Abhishek Sharma in action during SMAT 2025 match against Bengal. (PHOTO: PCACricket/X)It was a morning where Abhishek Sharma double underlined why he remains the most destructive T20 batsman going around in India. Turning up for Punjab in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, in this Group C fixture at Hyderabad’s Gymkhana ground, the left-handed opener got to his fifty off 12 deliveries – joint second fastest by an Indian alongside his mentor Yuvraj Singh – before getting to his century off 32 deliveries. Courtesy of his 52-ball 148, Punjab put a massive 310/5 against Bengal, which attack included Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep.
Punjab, winners of the SMAT in 2023/24, are the most feared T20 outfit in the tournament. Blessed with some of the powerful and aggressive batsmen in the T20 mould, they had failed to click last season. This season, despite starting with a five-wicket win over Himachal had lost to Haryana in the Super Over and in the third game against Bengal, electing to bat first in a 9 am start game, Abhishek and Prabhsimran Singh set the tone early. The left-right duo, which already has a history of giving explosive starts at the top in SMAT and Vijay Hazare Trophy, were by no means measured in their approach. Batting in top gear from the word go, they put together a 205-run stand for the first wicket off just 12.3 overs. Even though Prabhsimran was made to play the second fiddle, his innings of 70 off 35 would have been at the forefront if not for Abhishek.
The left-hander, who is known for his six-hitting capabilities, hit 16 sixes in all, with five of them coming against Shami and Akash. His wagon-wheel – 14 of the sixes were in front of the square – showed how dominating his innings was. Out of the 16, 8 came on each side, with five soaring over the long-off fence alone as he went at an incredible strike-rate of 284.62. There was a point during his innings where the sixes he hit outnumbered the singles he took, which was 18 in the end.
With the openers already setting up the match, the middle-order that comprises of Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Sanvir Singh played their role to help Punjab finish at 310/5, the second-highest total in SMAT behind Baroda’s 349/5 against Sikkim.
Chasing the total, Bengal were never really in the game as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Abhimanyu Easwaran, though, had an innings to remember as he remained unbeaten on 130 off 66 deliveries. Bengal finished with 198/9, falling short by 112 runs.
Elsewhere at Lucknow, Ayush Mhatre hit another century as Mumbai made light work of their 160-run chase against Andhra. After the bowlers did a commendable job to restrict Andhra to 159/7, Mhatre’s 104 off 59 deliveries ensured Mumbai got home in 15.2 overs for the loss of just one wicket. Mhatre, who is part of India’s Under-19 team, hit 9 sixes and five boundaries in all.
At Ahmedabad, Delhi won a thriller against Saurashtra. Batting first, skipper Nitish Rana’s 76 led the charge as Delhi put 207/4 with Yash Dhull and Ayush Badoni playing cameos. Chasing the total, Saurashtra struggled to get momentum in the chase and appeared to drift away before Ruchit Ahir and Luckraj took them close before falling 10 runs short.
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