Mohammed Azharuddeen. Those who follow domestic cricket might have heard the name and remembered the Kerala player because of the famous player he shares his name with. After Wednesday, fans will remember him for another reason.
The 26-year-old played the innings of his life at Wankhede Stadium that pulverised Mumbai in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match and announced his arrival. Without a half-century in 20 T20 matches before this one, Azharuddeen smashed an unbeaten 137 off 54 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes.
Powered by the scarcely believable assault, Kerala overhauled Mumbai’s 196/7 in a mere 15.5 overs. There have been brisk starts in T20s and when Kerala reached 5o in the fourth over, it appeared to be one of those. But the difference was, the torrent kept gathering momentum. After 7 overs 104/0, after 10 overs 140/1, it just did not stop. Mumbai’s total was intimidating by all existing standards. Following the Azharuddeen onslaught, it seemed too little. It was Kerala’s second successive win.
Two in two for Delhi
Delhi beat Andhra Pradesh by six wickets to record their second straight win in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament. Put into bat at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the Group B match, Andhra were restricted to 124/9. Delhi made 128/4 in 17 overs. Delhi bowlers led by left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan (3/33) put up an impressive show.
Brief scores: Mumbai 196/7 (Aditya Tare 42, Yashasvi Jaiswal 40) lost to Kerala 201/2 in 15.5 ovs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 137 n.o); Andhra 124/9 (Ashwin Hebbar 32; Pradeep Sangwan 3/33) lost to Delhi 128/4 in 17 ovs (Anuj Rawat 33, Himmat Singh 32 n.o); Pondicherry 148/4 (Shedlon Jackson 82, Paras Dogra 32) lost to Haryana 149/4 in 19 ovs (Himanshu Rana 58, Shivam Chauhan 45).
In Chennai: Meghalaya 230/6 (Punit Bisht 146 n.o, Yogesh Tiwari 53) bt Mizoram 100/9. Sikkim 110/8 (Ashutosh Aman 4/18) lost to Bihar 111/2 in 19.1 ovs (Mangal Mahrour 55). Chandigarh 178/5 (Shivam Bhambri 56) bt Manipur 66/8 (Gurinder Singh 3/10). Arunachal 145/7 (Techi Doria 36) lost to Nagaland 149/1 in 15.5 ovs (Shrikant Mundhe 69 n.o, Chetan Bist 50 n.o).