Mhatre hits second consecutive ton in Mumbai victory, 'opener' Samson wins it for Kerala

Lucknow, Nov 30 (PTI) India U-19 skipper Ayush Mhatre continued his blazing form with a second consecutive hundred in Mumbai's dominant nine-wicket victory over Andhra in a group A match of the Syed Mshtaq Ali Trophy here Sunday.

Chasing a target of 160, Mhatre (104 not out off 59 balls) overshadowed national T20 skipper Surykumar Yadav (31 not out off 21 balls) in an unbroken stand of 105, which came off just 9.4 overs.

Mhatre's innings had nine sixes and five fours and he was particularly severe on former MI pacer Satyanarayana Raju, who was smashed for 37 in two overs. Veteran pacer CV Stephen went for 45 in his three overs.

Most of Mhatre's shots were on the on-side with as many as eight of his nine maximums hit in the arc between deep mid-wicket and long-on.

The 18-year-old Mhatre, who has been retained by Chennai Super Kings, has now hit 19 sixes across three SMAT games this season.

Samson stars for Kerala ================== Sanju Samson found his mojo back in a familiar opening position, smashing five sixes in a 15-ball-43 as Kerala cantered home by eight wickets against Chattisgarh in an afternoon game.

Batting first, Chattisgarh could manage only 120 in 19.5 overs with former CSK seamer KM Asif grabbing 3 for 16. His victims included Punjab Kings batter Shashank Singh, who was out for a duck. Only Sanjeet Desai (35 off 23 balls) managed to connect a few big hits but the Chattisgarh innings never had the momentum.

On a flat deck, Kerala raced past the finishing line in just 10.4 overs with Samson taking the charge at the top of the order.

Since the Asia Cup, Samson had been pushed down the batting order for India as Shubman Gill started opening alongside world No.1 T20 batter Abhishek Sharma.

Samson never looked comfortable in the middle order and that he enjoys opening was proved against Chattisgarh as he made the chase feel like a walk in the park.

He hit seamer Ravi Kiran behind square and through mid-wicket for two sixes and left-arm wrist spinner Ajay Mandal for three identical shots over deep mid-wicket boundary. Kerala had raced to 72 by the fifth over before Kiran had him holed out by Anand Rao.

However, Kerala didn't face any problem chasing the target.

Riyan Parag flops for Assam =================== The highly-rated Riyan Parag scored a painstaking 14 off 19 balls for Assam, who lost their low-scoring group A league game to Railways by three wickets.

Batting first, Assam managed only 132 for 7 with Riyan, who had already captained IPL team Rajasthan Royals, wasting too many deliveries. Had Sahil Jain not scored 38 off 29 balls, Assam wouldn't have crossed 125.

While chasing, Railways were 115 for 7 at one stage with 18 needed off last 13 balls. Veteran skipper Karn Sharma (24 not out off 16 balls) ended with a flourish, hitting two fours and two sixes. He ended the game with a six.

Brief Scores: Chattisgarh 120 in 19.5 overs (Sanjeet Desai 35, KM Asif 3/16). Kerala 121/2 in 10.4 overs (Sanju Samson 43). Kerala won by 8 wickets.

Assam 132/7 in 20 overs (Sahil Jain 38, Karn Sharma 2/23). Railways 135/7 in 19.4 overs (Karn Sharma 24 not out). Railways won by 3 wickets.

Andhra 159/7 in 20 overs (Ricky Bhui 48, Tushar Deshpande 3/25). Mumbai 162/1 in 15.2 overs (Ayush Mhatre 104 not out, Suryakumar Yadav 31 not out). Mumbai won by 9 wickets.

Odisha 160/6 (Sambit Baral 46, Darshan Nalkande 2/48). Vidarbha 163/2 in 14.5 overs (Aman Mokhade 73 not, Dhruv Shorey 69 no). Vidarbha won by 8 wickets. PTI KHS KHS AH AH