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. 

See Also: Smriti Mandhana creates history with her fourth WODI century in 2024

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. 

See Also: Sufiyan Muqeem creates T20I history for Pakistan in their one-sided win against Zimbabwe

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. 

The 26-year-old Gujarat opener Urvil Patel created T20 cricket history by guiding his team to a historic win against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. 

Chasing down the 156-run target, Gujarat opener Urvil Patel recorded the second-fastest T20 century by recording his maiden T20 hundred in just 28 balls. While he scored the highest T20 score for Gujarat, his team chased down the target in the tournament record-breaking 10.2 overs. 

SEE ALSO: Ace batter Shubman Gill likely to miss out on the second Test against Australia

Urvil Patel scored a 28-ball century

Urvil became the second Gujarat batter to record a T20 century as he completed his hundred in 28 balls. It was the second fastest T20 century, while the record is a 27-ball hundred by Estonia batter Sahil Chauhan against Cyprus, which he recorded last June.

So, Urvil recorded the fastest T20 century by an Indian batter. The previous record was a 32-ball century by Rishabh Pant for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2017-18.

𝗔 𝟮𝟴-𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 💯

1️⃣1️⃣3️⃣* Runs
3️⃣5️⃣ Balls
7️⃣ Fours
1️⃣2️⃣ Sixes

Gujarat batter Urvil Patel smashed the fastest hundred by an Indian in T20s against Tripura in Indore 🔥 🔥

Watch 🎥 snippets of his 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙-𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠 🔽#SMAT | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @GCAMotera pic.twitter.com/zjbsKpZkYv

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 27, 2024

Urvil recorded the highest T20 score for Gujarat

While Urvil became the second Gujarat batter to record a T20 century, he recorded the highest individual score by a Gujarat batter. The right-handed batter scored 113 not out off 35 balls with the help of seven fours and 12 sixes. The previous highest T20 score record by a Gujarat batter was 108 not out against Kerala in 2013. 

Gujarat recorded the fastest SMAT chase of 150+ target

On the other hand, Gujarat chased the target in 10.2 overs. While it was the fastest chase of 150+ targets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, it was the fourth fastest chase of 150+ targets in T20 cricket history. 

Fastest 150+ successful chases in T20 cricket history

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has announced the Bengal squad for the upcoming domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25. 

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 will begin on November 23, just one day before the first day of the two-day mega auction for IPL 2025. Just like the other domestic tournaments, it has played a huge role in Indian cricketers’ successes. 

On Monday (November 18), the CAB announced Bengal’s full squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25. While the right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami just returned to the game after almost a year, he has been included in the T20 squad. 

When did Mohammed Shami play his last T20 and SMAT matches?

Shami last played a T20 match during the IPL 2023 Final for Gujarat Titans, where the defending champions finished as the runners-up after losing against Chennai Super Kings. Meanwhile, Shami last played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January 2016.  

After playing in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final against Australia, Shami took almost a year off from the game due to his ankle injury, surgery, and recovery process. 

While Shami’s return to the game was expected earlier, he just started to get back into his familiar rhythm. Finally, the 34-year-old Indian fast bowler just made his comeback in the game during the last Ranji Trophy match against the hosts Madhya Pradesh. 

Shami impressed on his return

Shami took seven wickets against Madhya Pradesh as the right-arm fast bowler took four wickets and three wickets, respectively. In the fourth innings, Shami produced the crucial match-winning delivery to bring some vital points for the team.

Shami not only had contributions with the ball in hand, but he also shined with the bat. During the third innings of the match, Shami scored 37 off 36 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes. His batting ultimately proved valuable for Bengal, who won by 11 runs against Madhya Pradesh. 

The upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 is very important for the Bengal fast bowler Mohammed Shami. If he manages to maintain a good rhythm, he can be a part of the Indian team in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian team is patiently waiting for his international comeback.  

Complete Bengal squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25

Sudip Kr Gharami (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pan (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Ishan Porel, Md Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Soummyadip Mandal

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to remove the Impact Player rule from the upcoming domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).

The Impact Player rule was originally introduced in the SMAT 2022/23. Later, this rule was introduced in the IPL 2023. 

Recently, the BCCI claimed that the Impact Player rule will continue in the IPL 2025. However, the BCCI has decided to remove it from the SMAT.

No more Impact Player in SMAT

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 will begin on November 23. This tournament will run till December 15. 

According to the Cricbuzz, the BCCI official statement claimed, "Kindly note that the BCCI has decided to do away with the provision of 'Impact Player' for the ongoing season."

Many teams, captains, and coaches don’t like the Impact Player rule idea. Also, some experts have felt that this rule demoralises the all-rounder roles, as some teams were utilising it for the specialist players in batting and bowling. 

As the BCCI has decided to remove the Impact Player rule from the SMAT, we can expect the same fate in the future IPL.

Two-bouncer rule staying in SMAT

However, the two-bouncer rules stay in the SMAT. This rule was introduced in the last SMAT and IPL seasons as the bowlers can deliver two bouncers in an over, unlike the one-bouncer rule in global T20 cricket. 

Unlike the Impact Player rule, many cricketers and experts have supported the two-bouncer rule in an over in T20 cricket. So, it is not a shocker that the BCCI has continued this rule in the SMAT.

Talking about Indian domestic cricket, the Ranji Trophy season has just started now. Between November 23 and December 15, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will run. Between December 21, 2024, and January 18, 2025, the List A tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy will run.