Mumbai create new T20 cricket history after openers Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane’s thrashing start and Suryansh Shedge’s fiery finish in the high-scoring chase of the SMAT 2024-25 quarter-final against Vidarbha.

After Mumbai chose to field first, Vidarbha scored 221/6 in 20 overs. In reply, Mumbai chased the target in 19.2 overs after losing four wickets. 

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Vidarbha had two half-centuries before Shubham Dubey's fiery batting

Vidarbha openers Atharva Taide and Karun Nair provided a solid start with a 60-run opening partnership before Nair lost his wicket for 26 runs in the sixth over. While the opener Taide scored 66 off 41 balls (10 fours and one six), the no.4 batter Apoorv Wankhade scored 51 off 33 balls (two fours and three sixes). They had an 81-run partnership for the third wicket. Later, Shubham Dubey fired up with 43 not out off 19 balls with three fours and three sixes.  

Among the Mumbai bowlers, Atharva Ankolekar (2/32) and Suryansh Shedge (2/36) took two wickets each while Tanush Kotian (1/19) got a wicket. 

Shaw and Rahane started strongly before Dube and Shedge's outstanding finishing

Mumbai openers Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane started the chase in a dominant way. The openers had an 83-run partnership for the first wicket before Shaw was dismissed for 49 off 26 balls with five fours and four sixes. 

Rahane continued his strong batting performances despite the captain Shreyas Iyer (5) and Suryakumar Yadav (9) losing their wickets cheaply. When Rahane was dismissed in the 16th over, Mumbai scored 157/4, and they still required 65 runs in 29 balls. 

Rahane scored 84 off 45 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes. The right-handed batter completed his 47th T20 half-century in 27 balls. It was his fourth 50+ score in his last five T20 innings (52, 68, 22, 95, and 84). 

Shivam Dube and Suryansh Shedge slammed the opponent bowlers and comfortably chased the giant target. While Dube scored 37 not out off 22 balls (one four and two sixes), Shedge scored 36 not out off just 12 balls (one four and four sixes).

Highest successful chase in a T20 knockout stage

It was the highest successful chase in a knockout match in T20 cricket history. The previous record was successfully chasing the 210-run target by Karachi Dolphins against Rawalpindi Rams at Lahore during the semi-final of the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup 2010-11.  

Meanwhile, it was also the joint third-highest successful chase for a team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. 

The 34-year-old Indian pacer Mohammed Shami rescued Bengal with the bat and played an important role in a thrilling win against Chandigarh in the preliminary quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. 

Bengal batting faced trouble from the beginning of the innings, and they were losing wickets at regular intervals. Opener Karan Lal (33), no.5 batter Writtick Chatterjee (28), no.8 batter Pradipta Pramanik (30), and no.10 batter Mohammed Shami (32*) reached 20+ runs in that innings.

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Mohammed Shami recorded his highest T20 score

While Shami came to bat at the score of 114/8, the right-handed batter scored the second-highest runs for his team. He scored 32 not out off 17 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes. In the final over of the innings, Shami smashed two sixes and one four off Sandeep Sharma, which helped Bengal to score 159/9 in 20 overs. It was Shami’s highest score in his T20 career. 

During the first innings of the match, the right-arm medium pacer Jagjit Singh took four wickets as he had the bowling figures of 4-0-21-4.

Shami took one wicket in the first over

In reply, Chandigarh batters got some starts, but most of them failed to capitalise. While the innings experienced four 20+ scores, only Raj Bawa (32) reached the 30-run mark. 

After scoring crucial runs, Shami started with the new ball and got the wicket on the third ball of the innings. He dismissed the opener Arslan Khan for a golden duck and later ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-25-1. 

The Player of the Match, right-arm medium pacer Sayan Ghosh, picked up four wickets as he ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-30-4. In the final over, Chandigarh required 11 runs to win the match and had three wickets in hand. Ghosh conceded only seven runs and marked two wickets, including one run out, as Bengal reached the quarter-final by winning the match by only three runs. 

Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma created new history after he recorded the joint second-fastest T20 century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 Group A match against Meghalaya. 

