SMAT 2025-26, Group A: Sarfaraz’s statement century powers Mumbai to resounding win over Assam
Amidst the din of his non-selection, Sarfaraz Khan (100 n.o., 47b, 8×4, 7×6) emerged from the wilderness to slam his maiden hundred in his first T20 outing in more than two years and powered Mumbai to a thumping 98-run win over Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The 28-year-old raised his 47-ball hundred with a gentle dab in the third-man area and broke into animated celebrations, letting out a fiery roar that seemed to echo across the Ekana Cricket Stadium B here on Tuesday.
Though it was a statement knock for the out-of-favour India batter, Sarfaraz wasn’t weighed down by the impending milestone, reaching 99 with three consecutive fours.
At the other end, Sairaj Patil extended his long levers to ransack 25 runs off nine balls as Mumbai posted an imposing 220 for four.
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It wasn’t a typically roaring start for Mumbai after Assam elected to field, with Ayush Mhatre (21) failing to clear the boundary down the ground. Ajinkya Rahane’s wristy flicks maintained the tempo, while Sarfaraz was cautious initially. Suryakumar Yadav shone brightly but briefly with a 12-ball 20.
Sarfaraz found his groove as late as the 13th over, driving and lofting the slingy medium-pacer Sadak Hussain for a four and a six, and unfurled the pulls square of the wicket en route to a 31-ball half-century. His next 50 runs came in a flash. He sent Avinav Choudhury’s left-arm spin for consecutive sixes down the ground, and timed the ball with panache, punching medium-pacer Akash Sengupta’s hard-length delivery over cover from within the crease before displaying a knack for innovation with a tumbling scoop to the fine-leg rope.
In reply, Assam collapsed like a house of cards, with captain Shardul Thakur finding movement and generating awkward bounce to nab four wickets off his first seven deliveries. A stodgy 40-ball alliance for the 10th wicket, between Avinav and Sadak, frustrated Mumbai, but only delayed its inevitable fourth win in a row.
The scores:
Odisha 135/8 in 20 overs (Biplab Samantaray 61, Ajay Mandal 4/25) beat Chhattisgarh 108 in 19.4 overs (Sanjeet Desai 33, Amandeep Khare 46, Rajesh Mohanty 5/21). Toss: Chhattisgarh.
Railways 167/7 in 20 overs (Shivam Chaudhary 32, Upendra Yadav 55, Ravi Singh 49, Satyanarayana 3/30) lost to Andhra 173/5 in 19.3 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 78, SDNV Prasad 39 n.o.). Toss: Andhra.
Mumbai 220/4 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 42, Sarfaraz Khan 100 n.o.) beat Assam 122 in 19.1 overs (Sibsankar Roy 41, Shardul Thakur 5/23). Toss: Assam.
Published on Dec 02, 2025
