SMAT 2025-26: Siraj stars as Hyderabad stun Mumbai
Ambi (Maharashtra), Dec 12: The presence of a clutch of India stars failed to inspire Mumbai and Andhra, as they went down to Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, in their Super League matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday.
Mumbai had Yashasvi Jaiswal (29), Sarfaraz Khan (5), Ajinkya Rahane (9) and Shardul Thakur (0) in their line-up but folded for 131 as India pacer Mohammad Siraj took three for 17 in 3.5 overs for Hyderabad.
Tanay Thyagarajan took two wickets to support Siraj.
In reply, the promising Aman Rao (52 not out, 29b) and Tanmay Agarwal (75, 40b) helped Hyderabad chase down the target in just 11.5 overs.
Hyderabad made 132 for one to register a 9-wicket win and grab four points.
Reddy's all-round show not enough
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made 25 and took a hat-trick (3/17 in 3 overs) for Andhra but Madhya Pradesh emerged a four-wicket victor in a low-scoring match.
Andhra were all out for 112 in 19.1 overs, and MP reached 113 for six in 17.3 overs, braving Reddy's burst.
The medium pacer bagged the wickets of opener Harsh Gawali, No. 3 Harpreet Singh Bhatia and No. 4 and skipper Rajat Patidar in successive balls in the third over of the innings.
MP were 14 for three then but recovered well to grab four full points on offer.
Arora's 100 in vain
Salil Arora made a sparkling 125 for Punjab, but batters fired in unison as Jharkhand scored an impressive six-wicket win.
Arora's knock (45b, 9x4, 11x6), in which the hundred came in 39 balls, helped Punjab post a solid 235 for six in 20 overs after getting reduced to 28 for two.
Arora punished Sushant Mishra, clobbering the left-arm pacer for three sixes and a four in the final over of the innings to lift Punjab to an imposing total.
The IPL scouts would certainly have noted this outing of Arora, as it came four days ahead of next week's mini auction, and who has been included in the Rs 30 lakh group.
Arora can double up as a wicketkeeper-batter but on this day Punjab skipper Prabhsimran Singh donned the big gloves.
But led by Kumar Kushagra (82 not out, 46b), skipper Ishan Kishan (47, 23b), Anukul Roy (37, 17b) and Pankaj Kumar (39, 18b), Jharkhand hunted down the target in 18.1 overs. Jharkhand made 237 for four.
Brief scores: Punjab: 235/6 in 20 overs (Salil Arora 125 not out; Sushant Mishra 2/47) lost to Jharkhand: 237/4 in 18.1 overs (Kumar Kushagra 86 not out, Ishan Kishan 47) by 6 wickets.
Andhra: 112 all out in 19.1 overs (KS Bharat 39; Nitish Kumar Reddy 25; Shivam Shukla 4/23, Tripuresh Singh 3/31) lost to Madhya Pradesh: 113/6 in 17.3 overs (Rishabh Chouhan 47, Rahul Batham 35 not out; Nitish Kumar Reddy 3/17) by 4 wickets.
Rajasthan: 132/8 in 20 overs (Shubham Garhwal 33, Mahipal Lomror 37 not out; Anshul Kamboj 2/24, Ishant Bhardwaj 2/24) lost to Haryana: 133/3 in 16.2 overs (Ankit Kumar 60; Rahul Chahar 1/17).
Mumbai: 131 all out in 18.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 29, Hardik Tamore 29; Mohammad Siraj 3/17, Tanay Thyagarajan 2/27) lost to Hyderabad: 132/1 in 11.5 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 75, Aman Rao 52 not out) by 9 wickets.
