Mumbai, Andhra through to SMAT Super League from Group A

Lucknow, Dec 6 (PTI) Star-studded Mumbai returned to winnings ways following their loss to Kerala in the previous round, defeating Chhattisgarh by eight wickets with skipper Shardul Thakur starring with the ball and Ayush Mhatre slamming a half century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group A match here on Saturday.

With one more round to go in the group stage, defending champions Mumbai (20 points), who have won five out of six games so far, and Andhra (20 points) -- who too have won five games -- advanced to the next stage of the competition.

Mumbai, who had lost to Kerala by 15 runs in the previous game, were served well by India all-rounder Thakur who returned excellent figures of 3/19 in three overs as Chhattisgarh were bundled out for a paltry 121 in 19.4 overs.

Mumbai openers Ayush Mhatre (69 not out, 39 balls) and India's batting stalwart Ajinkya Rahane (40 off 28 balls) were then involved in an 82-run stand as the reigning champions reached the target in 15.5 overs for the loss of two wickets.

Mumbai pacers held sway with Thakur making an early dent by getting rid of opener Amit Yadav and skipper Amandeep Khare in the third over of the innings, as consecutive wickets fell when Chhattisgarh had scored just 17 runs.

The early jolts, coupled with incisive bowling from right-arm pacer Tushar Deshpande (2/38) and young quick Suryansh Shedge (2/12) forced Chhattisgarh on the backfoot as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals with six batters managing single-digit scores.

Chasing a below-average score, Mumbai batters went into overdrive almost instantly with teenage opener Mhatre smashing three boundaries and five sixes, while senior partner Rahane hit three boundaries and two maximums.

By the time Chhattisgarh leg-spinner Shubham Agarwal got the better of Rahane, Mumbai were well on course for an easy win at 82/1.

In another match, India keeper-batter Sanju Samson came up with a fine unbeaten 73 (56 balls) but his efforts were not enough as Kerala suffered a crushing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Andhra, who scored the required runs in just 12 overs and are almost assured of making it to the next round with five wins from six games -- the same as Mumbai.

Samson, who batted from start to finish, saw seven of his batters score in single-digit as Kerala managed only 119/7 in 20 overs, which was chased down in double quick time by Andhra.

Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 121 in 19.4 overs (Shardul Thakur 3/19, Tushar Deshpande 2/38, Atharva Ankolekar 2/13, Suryansh Shedge 2/12) lost to Mumbai 123 for 2 in 15.5 overs (Ayush Mhatre 69 not out, Ajinkya Rahane 40; Shubham Agarwal 2/24) by 8 wickets.

Odisha 171 for 4 in 20 overs (Aashirwad Swain 51; Abdul Kuraishi 2/27) beat Assam 98 in 16 overs (Sumit Ghadigaonkar 43; Biplab Samantray 3/2, Badal Biswal 2/28) by 73 runs.

Kerala 119 for 7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 73; Satyanarayana Raju 2/24, Saurabh Kumar 2/18) lost to Andhra 123 for 3 in 12 overs (Srikar Bharat 53) by 7 wickets. PTI AM AM DDV