New Delhi : Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer continued his rampaging form in domestic cricket, striking yet another explosive half-century during his side's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) match against Maharashtra.
On Wednesday, Mumbai Captain Iyer smashed 71 in just 39 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 182.05. A half-century also came from the willow of Indian veteran Ajinkya Rahane (52 in 34 balls, with three fours and three sixes), which helped the team chase down a 172-run target within 17.1 overs.
Earlier, after being put to bat first, Maharashtra made 171/9 in their 20 overs, thanks to knocks from Nikhil Naik (47 in 38 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Azim Kazi (32 in 23 balls, with two fours and a six) after the team was down 75/6 at one point. Tanush Kotian was the pick of the bowlers with 3/21 in three overs.
Earlier, during the match against Goa, Iyer smashed a fine 130* in just 57 balls, with 11 fours and 10 sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 228.07. His knock helped Mumbai reach 250/4 in their 20 overs after being put to bat first by Goa. Mumbai had won by 26 runs.
Iyer has displayed solid form in domestic cricket after some setbacks in his career. The middle-order batter has overcome India's heartbreaking loss to Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final, injuries, poor Test form and his omission from Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) central contract list in style, by winning the 42nd Ranji Trophy title with Mumbai last season, leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 10 years and overall third, and now displaying some fine form in domestic cricket.
After some disappointing performances in the Buchi Babu Tournament, Shreyas bounced back with some impactful knocks in the Duleep Trophy, in which he scored 154 runs in three matches with two fifties. In Mumbai's Irani Cup win against the Rest of India, he scored 57 and 8.
During the ongoing Ranji Trophy, he has scored 452 runs in four matches at an average of 90.40, with two centuries, out of which one converted into a double ton. His best score is 233.
In his last 10 matches and 15 innings since his return to domestic cricket, Iyer has scored 872 runs, averaging 62.28, with three centuries and four fifties. His best score is 233.
Iyer last played for India during the ODI series against Sri Lanka in August, scoring 38 in three innings.
On the other hand, star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya also continued to boss the tournament following his long-awaited domestic cricket return. smashing a brilliant 69 in just 30 balls against Tamil Nadu, consisting of four boundaries and seven sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 230.00. His effort helped the team chase down a target of 222 runs, with three wickets left. Bhanu Pania also played a fine knock of 20 balls, with three fours and three sixes.
TN was put to bat first by Baroda and a half-century Narayan Jagadeesan (57 in 32 balls, with five fours and three sixes), solid knocks from Vijay Shankar (42* in 22 balls, with four sixes) and captain M Shahrukh Khan (39 in 25 balls, with three fours and two sixes) took TN to 221/6 in 20 overs.
Lukman Meriwala (3/41) was the pick of the bowlers for Baroda.
Pandya has been in fine form this tournament, with 184 runs in three matches at an average of 184.00, with two fifties, and his best score is 74*. His strike rate is 213.95. He has also taken two wickets in the tournament.
Shami went wicketless, coming to the bowlers, as he took none for 46 runs in his four overs for Bengal against Mizoram. Mizoram did make 157/4 thanks to Mohit Jangra (80* in 49 balls, with seven fours and four sixes), but Bengal chased it down as swashbuckling fifties came from Abishek Porel (81 in 45 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) and Karan Lal (67 in 40 balls, with seven fours and three sixes).
In three matches, Shami has taken four wickets at an average of 28.25, with an economy rate of 9.82 and best figures of 3/21.