SMAT 2024: Suryakumar Yadav wins Hearts denying a single to Ajinkya Rahane

In the semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 against Baroda, Mumbai secured an easy victory to book their place in the final. The hero of the match remained Ajinkya Rahane, who played a brilliant knock of 98 runs. He fell just 2 runs short of scoring a well-deserved century.

Suryakumar Yadav Denies Single to Help Ajinkya Rahane Complete His Century

Suryakumar Yadav did everything he could to help Rahane reach his century. In the final four overs, Mumbai needed just 10 runs to win, and Rahane also required 10 runs to complete his century. On the first ball of the 16th over, Rahane struck a boundary, moving to 94. On the second ball, he played a shot towards sweeper cover and tried to take a single, but Suryakumar sent him back.

Surya wanted Rahane to score the remaining 6 runs and complete his century. Not only this, in the previous over, Suryakumar played three consecutive dot balls to ensure Rahane would have the entire next over to score the remaining runs.

This act of selflessness from Suryakumar won the hearts of fans, and the Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd cheered for him after witnessing his gesture. On the very next ball, Rahane hit another boundary to reach 98. Meanwhile, Baroda bowler Abhimanyu Singh, attempting a slower delivery, ended up bowling a wide, which drew boos from the crowd.

Now just one run was needed for Mumbai to win and two for Rahane to complete his century. On the next ball, Rahane tried to smash a fuller delivery but got a top edge, sending the ball high in the air. Baroda’s keeper Vishnu Solanki took an easy catch, and Rahane missed a well-deserved century by just 2 runs.

Suryakumar Yadav, who had intentionally avoided taking the strike to give Rahane the chance to complete his century, was dismissed on the first ball of the 17th over. However, Suryansh Shedge ended the match in style, smashing a six off his first ball to seal Mumbai’s victory. With this win, Mumbai advanced to the final, where they will face Madhya Pradesh on December 15 at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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Mumbai will aim to claim their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, having previously won the tournament in the 2022 season. On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh will be striving to lift the trophy for the first time. MP last reached the final of SMAT in 2010, where Bengal defeated them.