New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) Mumbai and Punjab registered impressive run-chase victories, while Chandigarh and Puducherry also opened their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2026 campaigns with wins as the first four matches of the tournament’s opening day got underway.
Mumbai produced the most emphatic chase of the opening four matches, defeating Hyderabad by seven wickets after reaching a target of 173 in just 13.1 overs. Suryakumar Yadav led the charge with an unbeaten 60 off 21 balls, while Musheer Khan struck 51 off 24 deliveries. Angkrish Raghuvanshi added 27 off 13 as Mumbai raced to 174/3.
Earlier, Hyderabad were bowled out for 172 in 20 overs, with Abhirath Reddy top-scoring with 35 off 24 balls. Maxwell Swaminathan claimed three wickets for Mumbai, while Sairaj Patil and Shivam Dube each picked up two.
Punjab also completed a successful chase, edging past Haryana by four wickets after reaching 193/6 in 19.1 overs while chasing 191. Vihaan Malhotra anchored the innings with 86 off 50 balls, including eight fours and five sixes. Uday Saharan provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 38 off 17 deliveries, hitting the winning boundary against Rahul Tewatia.
Haryana had posted 190/6, powered by Dinesh Bana’s 42 off 20 balls, Rahul Tewatia’s 35 off 20 and Samant Jakhar’s quickfire 24 off 12. Harpreet Brar claimed two wickets for Punjab, while Sumit Kumar took three for Haryana.
Chandigarh secured a tense three-wicket victory over Baroda, reaching 149/7 in 19.5 overs after restricting their opponents to 148/6. Shivam Bhambri held the chase together with 45 off 41 balls, while Aarush Bhandari contributed 26 off 18. Jagjit Singh struck the decisive boundary in the final over to seal the win.
Baroda’s innings was built around Shivalik Sharma’s 45 off 42 and Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 40 off 42. Bhanu Pania added a brisk 19 off seven balls, while Krunal also impressed with the ball, returning figures of 2/7 in four overs.
In the fourth match, Puducherry defended a challenging 204/9 to beat Maharashtra by 15 runs. Bhanu Anand and Parameeswaran Sivaraman both scored 46, while Pugazhendi Akash hammered 42 off just 14 deliveries to lift Puducherry to a formidable total.
Maharashtra mounted a strong response, led by Sahil Parakh’s 57 off 29 balls and Arshin Kulkarni’s 33 off 18. However, Badal Rawat’s three-wicket haul for 12 runs helped Puducherry restrict Maharashtra to 189/5 and secure the victory.
–IANS
vi/