Shaw makes bat talk, Negi hits 14-ball 50, Haryana win

Mumbai, November 17

Prithvi Shaw made a splendid return to competitive cricket after serving a doping ban, hitting a 39-ball 63 to guide Mumbai to a 83-run win over Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

All eyes were on Shaw, who played his first game after serving a back-dated eight-month suspension by BCCI for failing a dope test and the pint-sized opener did not disappoint the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium. Shaw, who came in for in-form Jay Bista, struck a blazing half-century and then celebrated in a ‘bat does the talk’ manner. Shaw and Aditya Tare (82) toyed with a pedestrian Assam attack to help Mumbai post a massive 206/5 in their Group D match.

The Mumbai bowlers led by medium-pacer Shivam Dube (2/3) then restricted the visitors to 123/8 to complete the win. The 20-year-old Shaw made his intent clear as he hit seven boundaries and two sixes in his 39-ball knock and made optimum use of a life which he got on 32 after being dropped at long-off. He and Tare conjured up a 138-run stand for the first wicket to lay the foundation of a big total. Tare hammered 12 fours and one six. Shaw later said, “Now I will focus on scoring as many runs as possible and win games for the team. I will just keep scoring runs. It is all about the selectors and what they think. My job is to score runs and win games for the team.”

4-wkt win for Haryana

Haryana chased the 160-run target against Madhya Pradesh with four wickets in hand and Sumit Kumar top-scoring with an unbeaten 44.

Fastest fifty

Meghalaya’s all-rounder Abhay Negi registered the fastest fifty in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in 14 balls, surpassing the record held by Robin Uthappa. Negi hammered two fours and six sixes.

Brief scores: Mumbai: 206/5 (Aditya Tare 82, Prithvi Shaw 63; Riyan Parag 3/30); Assam: 123/8 (Riyan Parag 38, Sibsankar Roy 22; Shivam Dube 2/3)

MP: 159/6 (Rajat Patidar 69, Venkatesh Iyer 34; Harshal Patel 3/34); Haryana: 162/6 (Sumit Kumar 44*, Shivam Chauhan 41; Parth Sahani 2/17)

Saurashtra: 149/7 in 20 overs (Sheldon Jackson 55; Aquib Nabi 4/43); Jammu & Kashmir: 155/4 in 19.2 overs (Parvez Rasool 59*; Chetan Sakariya 2/34)

Meghalaya: 207/4 (Ravi Bhamidipati 53*, Abhay Negi 50*; Lalhma Ngaiha 1/24); Mizoram: 182/2 (Taruwar Kohli 90, Pawan Prasad 72*; Raj Biswa 1/29). — PTI