Indore: Led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, Mumbai defended a modest 156-run target as they defeated Punjab by 35 runs in their Group C Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match here Friday, registering their second successive win in the premier domestic T20 tournament. On Thursday, Mumbai had kicked-off their campaign on a winning note, thrashing minnows Sikkim by a staggering 154 runs.
Asked to bat first, Punjab bowlers led by medium pacer Baltej Singh (3-30) and left-arm seamer Barinder Singh Sran (3-34) dished out a clinical performance as they bundled out a formidable Mumbai for a modest 155 in their 20 overs Friday. Surya Kumar Yadav was Mumbai’s top-scorer as he hit a quick-fire 80 in just 49 balls.
Earlier, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (0) and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw (8) had another failure with the bat as Mumbai slumped to 8-2 early on. But in-form Shreyas Iyer (46), who had made a record- breaking 147 against Sikkim, and Yadav stitched a crucial 126- run stand for the third wicket.
While Iyer hammered four fours and three shots over the fence, Yadav struck nine boundaries and four sixes in his stroke-filled innings at the Emerald Heights International School Ground here. After Iyer’s dismissal, ‘crisis man’ Siddhesh Lad went for a duck and then Mumbai lost wickets in a heap and eventually folded up for 155.