Mumbai reach SMAT final after Ajinkya Rahane's sublime 98-run knock

Ajinkya Rahane (Pic: X/@BCCIdomestic)

Mumbai's star batsman Ajinkya Rahane continued his rich vein in form during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Baroda.

The right-hander played a knock of 98 runs following which Mumbai qualified for the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They defeated Baroda by six wickets.

Mumbai bowlers restricted Baroda to 158 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Ajinkya Rahane's knock included 11 fours and 5 sixes. He took his team to 164 runs for the loss of four wickets in 17.2 overs in semi-final one. With this, Mumbai will now face the winner of semi-final two between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

It was quite remarkable to see Ajinkya Rahane, a batsman of classic mould, playing like a T20 thoroughbred and the right-hander brought up his fifty in 29 balls with a massive six over mid-wicket off pacer Hardik Pandya.

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After the early departure of Prithvi Shaw (8), who scooped Hardik to Atit Sheth in the circle, Rahane and skipper Shreyas Iyer (46, 30b, 4x4, 3x6) added 78 runs for the second wicket in just nine overs.

The partnership knocked the stuffing out of Baroda, whose lone bright moment was when Hardik received loud cheers from a sizable turnout at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he asked the security guards not to beat up three ground invaders.

Ajinkya Rahane was on 98 runs and was in need of just two more runs to win, but Abhimanyu Rajput bowled a wide purposefully as the scores went level.

The crowd expressed disappointment and on the very next ball, Ajinkya Rahane departed in an attempt to smash a big shot.

But by then, he had done his job to perfection. Earlier, Mumbai bowlers were on the money right through the innings while exploiting some early movement on a damp day.

Shahswat Rawat (33) and skipper Krunal Pandya (30) could not exploit their starts, getting out to wayward shots.

Shivalik Sharma (34 not out, 24 balls) played a few beefy hits, including a last-ball six, to take Baroda past the 150-run mark, but that was not even enough to stretch Mumbai.

Brief Scores:

Baroda: 158 for 7 in 20 overs (Shahswat Rawat 33, Krunal Pandya 30, Shivalik Sharma 34 not out; Suryansh Shedge 2/11) lost to Mumbai: 164/4 in 17.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 98, Shreyas Iyer 46) by 6 wickets.

(With PTI Inputs)