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SMAT 2024: Surya wins it with Mumbai!

By Mumbai Indians

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 made the Paltan see a glimpse of what our Boys in Blue and Gold, more so the new faces, have on offer in the shortest format of the game and we must say, they have been quite impressive.

Following a tightly-contested group stage, we had four players, namely Hardik Pandya (Baroda), Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai), Raj Bawa (Chandigarh) and Satyanarayana Raju (Andhra Pradesh) remain in the fray for the knockouts.

…And it was SURYAKUMAR YADAV who went all the way through with Mumbai to clinch their second SMAT title, overcoming Madhya Pradesh by five wickets in the final.

Let’s have a look at how the quartet fared towards the business end of the competition.

Preliminary quarter-final | 9th December

Chandigarh’s Raj Bawa & Andhra Pradesh’s Satyanarayana Raju went up against Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, for a place in the quarters.

Unfortunately, both our youngsters crashed out at this stage but not without a fight. While all-rounder Bawa registered 2/27 in four overs before an aggressive 20-ball 32, Satyanarayana Raju bagged 1/30 for his team.

Chandigarh faced a narrow three-run defeat versus Bengal whereas Andhra Pradesh went down by four wickets against Uttar Pradesh as their journey came to an end.

Quarter-final | 11th December

Our two veterans, Mumbai’s Surya and Baroda’s HP, featured in the Last 8.

Kung Fu Pandya contributed with a 3/27 in Baroda’s comfortable 41-run win over Bengal.

However, a rare bad day at the office for आमच्या Mr. 360° didn’t affect Mumbai’s surge towards glory. The 2022 champions recorded a six-wicket victory versus Vidarbha in a high-scoring encounter.

Semi-final | 13th December

Woah! Baroda vs Mumbai in the semis meant HP and SKY go head-to-head for a place in the final.

An entertaining clash saw Mumbai win by six wickets to seal their spot in the final for only the second time in the tournament’s history, where they locked horns with Madhya Pradesh for the trophy.

Final | 15th December | Suryakumar Yadav cha vijay aso!!!!

Surya dada was probably saving his best for the summit clash against Madhya Pradesh…

Opting to field first, SKY proved to be at his electric best, taking three catches to help his side breeze past the opposition’s top order.

Chasing 175, the right-handed batter chipped in with an attacking 48 off 35 balls, laced with four fours and three sixes, which played a pivotal role in the successful run chase.