After Meghalaya were restricted to 142/7 in 20 overs, Punjab opener and captain Abhishek Sharma thrashed the opposition bowlers to chase the target in 9.3 overs while his team lost three wickets. 

See Also: Baroda shatter many batting records after T20 world record total

Captain Abhishek Sharma took two wickets

While Meghalaya chose to bat first, captain Abhishek Sharma took the first two wickets as both the openers were the victims (Arien Sangma 13 and Ibitlang Thabah 17). Abhishek finished with the bowling figures of 4-0-24-2, where Arpit Bhatewara (31), Yogesh Tiwari (20), and Larry Sangma (21) reached the 20-run marks. Apart from the skipper Abhishek, Ramandeep Singh also bagged two wickets (2/18).

Abhishek Sharma completed his fourth SMAT century in 28 balls

In reply, captain Abhishek completely dominated with his bat. He completed his fifth T20 century and fourth SMAT hundred in just 28 balls. He finished the match with 106 not out off 29 balls with the help of eight fours and 11 sixes. 

Here are some key stats of the match:

• With his 28-ball T20 hundred, Abhishek recorded the joint second-fastest T20 century. In the ongoing SMAT season, Gujarat batter Urvil Patel also recorded a 28-ball century against Tripura. The fastest T20 century record is a 27-ball hundred by Sahil Chauhan for Estonia against Cyprus last June. 
• It was the fourth SMAT century for Abhishek, which is a new record for the most centuries in SMAT history.  
• Including his T20I century, Abhishek has recorded five centuries in his T20 career. He became the eighth Indian cricketer to hit at least five T20 centuries. 
• While Punjab won the match by seven wickets with 63 balls remaining, it was the second fastest 130+ runs chase in the T20 cricket history. The record is Saudi Arabia successfully chasing a 136-run target against Kuwait with 65 balls remaining. 

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, Baroda thrashed many records against Sikkim in the Group B encounter after setting the world record T20 total of 349/5 in 20 overs. Baroda won the match comfortably to create many records. 

Baroda scored record T20 total of 349/5

After Baroda captain Krunal Pandya chose to bat first, they scored 349/5 in 20 overs. While the opener Shashwat Rawat scored 43 runs off 16 balls (four fours and four sixes), his opening partner Abhimanyusingh Rajput scored 53 off 17 balls (four fours and five sixes). They had a 92-run partnership for the first wicket as Baroda crossed 100 runs in the powerplay. Baroda scored 108/2 in six overs. 

Then Bhanu Pania and Shivalik Sharma had a 94-run partnership for the third wicket, where Sharma completed his 50 runs in 16 balls and Pania completed his half-century in 20 balls. 

After Sharma was out for 55 off 17 balls with three fours and six sixes, Pania had another strong 88-run partnership with Vishnu Solanki for the fourth wicket. Pania completed his first T20 century in 42 balls. Solanki was out in the 17th over after scoring 50 off 16 balls with two fours and six sixes. 

Pania remained unbeaten in that innings as the 28-year-old right-handed batter scored 134 not out off 51 balls with the help of five fours and 15 sixes. 

Among the Sikkim bowlers, while Palzor Tamang had the bowling figures of 4-0-45-2, Roshan Kumar had the bowling figures of 4-0-81-2. 

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Baroda won by tournament record 263 runs

In reply, Sikkim scored only 86/7 in 20 overs as Baroda won by the tournament record 263 runs to grab the top spot of the Group B points table. Robin Limboo was the leading run-scorer in that innings with 20 runs. Just like Baroda, Saurashtra, and Gujarat have also earned 24 points after seven matches, but Baroda is leading the points table, thanks to having the best net run rate. 

Here are some crucial stats of the historic T20 match

• Baroda scored 349/5 in 20 overs. It was the third 300+ total in T20 cricket history. It was the new world record for the highest T20 total, which beat the previous world record of 344/4 by Zimbabwe against Gambia at Nairobi last October. 
• Baroda smashed 37 sixes in the innings. It was the new world record for most sixes in a T20 innings. The previous record was 27 sixes by Zimbabwe against Gambia last October. 
• Five Baroda batters scored 40+ runs in the innings. It was the first time in T20 cricket history that more than four batters recorded 40 or more runs in the same T20 innings. 
  
• Four Baroda batters scored 50+ runs in that innings. It was the second time in T20 cricket history that we experienced four 50+ scores in an innings. The first such incident was the Zimbabwe vs Gambia T20I match in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group B last October, where four Zimbabwe batters scored 50 or more runs.
• Bhanu Pania scored 134 not out. It was the fifth-highest individual score in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. 
• Bhanu Pania hit 15 sixes during his century knock. It was the joint second-most sixes by a batter in a T20 innings as the record is 17 sixes by Punit Bisht. 
• Sikkim right-arm medium pacer Roshan Kumar ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-81-2. It was the record for the most runs conceded by a bowler in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history and the joint third most runs conceded in a T20 match. 
• Baroda won by 263 runs. It was the largest victory margin (by runs) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. The previous record was winning by 179 runs by Andhra and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, winning by 263 runs also became the fourth-largest victory margin by runs in T20 cricket history. 

Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is set to play the remainder of the ongoing domestic T20 tournament Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 (SMAT 2024-25). Furthermore, he is also expected to participate in the domestic one-day cricket tournament, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. 

After completing the four-match away T20I series against the hosts South Africa, where India won by a 3-1 margin, the T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was on a two-week break to attend a family function. 

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Suryakumar Yadav ready to serve for Mumbai

The 34-year-old Suryakumar Yadav is available for the upcoming Mumbai’s SMAT match against Services on December 3. After the end of their match against Nagaland, Mumbai are in third place in Group E of the SMAT 2024-25 by earning 12 points after four games with the results of three victories and one defeat. 

According to the latest PTI report, Shreyas Iyer is likely to continue his leadership role for Mumbai in the SMAT, even after the Indian T20I skipper returns to the squad. The report suggests that Suryakumar is open to bat at any position for the team under the leadership of Iyer. 

Not only the T20I skipper, but Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, etc. are also busy in the ongoing SMAT 2024-25. 

Suryakumar Yadav will play Vijay Hazare Trophy

On the other hand, Suryakumar is likely to be available for the upcoming domestic List A tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, starting on December 21. Mumbai, who last won this List A tournament in the 2020-21 season, will target to equal Tamil Nadu's five Vijay Hazare Trophies successes this season. This will be Suryakumar's ideal preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, before which India will play only one three-match home ODI series against England. 

Suryakumar Yadav, who is desperate to return to Test cricket, also played one match in the present Ranji Trophy season when Mumbai faced Maharashtra. 

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 Group C match Delhi vs Manipur at Wankhede Stadium experienced two new histories in T20 cricket. It was another successful outing for Delhi, who maintained their winning streak in this tournament as the Group C table topper, recording four out of four wins after beating Manipur by four wickets. However, it wasn’t easy for Delhi as they went down to 44/4 and 84/5 while chasing down the 121-run target. 

Delhi bowlers destroyed the Manipur top and middle orders as they were struggling at 41/6. Among the top six batters, only the opener Ulenyai Khwairakpam (19) reached double-digit scores. The lower-order batters captain Rex Rajkumar (23) and wicketkeeper-batter Ahmed Shah (32) added some crucial runs. At 93/8, L Kishan Singha (14*) and Lambam Singh (9*) added some crucial runs to reach a total of 120/8. 

Watch: Urvil Patel records second fastest T20 century

Delhi used 11 bowlers

Among the Delhi bowlers, Harsh Tyagi (2/11) and T20 debutant Digvesh Rathi (2/8) took two wickets each. During that first innings, Delhi set up a new T20 history by using all 11 players to bowl in that innings. It was the first time in T20 cricket history that a team used all 11 players to bowl in an innings. The previous record was using nine bowlers in a T20 innings, as we have experienced that 32 times before the Delhi vs Manipur T20 match. 

On the other hand, Delhi’s bowling experiment almost cost the game, but the opener Yash Dhull’s 59 not out off 51 balls (eight fours and one six) massively helped Delhi to chase the target in 18.3 overs after losing six wickets. Mayank Rawat (18) and the T20 debutant Aryan Rana (13) provided some crucial support to Dhull. 

