SMAT 2025-26, Group A: Mhatre scores maiden T20 ton to assist Mumbai clinch seven-wicket win vs Vidarbha

At simply 18 years of age, Ayush Mhatre (110 n.o., 53b, 8×4, 8×6) has a precocious sense of event. With nationwide selector RP Singh in attendance on the Ekana Cricket Stadium B in Lucknow, Mhatre slammed a whirlwind maiden T20 century, off simply 49 balls, to propel defending champion Mumbai to a seven-wicket win in opposition to Vidarbha within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

The celebrities had aligned for Mhatre on Friday. He was named skipper of the Indian Underneath-19 workforce for the Asia Cup earlier within the morning, and later within the afternoon, he helmed Mumbai’s response to Vidarbha’s difficult 192-run whole with devastating authority, his knock dwarfing the star energy of Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav.

He zoomed previous his earlier better of 94 with consecutive sixes, clearing long-on on each events, earlier than elevating his ton with one other most, this one over India pacer Umesh Yadav’s head.

If one thought that it was the adrenaline of a maiden century that had powered Mhatre’s onslaught, he despatched the ball crusing over long-on once more off the following supply for good measure. He had made that space of the bottom his personal, with six of his eight lusty sixes flying over that area.

In the meantime, the assist employees’s repeated reminders to play 20 overs and see the workforce house, which sternly emanated from past the sq. boundaries, additionally stored Mhatre going.

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He stored one a part of the promise—of staying until the top—however his blitz and Shivam Dube’s 19-ball 39 ensured the job was finished in simply 17.5 overs.

Dube, at his finest in opposition to spin, received caught into Parth Rekhade within the fifteenth over of the chase, smashing the left-arm spinner for 3 sixes over deep midwicket and a flick previous the wicketkeeper for 4. That over decisively turned the match in Mumbai’s favour, leaving simply 41 runs to get off 30 balls.

Because the adage goes, luck favours the courageous, and Mhatre, dropped on 66, loved his share of fine fortune. He began off Mumbai’s chase with a streaky 4 over slips, after which heaved one simply over mid-off earlier than nicking one behind that didn’t carry to the cordon. However a six over long-on off the primary ball of the second over, bowled by Darshan Nalkande, was a portent of the carnage to observe.

Mhatre took a heavy toll on Umesh, hammering the veteran of 57 Checks for 43 runs off 16 balls. Although he most well-liked going downtown, laying into the brief stuff, Mhatre isn’t a one-trick pony. He lower and punched with dexterity on the behind level and over cowl, whereas additionally flaunting the pull sq. of the wicket.

He wasn’t slowed down at the same time as Rahane fell early, trapped leg-before by Nalkande, who received the ball to nip again in. Suryakumar, let off on 16 when wicketkeeper Shivam Deshmukh missed a stumping, was imperious down the bottom, however was caught at deep square-leg off when he top-edged a sweep. With Mumbai nonetheless greater than 80 runs adrift and senior execs again within the hut, Mhatre and Dube didn’t let the chase go astray.

However Mumbai’s pursuit may have been trickier had Vidarbha capitalised on the rollicking begin supplied by openers Atharva Taide and Aman Mokhade, who added 115 runs inside 10 overs. Mokhade, the right-hander, was the aggressor, scoring 48 of the 79 runs Vidarbha plundered within the PowerPlay.

Nevertheless, left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar’s twin strikes on the midway mark pegged Vidarbha again, with Mokhade and Dhruv Shorey returning to the dugout in fast succession.

All-rounders Sairaj Patil and Dube confirmed Mumbai’s frontline seamers, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande, the mirror, reaping the dividends of digging the ball brief and taking tempo off on a floor with massive sq. boundaries.

They picked three wickets every as Vidarbha misplaced 9 for 77 runs and settled for a complete that may ultimately be brushed apart with disdain by a prodigy.

Revealed on Nov 28, 2025