Ambi (Pune), Dec 14: Ignored by national selectors in T20 set-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent another stern reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee with a blistering 48-ball century as defending champions Mumbai crushed Haryana by four wickets in a high-scoring Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League B match here on Sunday.
Having tamely surrendered to Hyderabad in the opening Super League game which severely impacted their Net Run Rate, Jaiswal (101 off 50 balls) and Sarfaraz Khan (64 off 24 balls) came out all guns blazing chasing down a stiff target of 235 set by Haryana in 17.3 overs to keep their chances of qualifying for the summit clash alive. The duo added 88 runs in just 6.1 overs to make a difficult chase look like a walk in the park.
During post-match presentation ceremony, Jaiswal requested his teammate Sarfaraz to join him while collecting the Player of The Match cheque of Rs 50,000.
When Haryana skipper Ankit Kumar (89 off 42 balls) and talented all-rounder Nishant Sindhu (63 no off 38 balls) added 110 runs in only 8.1 overs, little did they expect the carnage that was to follow.
Veteran Ajinkya Rahane (21 off 10 balls) started in earnest with Jaiswal also giving new ball bowler Anshul Kamboj (1/63 in 4 overs) and left-armer Ishant Bhardwaj (1/56 in 3 overs) the charge, hitting both of them for sixes and boundaries galore.
The problem with all Haryana quicks was their pace hovered around 125 to 130 kmph range which was exactly what the doctored ordered for Mumbai on a placid track.
Their half-volleys were driven, short balls sat up nicely for Jaiswal to play the pull-shots and ramp shots over third man. In all Jaiswal hit 16 fours, five off Kamboj alone and a six.
Once Sarfaraz came in, he did his IPL auction cause no harm with some cheeky ramps and audacious lap shots off Bhardwaj, obviously the left-arm military medium bowler’s lack of pace helping him all the way.
When Sarfaraz gave the charge and completed his 50 off 16 balls, Jaiswal quite rightly played the second fiddle but once the burly man was gone, the left-hander took charge to finish the game in a jiffy.
With Shubman Gill’s form not inspiring confidence of highest order, Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir might just be tempted to have one last look at Jaiswal during the series against New Zealand T20Is before the start of the global event.
Brief Scores: Haryana 234/3 in 20 overs (Ankit Kumar 89, Nishant Sindhu 63 no, Sairaj Patil 2/44).
Mumbai 238/6 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 101 no, Sarfaraz Khan 64, Anshul Kamboj 1/63). (PTI)