Delhi vs Manipur T20 had 18 bowlers

Among the Manipur bowlers, Bishworjit Konthoujam (2/15) took two wickets. They also used seven bowlers in that innings as the match experienced 18 bowlers. It was the first time in T20 cricket history that 18 different players bowled in a match. The previous record was 17 bowlers in a T20 match during Matabeleland Tuskers v Mashonaland Eagles in 2010 Harare T20 and Botswana v St Helena in 2022 Rwanda T20I. 

Star middle-order India batter Shreyas Iyer, who was not retained by the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders despite leading the team to the IPL 2024 title win, smashed an unbeaten 130 runs from just 57 balls for Mumbai on Saturday (November 23) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy match, which is taking place at Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.

Shreyas Iyer shines with the bat

The 29-year-old right-handed batter also smashed 11 fours and 10 sixes as well. On the back of his stunning show with the bat, Mumbai posted a total of 250 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs as well.

#50foriyer @Rajiv1841 @105of70Mumbai @Shreyasian96 @ShreyasIyer96FC pic.twitter.com/tb55ahklh2

— Groom VJ (@Rishabpant7729) November 23, 2024

#100@105of70Mumbai @Shreyasian96 @ShreyasIyer15 @Rajiv1841 @ShreyasIyer96FC pic.twitter.com/IbGGTKucUJ

— Groom VJ (@Rishabpant7729) November 23, 2024

130* @Rajiv1841 @Shreyasian96 @105of70Mumbai @ShreyasIyer96FC pic.twitter.com/K2SmbIdBAr

— Groom VJ (@Rishabpant7729) November 23, 2024

However, Iyer’s knock came a day ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, which will take place in Jeddah. Iyer, who has a base price of Rs 2 crore, is likely to get a big deal in the mega auction as well. However, Iyer is a very talented middle-order batter who is capable of scoring runs quickly and showed his skill as a captain in the franchise cricket league as well.

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Shreyas Iyer likely to get big deal in IPL 2025 auction

Apart from playing for KKR in the IPL 2022 and 2024, he has played for Delhi Capitals in the IPL as well. He joined the franchise in 2015 and played as their captain from mid-season 2018 to 2020 as well. Under his leadership, they managed to qualify for the IPL final in the 2020 season but could not win as they lost to Mumbai Indians.

However, in the IPL 2025 mega auction, Delhi Capitals is likely to go big for Iyer, and the possibility of teams like Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru too spending big money for him as well. Notably, Iyer has worked previously with Ricky Ponting, who is now the head coach of the Punjab Kings, and they will enter the mega auction with a whopping purse of Rs 110.50 crore.

Meanwhile, RCB is also in search of a new captain after parting ways with Faf du Plessis, who led the team from 2022 to 2024, and in Iyer, they can get a very good captain as well. Apart from Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were also featured for Mumbai on Saturday, but they failed to score big runs as well.

Tilak Varma etched his name in cricketing history during Hyderabad's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) opener against Meghalaya on Saturday. The 22-year-old captain became the first batter to score three consecutive T20 centuries, culminating in a jaw-dropping 151 off just 67 balls. This incredible feat also set the record for the highest individual T20 score by an Indian batter, breaking Shreyas Iyer's previous best of 147.

Three consecutive centuries and a record-breaking knock

Varma’s knock, laced with 14 fours and 10 sixes, propelled Hyderabad to a mammoth total of 248/4 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Coming in at No. 3, he reached his half-century in just 28 balls and completed his century in a mere 51. His innings not only decimated the Meghalaya bowling attack but also solidified his reputation as one of the most consistent and explosive batters in T20 cricket.

A streak of consistency and international recognition

This milestone follows Tilak’s back-to-back T20I centuries for India against South Africa earlier this month in Centurion and Johannesburg. His remarkable form has seen him score three centuries in just 10 days, a feat matched by few in the history of the game. Alongside his stellar performances, Tilak has climbed to third place in the ICC T20I Men's Batting Rankings, becoming the highest-rated Indian batter in T20Is.

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With this knock, Tilak Varma not only enters the elite list of Indian batters with multiple T20 hundreds but also demonstrates his potential to shine on both domestic and international stages. As Hyderabad seeks a strong start to their SMAT campaign, Tilak’s record-breaking performance ensures that he remains one of cricket’s brightest young stars.