Ayush Mhatre lit up the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow today in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with a stunning 49-ball century in the clash against Vidarbha. Opening the innings, he remained unbeaten on 110 runs off just 53 deliveries with eight fours and as many sixes to help his team chase down a target of 193 runs with seven wickets and 13 balls in hand.
Mhatre is best known for his aggressive batting up front in the shortest format of the game. He had played some cameos even in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year while turning up for five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has been retained by CSK for the next edition of IPL as well, even as Mhatre has also captained India U19 across formats and will also lead the team in the U19 Asia Cup next month.
Coming back to his knock, Mhatre played his shots right from the word go, notching up a half-century off just 20 deliveries, and kept going for his shots even after that, before reaching the three-figure mark with a six.
Surya, Dube also contribute to Mumbai's victory
Meanwhile, the other Mumbai batters - Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube also made telling contributions in the run-chase, playing a decent supporting hand to Mhatre. Mumbai lost Ajinkya Rahane for a second-ball duck and even Hardik Tamore scored only one run. But Surya joined hands with Mhatre to add 88 runs for the third wicket while Dube capitalised in the second half to smash an unbeaten 39 off just 19 balls with three fours and as many sixes to take the team over the line.
Mumbai have now won both their matches in the tournament and are in second position in the Elite Group A points table. They will next face Andhra on Sunday (November 30) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium and will be keen on continuing in the same vein.
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