Meghalaya Create History, Beat Domestic Giants Mumbai In Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Mumbai are the domestic giants of Indian cricket. Ever since cricket has been played in India, Mumbai have established a benchmark of dominance that has been hard to replicate by any other teams. With 41 Ranji Trophy titles, 15 Irani Trophy titles and two Vijay Hazare trophies, Mumbai have won 58 domestic titles in their cricketing history. Thus, when a less-established team beats Mumbai, then it becomes massive news. In 2014, during the Ranji Trophy, Jammu and Kashmir created history when they defeated Mumbai for the first time in their fortress at the Wankhede stadium.

Five years later, history was again created when Meghalaya, not considered one of the elite teams, upset Mumbai in grand style at the Wankhede by six wickets to send shockwaves in Indian domestic cricket. Mumbai batted first and they got off to a blazing start with Jay Bista and Aditya Tare taking the attack to the bowlers. Bista smashed 44 off 30 balls and Tare gave him good support with 27 but Meghalaya fought back when Swarajeet Das got the wicket of Bista and Tare in the same over.

Shreyas Iyer struggled to get going as he was sent back by Dwarka Ravi Teja and for a brief moment, Mumbai skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad, who has been picked by Kolkata Knight Riders, stitched a solid stand. However, Abhay Negi took two wickets as Mumbai struggled to get going in the death overs to end with 157/6. In respinse, Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur struck early blows and when Punit Bisht departed, Meghalaya were staring down the barrel at 41/3.

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However, Ravi Teja and Sanjay Yadav strung a solid partnership of 92 runs for the fourth wicket. Ravi Teja found the boundary and combined aggression with caution while Yadav was more aggressive of the lot, striking two sixes. The partnership put Meghalaya on course and despite Yadav falling for 55, Ravi Teja struck a fifty and guided Meghalaya over the line for a six-wicket win. Mumbai are already through to the super league stage of the tournament but this loss could result in loss of momentum for the team as they look to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament for the first time ever.

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