SMAT 2025-26: Late batting slump costs Mumbai against Kerala

Mumbai’s star-studded batting lineup imploded spectacularly as the defending champion squandered a winning position and slipped to a 15-run defeat against Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B ground in Lucknow on Thursday.

Needing 49 runs to win in the last five overs with six wickets in hand, Mumbai was bundled out for 163, with pacer K.M. Asif wreaking havoc with a five-wicket haul. While Kerala’s bowlers held their nerve till the end and the fielders backed them up with some sharp catches in the outfield, Mumbai panicked uncharacteristically.

With 31 runs to get off 18 balls, Asif turned the match on its head with a three-wicket over. Sairaj Patil was castled swinging for the hills, and, a couple of deliveries later, a cautious Suryakumar Yadav, who had unfurled his trademark scoop to the fine-leg boundary only once, flicked one high in the air at deep square-leg, where substitute fielder Ahammed Imran nabbed a well-judged catch. Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur played across the line off the next ball and got a leading edge to mid-off, putting Kerala on the brink of a heist.

Suryakumar Yadav could add only 32 from 25 balls and was nabbed by pacer K.M. Asif.
| Photo Credit:
Sandeep Saxena

M.D. Nidheesh and Asif ensured that 28 runs off 12 balls was too steep an equation for the tail as Kerala notched its third successive win over the much-fancied Mumbai side in the domestic T20 competition.

The outcome had seemed unlikely during Ajinkya Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan’s 80-run alliance for the second wicket, which steadied Mumbai after Sharafuddeen knocked over Ayush Mhatre’s off-stump in the first over. Rahane relied on timing and placement, while Sarfaraz played the ball late and eschewed the cross-batted heaves on his way to a 37-ball half-century.

However, they fell in quick succession, with Rahane getting a top edge sweeping Vignesh Puthur and Rohan Kunnummal’s stunning dive at deep extra-cover cutting short Sarfaraz’s stay.

The floodgates opened when Vignesh had Shivam Dube stumped, thanks to Sanju Samson’s lightning-quick glovework, and Mumbai never recovered.

Sanju Samson’s 46 off 28 was a knock built on solid backfoot play.
| Photo Credit:
Sandeep Saxena

Kerala was at risk of a similar collapse before Sharafuddeen’s 15-ball 35 lower-order cameo. The all-rounder, using the depth of the crease, smashed Shardul for two fours and a six in the final over, which made all the difference in the end.

Earlier, after opting to bat, Samson blazed his way to 46 off 28 balls, a knock built on solid backfoot play. However, a concerning pattern of dismissals emerged when Samson fell essaying the pull shot for the fourth time in five innings.

Kerala’s middle-order stumbled as Mohammed Azharuddeen, Salman Nizar and Abdul Bazith perished in the space of 10 deliveries. With Vishnu Vinod struggling with cramps during his stodgy, unbeaten 40-ball 43, Sharafuddeen’s pyrotechnics eventually saved the day. 

Published on Dec 04, 2025