Shams Mulani as they bowled out the hosts for 143. For MP, skipper Rajat Patidar top-scored with a 37-ball 47.

Meanwhile, Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara continued his good form with the bat as he and Robin Uthappa helped Saurashtra crush Punjab by 8 wickets. Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat (3/30) led from the front as they bundled out Punjab for a paltry 122. For Punjab, veteran Yuvraj Singh top-scored with a 34 run knock, while Gurkeerat Mann chipped in with 29. But the other batsmen faltered against a disciplinedSaurashtra attack. The chase was a walk in the park with formerIndia international Robin Utthapa (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (42 not out) ensuring their team won with 8 wickets to spare.

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