By Admin 
Ajinkya Rahane (62, 33b, 4×4, 5×6) toyed with the Railways bowling line-up as a star-studded Mumbai team cruised to a seven-wicket win to get its Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title defence off to a resounding start at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.
Usually a purist’s delight, Rahane seamlessly switched into a marauding avatar, dominating the leg side with effortless pull and pick-up shots, although a six over long-off, after stepping out to the lanky pacer Atal Bihari Rai, stood out.
The former Mumbai skipper showcased his range against spin, charging out of his crease to smash Railways captain Karn Sharma for a six over deep midwicket, and then cutting behind point for a four. However, against the run of play, he was hit wicket in the same over.
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav (47, 30b, 5×4, 2×6) ensured there were no further hiccups before Shivam Dube imparted the finishing touch with a drive to the long-off boundary.
Ashutosh to the rescue
Earlier, the big-hitting prowess of IPL star Ashutosh Sharma brought Railways back on track. During his 61-run blitz, Ashutosh laid into Atharva Ankolekar’s long hops with fierce pulls and lofted inside-out drives, collecting three fours and three sixes off the left-arm spinner to propel Railways to a serviceable total.
After Mumbai elected to bowl, captain Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande bowled two consecutive maiden overs to reduce Railways to three for one in three overs. With the ball seaming and swinging, Shardul and Deshpande maintained a stifling Test-match line outside off-stump to cramp the batters, and Railways was left to play catch-up.
It was another demolition job at the adjacent Ekana Cricket Stadium B here as Kerala razed Odisha’s 177-run target, thanks to Sanju Samson (51 n.o., 41b, 6×4, 1×6) and Rohan Kunnummal’s (121 n.o., 60b, 10×4, 10×6) unbroken alliance.
Assuming the aggressor’s role, Kunnummal scorched Odisha’s hapless attack to reach his second T20 ton. His senior partner, Samson, didn’t mind playing second fiddle and rotating strike. Samson had the final say, however, as he raised a 41-ball half-century with his first six — a hoick over deep midwicket — that sealed Kerala’s 10-wicket win.
The scores: At Lucknow: Railways 158/5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Saif 48, Ashutosh Sharma 61) lost to Mumbai 159/3 in 15.5 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 62, Suryakumar Yadav 47). Toss: Mumbai.
Odisha 176/7 in 20 overs (Biplab Samantaray 53, Sambit Baral 40, M.D. Nidheesh 4/35) lost to Kerala 177/0 in 16.3 overs (Sanju Samson 51 n.o., Rohan Kunnummal 121 n.o.). Toss: Kerala.
Chhattisgarh 133/9 in 20 overs (Ayush Pandey 31, Shashank Singh 34, Yash Thakur 3/25) bt Vidarbha 106 in 19.1 overs (Sourabh Majumdar 3/23). Toss: Vidarbha.
Andhra 143/9 in 20 overs (Ricky Bhui 46, Mukhtar Hussain 4/20) bt Assam 114 in 19.4 overs (Pradyun Saikia 44, S. Raju 3/20). Toss: Assam