2:24 PM IST, Local Time: Mumbai chased down 216 by 3 wickets with 11 balls to spare, but the victory wasn’t enough to keep their campaign alive, as they were eliminated after failing to improve their net run rate above Haryana and remained in the negative. Mumbai needed a big win to boost their net run rate and then had to hope Haryana defeated Hyderabad by a margin large enough for Mumbai’s net run rate to finish higher than both Haryana and Hyderabad, allowing them to top the points table.
Earlier, Rajasthan put up an imposing 216/4 in their 20 overs. After a quiet start, the innings gained momentum through Deepak Hooda (51), who played with authority and injected pace with his strokeplay and sharp running. Ramnivas Golada complemented him well, scoring a brisk 48 off 29 balls. Once they departed, Mukul Choudhary (54*) and Mahipal Lomror (39) took control, stitching together a vital 89-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Lomror anchored the innings with a well-compiled half-century, finishing as the top scorer, as Rajasthan accelerated strongly at the death to post a commanding total.
Mumbai bowlers leaked runs at regular intervals, and allowed their opponent to post a hefty total. Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, and Sairaj Patil grabbed one wicket each for them.
In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal looked a bit scratchy and managed just 15 off 16 balls, but his dismissal didn’t dent Mumbai’s momentum. Sarfaraz Khan then came out all guns blazing, hammering the bowlers to all corners of the park. From the other end, Ajinkya Rahane adopted a similar aggressive approach, with both batters bringing up their fifties. Sarfaraz raced to his half-century off just 15 balls — the fastest fifty for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy — before departing after a scintillating 73 off only 22 deliveries.
Manav Suthar led the fightback by picking up three wickets in quick succession, including the key dismissal of Sarfaraz Khan, which slowed the scoring rate. Overall, Mumbai lost five wickets in a brief span, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (0), Sairaj Patil (4), Suryansh Shedge (10), and Shardul Thakur (2) all falling cheaply.
However, Atharva Ankolekar showed positive intent and scored at a brisk pace to put Mumbai back on track, smashing 29 off just 9 balls, but he couldn’t finish the game and was clean-bowled by Ashok Sharma when the side needed just five runs. Rahane remained unbeaten on 72 runs and helped his side cross the line with 11 balls to spare.
Manav Suthar picked up three wickets for Rajasthan but lacked support from the other bowlers, who conceded runs freely. Ashok Sharma and Kukna Ajay Singh chipped in with two wickets apiece but proved expensive.