On December 15 (Sunday), Shreyas Iyer’s led Mumbai secured a thumping 5-wicket victory against Madhya Pradesh (MP) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024 final to claim the championship title for the second time.

Madhya Pradesh’s hopes to clinch their maiden trophy in the 17th season were crashed at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru despite the skipper Rajat Pathidar’s red-hot form in the finals.

Riding on the brilliant start of Mumbai’s opener Ajinkya Rahane, the stunning knocks from SKY (Suryakumar Yadav), Suryansh Shedge, and Atharva Ankolekar guided the team to chase a target of 175 runs on a tricky pitch.

Let’s find out how Mumbai became the champions of SMAT 2024 despite a lackluster start in a tough run chase. Moreover, it would be intriguing to explore the interesting stats, award winners, and prize money received by the winners and runners-up of the tournament.

Mumbai’s Efforts to Win SMAT 2024 Finals: Talking Points of the Match

Once again Mumbai proved that they are the best chasing teams in the tournament by achieving the required target against Madhya Pradesh with 13 balls remaining and these are the main moments that intensified the thrill of the game:

Rajat Pathidar’s Anchoring Knock for Madhya Pradesh:

Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Pathidar single-handedly steered his team’s total to 174-8 in 20 overs by scoring an unbeaten 81 runs out of 40 balls by smashing 6 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 202.50.

At one stage, MP was struggling at 86-5 in 12.1 overs after Venkatesh Iyer’s dismissal. But, Pathidar’s presence till the end ensured the team accumulated 88 runs in the next 7.5 overs of the innings.

Rahane and SKY Help Recover Mumbai from a Shaky Start:

The instant dismissals of the team’s opener Prithvi Shaw and captain Shreyas Iyer added a huge burden on Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav that left Mumbai challenged at 47-2 in 4.5 overs. But, the duo of right-handed batters stitched a 52-run partnership for the third wicket and steadied the innings.

Rahane’s 37 runs out of 30 balls (including 4 fours) and SKY’s 48 runs out of 35 balls (including 4 fours and 3 sixes) kept Mumbai at a safe total of 129-5 in 14.4 overs before their dismissals. But, still, the team required 46 runs to be scored out of 32 balls.

Suryansh Shedge and Atharva Ankolekar Play the Best Finisher’s Role:

Mumbai’s lower-order batters Suryansh Shedge and Atharva Ankolekar finished the game in style by adding 51 runs in the next three overs and remained not out till the end.

Suryansh’s quickfire knock of 36 runs from 15 balls (including 3 fours and 3 sixes) and Atharva’s 16 runs out of 6 balls (including 2 sixes), resulted in Mumbai’s total reaching 180-5 in 17.5 overs.

Here are the detailed breakdowns of how Shedge and Ankolekar targeted the next three overs that added a new twist to the SMAT 2024 finals:

SMAT 2024 Prize Money for Winners and Runner-up

Here is the prize money awarded to the winners and runner-ups of SMAT 2024:

SMAT 2024 Award Winners: Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament

Mumbai’s opening batsman Ajinkya Rahane bagged the Player of the Tournament award, after concluding the season as the leading run-scorer. Whereas, Suryansh Shedge received the Player of the Match award for scoring an instant 36 runs and his bowling figures of 1-32 in 3 overs in the finals

Batting and Bowling Stats from SMAT 2024: Leading Run Scorer, Wicket Taker, and More…

These are the notable stats of SMAT 2024 (in terms of batting and bowling) tabulated below in detail:

Batting Stats:

 Bowling Stats: