Yashasvi Jaiswal announced his Mumbai return in style with a fabulous 48-ball ton while Sarfaraz Khan's ridiculously effortless 25-ball 64 as Mumbai made a mockery of a huge target of 235 against Haryana in Pune on Sunday (December 14). Jaiswal finished with 101 off 50 balls and by the time he departed, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Jaiswal was awarded Player of the Match for his rapid century but the left-hander chose to share the award with Sarfaraz as a token of appreciation for his teammate's stunning knock.
With such a big target to chase, Mumbai needed a flawless Powerplay and had to also keep wickets in hand. Veteran Ajinkya Rahane (21 off 10) set the tone with a quick cameo as his stand with Jaiswal added 53 in just 19 balls. The carnage only got bigger with Sarfaraz's arrival as he added 88 for the second wicket with Jaiswal off just 37 deliveries.
The strokeplay was lethal, effortless and demoralising for Haryana's bowlers on a very flat pitch with small ground dimensions. When the Jaiswal-Sarfaraz stand was broken, Mumbai were 141/2 in just 9.2 overs, needing only 94 more off the next 64 deliveries. Haryana did try to make a comeback with regular strikes but the heavy onslaught in the first ten overs allowed Mumbai to play risk-free cricket.
Jaiswal upped his tempo through the innings and with him at one end, Mumbai were in very little danger of throwing the game away. Earlier in the day, Haryana smashed 234 on the back of a collective batting performance led by skipper Ankit Kumar's 42-ball 89 at the top of the order.
All-rounder Nishant Sindhu struck 63* off just 38 balls while Samant Jakhar (31 off 14) and Sumit Kumar (16 off 4) played neat cameos to give their side a huge total. However, Jaiswal and Sarfaraz were in a different zone altogether, with the duo making mince meat of such a big target.
