The 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opened on Wednesday with a handful of swift, often brutal, innings and the odd reminder that bowlers still count. Below is a tidy run-through of the main games before we dig into the detail.
Patel turns 183 into a stroll
Gujarat v Services, Group C, Hyderabad
Urvil Patel is only 26, yet the right-hander already owns a small collection of the fastest Indian hundreds in different formats. He added another entry by flogging an unbeaten 119 from 37 balls – the ton arrived in 31 deliveries, the third-quickest by an Indian in T20 cricket.
“I knew the surface was flat and the boundaries short, so I went early,” Patel said, matter-of-fact after Gujarat’s eight-wicket win. Early was the word. Twelve fours and ten sixes meant a target of 183 vanished with 45 balls unused.
Patel’s knock comes five months after Chennai Super Kings kept him on their IPL books; on this evidence the defending champions may not regret that decision.
Elsewhere in the same group, Kerala swept past Odisha by ten wickets. Captain Sanju Samson finished 51 but Rohan Kunnummal stole most of the light with 121 from 60.
Bhuvneshwar eases back, Juyal finishes the job
Uttar Pradesh v Goa, Group B, Kolkata
Back in state colours after lifting the IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Bhuvneshwar Kumar needed just three balls for his first outswinger to whisper past the bat. He settled for 2 for 23, enough to peg Goa at 172 for nine.
“I’m still chasing rhythm after the break, yet the body feels good,” he noted. The heavy lifting with the bat was left to Aryan Juyal, whose 93 from 57 settled the chase with ten balls left. The keeper-batter played proper cricket strokes – only six twos, but 11 fours and four sixes – a hint that not every modern cameo must be reckless.
Dubey keeps his nerve for Karnataka
Karnataka v Uttarakhand, Group D, Ahmedabad
Chasing 198 can become messy when early wickets fall, and at 128 for five Karnataka were wobbling. Praveen Dubey, a leg-spinning all-rounder let go by Punjab Kings, steered them home with 38 from 24, including a six when seven were needed from two balls. R Smaran’s earlier 67 (41) deserves mention, too – the opener drove fluently through extra cover all evening.
“I told myself to keep the base still and pick one arc,” Dubey said of the penultimate-ball six. Simple advice; hard execution.
Rahane and Suryakumar ease Mumbai past Railways
Mumbai v Railways, Group A, Lucknow
Shardul Thakur’s tidy four overs for 1-15 set up a target of 159, after which Ajinkya Rahane’s brisk 62 from 33 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 47 from 30 removed any remaining doubt. Rahane, who fell hit-wicket trying to pull Karn Sharma, admitted the error with a grin: “Footwork good, balance not so much.”
Prithvi Shaw managed only eight, but it was hard to criticise when the rest of the line-up was cruising. Shivam Dube added a short, sharp burst with the ball – one for 18 – before finishing the run-chase with a straight six that cleared long-on by a seat or two.
Short takes from the other centres
• Vidarbha’s left-arm quick Yash Thakur picked up four for 21 in a 23-run win over Meghalaya; conditions in Nagpur offered just enough grass to keep the seamers interested.
• Delhi, without Rishabh Pant, edged Madhya Pradesh after Lalit Yadav’s skiddy off-spin returned three for 14. Coach Bhaskar Pillai praised the side’s “quiet, clever cricket”.
• Baroda beat Punjab despite Shubman Gill’s fluent 52. Ninad Rathva’s 61 (38) made sure a chase of 180 never looked fraught.
Early patterns and a gentle word of caution
One round rarely decides much, yet Gujarat’s strike-rate, Mumbai’s composure and UP’s bowling depth already look themes worth tracking. Batting conditions on opening day were uniformly friendly; the truer test may arrive once pitches tire and the new ball softens quickly.
For now, Patel owns the headline. The strokes were clean rather than showy, the numbers stark but not inflated by thin attacks. If anything, the first day of the Mushtaq Ali underlined how many Indian players can now belt a hundred at a rate that once seemed a fantasy. Whether they can do it again in a knockout game, or on a tacky February wicket, is an altogether different conversation – one this tournament will happily provide in the weeks ahead.
