SMAT Final: Mumbai's Youngsters Shedge and Ankolekar Secure Victory

Mumbai's rising stars, Suryansh Shedge and Atharva Ankolekar, showcased their extraordinary talent and stole the spotlight with outstanding performances, leading their team to a well-deserved victory.

Chasing a target of 175 to win, Mumbai were in a spot of bother when the set Suryakumar Yadav (48, 35 balls) fell at the total of 129 in the 15th over. Shedge, 21, came and blasted an unbeaten 36 off 15 balls (SR 240 - 3x4, 3x6) while left-hander Ankolekar, 24, smashed a six-ball 16 not out (SR 266.66 - 2x6) to help Mumbai complete the chase at a canter.

Shedge and Ankolekar added 51 off just 19 balls as Mumbai retained the title, having won it in 2022-23. MP fought hard throughout and the game became tight when they dismissed Suryakumar, only for the young pair to dash their hopes.

Both contributed with the ball too. Shedge was named Player-of-the-Match for his all-round contribution, having picked 1/32 runs in three overs. Left-arm spinner Ankolekar was Mumbai’s standout bowler. He set the tone for the game with two excellent overs in the powerplay (2-0-7-1), finishing with figures of 4-0-19-1.

“Atharva bowled tremendously in the first over, conceded only five runs. Atharva and Shedge were fearless in their approach, and right from ball one the way they executed was phenomenal to see – youngsters coming up for the team,” Mumbai skipper Shreyas Iyer said.

While the crowd noticed his talent on Sunday, Mumbai had confidence in Shedge’s match-winning capability. He had already made vital contributions with an unbeaten 36 off 12 balls (4x6) and 2/36 in the quarter-final against Vidarbha, and an 8-ball 30 not out against Andhra, both in chasing 220-plus targets. He is doing well in first-class cricket too, averaging 49 after nine innings with three half-centuries, including a 99.

The youngster said he was prepared for the T20 finisher’s role. “As soon as I got into the squad, I knew I would play the finisher role. I spoke to a lot of seasoned players and they gave me lot of insights. I have been practicing for the role ever since,” Shedge said.

On handling the pressure situations in batting, he said: “I am a competitive person and being a Mumbaikar it’s ingrained in you since a young age. The joy you get in winning a match is beyond compare.”

With both teams having a good record of chasing totals, Mumbai got the advantage in the final when Shreyas won the toss and put MP into bat. After Shardul Thakur took two wickets in his first over, MP’s batting never really took off. Skipper Rajat Patidar was left to wage a lone battle, hitting a superb unbeaten 81 (40 b, 6x6, 6x4) to get them to a fighting total. But a target of 175 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, is below par and so it proved to be.