CRICKET | Shreyas show all the way as Mumbai eases past a generous Goa

Captain Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 130 leads Mumbai to victory over Goa in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match.

Captain Shreyas Iyer, thriving on the generosity of the Goan fielders who floored three chances, scored a brilliant 130 not out (57b, 11x4,10x6) to guide Mumbai to a 26-run win in a first round Group E match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket championship at the Gymkhana Ground here on Saturday.

Put into bat, Mumbai was off to a dismal start losing opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi cheaply for six. Prithvi Shaw (33, 22b, 5x4, 1x6), who looked in fine touch straight driving to the fence and whipping one over mid-wicket off pacer Heramb Parab, was bowled by left-arm spinner Darshan Misal in the sixth over.

From then on, it was Shreyas’ show. He scored boundaries at will on either side of the wicket and with ease against spin and pace. Showing his class, the India star hit huge sixes off what looked like good length balls, leaving the Goan camp stunned repeatedly.

Soon, Shreyas completed a century and in the company of Shams Mulani (41, 24b, 4x4, 2x6) put on 114 for the fourth wicket off 48 balls which helped Mumbai score 250 for four in 20 overs.

In reply, Goa suffered early blows but recovered well thanks to opener Ishaan Gadekar (40, 16b, 4x4, 3x6) and Suyash Prabhudessai (52, 36b, 9x4) to keep hopes alive but lost wickets at regular intervals to fall back on a perfect T20 wicket.

Though No. 7 Vikas Singh played a cameo (47 n.o., 21b, 4x4, 3x6) it only delayed the inevitable.

In other matches at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Maharashtra scored a six-wicket win over Nagaland while a fine spell by medium-pacer Akhil Scaria (five for 30) and a breezy knock by captain Sanju Samson (75, 45b, 10x4, 3x6) helped Kerala record a hard-fought, three-wicket win over Services .