Sarfaraz Khan starred with the bat as Mumbai defeated Himachal Pradesh by three wickets to win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday (November 5).

Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bowl first. Riding on stunning spells from Tanush Kotian (3-15) and Mohit Avasthi (3-21), Mumbai restricted Himachal Pradesh to a modest 143/8 in 20 overs.

It was a disappointing batting display from the Himachal Pradesh side as half the batters fell for a single-digit score. Ekant Sen was the top scorer with 29-ball 37.

Chasing the target, Prithvi Shaw (11) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) got out cheaply. Batting at No. 3, Yashasvi Jaiswal returned with 27-ball 28 to steady the ship.

Jaiswal’s knock was followed by a crucial 26-ball 34 from seasoned campaigner Shreyas Iyer. After Iyer’s dismissal, Mumbai’s innings collapsed a bit as Shivam Dube (7), Aman Hakim Khan (6) and Shams Mulani (2) got out in quick succession.

In the end, Sarfaraz Khan rose to the occasion for Mumbai while batting at No. 5. With 23 needed off 12 balls, Sarfaraz smashed Kanwar Abhinay Singh for 17 runs in the penultimate over to release all the pressure.

Mumbai managed to get six runs in the final over to win the match with three deliveries to spare, while Sarfaraz remained unbeaten on 36 off 31 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six.

Brief Scores:

Himachal Pradesh 143/8 in 20 overs (Ekant Sen 37, Akash Vasisth 25; Tanush Kotian 3-15, Mohit Avasthi 3-21) lost to Mumbai 146/7 in 19.3 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 36*, Shreyas Iyer 34; Vaibhav Arora 3-27, Mayank Dagar 2-24) by three wickets