Ayush Mhatre stole much of Friday’s attention in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, his 53-ball 110 powering Mumbai to a seven-wicket victory over Vidarbha and a second straight win. The 18-year-old, confirmed earlier in the day as India Under-19 captain for the forthcoming Asia Cup, cracked eight fours and eight sixes while becoming the youngest man (18 years, 135 days) to register hundreds in first-class, List-A and T20 cricket. He trimmed more than a year off Rohit Sharma’s previous mark. Only Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Vijay Zol have made a men’s T20 hundred at a younger age.
Mumbai’s chase of 193 never felt rushed. Mhatre set the tempo, Suryakumar Yadav added a measured 35 from 30 deliveries and Shivam Dube finished matters with a brisk 39 off 19, leaving 13 balls unused. Dube’s evenings with the ball continue to count, too: 3 for 31 takes him to four wickets in seven tournament overs.
Elsewhere, Prithvi Shaw enjoyed a smooth start to life as Maharashtra captain, his 36-ball 66 underpinning an eight-wicket win over Hyderabad. Arshin Kulkarni’s unbeaten 89 from 54 provided the anchor, and the target of 192 was reached with eight balls remaining. Maharashtra are off the mark after defeat in their opener.
Kerala could not maintain their opening-day momentum, falling 32 runs short of Railways’ 150 in Lucknow. Sanju Samson, fresh from a half-century on Wednesday, laboured to 19 off 25, while Wednesday’s centurion Rohan Kunnummal mustered only eight. A tidy Railways attack, led by left-arm spinner Akash Pandey, never loosened its grip.
Haryana edged past Punjab in the day’s only Super Over finish. Punjab, chasing 208, were pegged back when Yuzvendra Chahal removed Salil Arora and Nehal Wadhera in successive overs, yet Anmolpreet Singh’s 81 from 37 had already kept their hopes alive. Late cameos from Sanvir Singh (30 off 16) and Harpreet Brar (10 off 4) forced the one-over shoot-out, though not before the unusual sight of Gurnoor Brar being retired out after an unconvincing 10-ball eight. Punjab could manage just a single in the eliminator; Haryana needed only one ball to find the boundary. Earlier, 19-year-old Nishant Sindhu’s 32-ball 61 had lifted Haryana to 207 and followed his all-round contribution on day one.
In Alur, Anukul Roy delivered the day’s lone successful solo rescue act. Karnataka’s 157 for 9 looked light, thanks in part to Roy’s 2 for 13, yet Jharkhand collapsed to 33 for 3 inside the powerplay and kept losing partners. Roy, batting at five, carried on regardless, finishing 95 not out from 58 balls with nine fours and five sixes. No team-mate passed 15. Jharkhand crossed the line with two balls left, making it two wins from two.
Briefly:
• Mumbai 196/3 (Mhatre 110, Dube 39) beat Vidarbha 192/7 by seven wickets.
• Maharashtra 194/2 (Kulkarni 89, Shaw 66) beat Hyderabad 192/6 by eight wickets.
• Railways 150/8 beat Kerala 118/9 by 32 runs.
• Haryana 207/8 tied with Punjab 207/6; Haryana won Super Over.
• Jharkhand 160/7 (Roy 95) beat Karnataka 157/9 by three wickets.
Round two therefore closes with Mumbai, Jharkhand and Haryana perfect, while Kerala, Karnataka and Punjab seek early course corrections. Mhatre’s milestone may dominate the headlines, yet several captains—new and seasoned—found room to shape results, hinting at an engaging fortnight ahead.
