Rahane, Surya fire as Mumbai crush Railways by 7 wickets | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav brought the heat to the Ekana International Stadium on a cozy winter day, guiding defending champion Mumbai to a seven-wicket win in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opener against Railways.After restricting Railways to 158 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs, Mumbai romped home in 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand. Chasing 159, openers Ayush Mhatre (18) and Rahane added 62 runs off just 26 balls before Ayush was caught by Ravi Singh off Rahul Sharma on the last ball of the powerplay. After his dismissal, Rahane and Surya forged a quickfire 51-run stand off 30 balls. Rahane smashed 62 off 33 balls, studded with four boundaries and five sixes, before he was out hit-wicket off Karn Sharma while attempting a sweep. Surya played with his usual flair, scoring 47 off 30 balls with five boundaries and two sixes before being trapped by Sharma. After Surya’s departure, wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore (23) and the experienced Shivam Dube (5) completed the formalities. Earlier, Railways, led by former India leg-spinner Karn Sharma, had a disappointing start as openers SA Ahuja and Shivam Chaudhary (11) were back in the pavilion at 19/2 in 6.2 overs. Mohammad Saif then batted responsibly, scoring 48 off 37 balls with seven boundaries and a six, but his partner Ravi Singh (26) was caught by Suryansh Shedge off Atharva Vinod at 64/3 in 11.2 overs. After Ravi’s dismissal, Ashutosh Sharma smashed a brilliant 61 off 30 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes to lift the total, but it ultimately proved insufficient. Brief scores: Railways 158 for 5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Saif 48, Ashutosh Sharma 61; Shivam Dube 1/11) lost to Mumbai 159 for 3 in 15.5 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 62, Surya Kumar 47; Rahul Sharma 2/43).
