Why SMAT title victory could be IPL launchpad for rising star Suryansh Shades Cricket News

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In front of 15,000-odd spectators. Mumbai, who came to support Madhya Pradesh in a big way, showcased their batting prowess with their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. They were heavy favorites ever since the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dubey made themselves available for the second half of the tournament.

On Sunday, they wrapped up the formalities, winning the final going down to the wire, with five wickets to spare and 13 balls to spare. Standing tall in the chase with another impressive innings as a finisher was 21-year-old Suryansh Shedge, who scored an unbeaten 36 off 15 balls to earn the Man of the Match award.

Chasing a target of 175 runs for the fourth consecutive match, Mumbai was within reach. But unlike matches against Andhra, Vidarbha and Baroda, where the openers gave a head start, Mumbai lost Prithvi Shaw early on. Playing on a slightly slower used surface, they had to bat in different gears as the MP attack resorted to slower deliveries and cutters.

But, here the series experience of Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar and Dubey came out. Iyer and Dubey returned with 16 and 9 runs, but Rahane, who was in blazing form in the run-up to the final with 169.41, bowed his head and scored 37 off 30 balls. Suryakumar, who did not perform well. tournament, stepped up to score a distinctive 48 off 35 deliveries. Then, just as the MP smelled a comeback, the 21-year-old Shdge enhanced his reputation as a finisher.

“At no point did we feel that the game was slipping away from us,” said captain Iyer. Shedge and Atharva (Ankolekar) were fearless in their approach and right off the ball the way they performed was phenomenal to watch,” he added.

In many ways Shades’ fearless approach epitomized the Mumbai campaign. When he came in, Mumbai still needed 45 off 32 balls. With all his big names back in the hut, the MP started another comeback in the night. As Rahane and Surya put on a 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket, they were struggling for a reply.

A ray of hope

Venkatesh Iyer will answer the SOS by removing Rahane, who can only muscle the cutter as a deep cover fielder. Kumar Karthikeya removed Dubey two overs later and Mumbai seemed to have dug their own graves when Surya perished in the next over. Enter Shedge. Having already played two crucial cameos against Andhra and Vidarbha to help Mumbai cross the 200-plus chase line, he repeated the feat with minimal fuss. The acceptance for his shots from Mumbai’s star-studded dugout told a story in itself. SMAT may have given IPL a new star.

Earlier, if not for captain Rajat Patidar, Madhya Pradesh would not have been in the game in the second half. During the tournament, their decision to slot two Indian players Patidar and Venkatesh at 5 and 6 faced questions. While this helped them protect their early morning start, for the final, against a Mumbai side where a big total was needed to stay in the game, the Chandrakant Pandit-coached MP side could be a bit more creative in the final.

After Shardul Thakur removed his two openers in the second over, MP’s innings started to stall. Nowhere in the first 10 overs did Mumbai feel that the game was slipping away from them as Patidar got on the board for 48 runs in just 7.4 overs. In the next over, MP lost their fourth wicket and with Venkatesh back in the dugout with 12.1 overs to go, the final looked very different.

When Patidar decided to take the game into his own hands. The 31-year-old player, who reached the final after scoring an unbeaten 66, left on Friday night. With chants of ‘RCB, RCB’ around the stadium, Mumbai were left looking for answers for the night as Patidar counter-attacked. Patidar, who scored nine runs in nine balls at one stage, scored 81 runs in an innings with six fours and many sixes in 40 balls.

Abbreviated numbers: Madhya Pradesh 174/8 in 20 overs (Patidar 81 no; Dias 2/32, Thakur 2/41) lost to Mumbai 180/5 in 17.5 overs (Suryakumar 48, Rahane 37, Shedge 36 no; Tripuresh 2/34). 5 wickets

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