Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Shreyas Iyer ton helps Mumbai crush Sikkim

INDORE: Mumbai’s opening encounter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 domestic tournament against Sikkim at the Emerald High School grounds, here, was not only a lop-sided affair, it served as a platform for a few records to be set or broken.
For Mumbai, who won the toss and chose to bat, all the focus was on Prithvi Shaw. After all, the teenager was making a comeback after an almost three-month injury lay-off.
However, a small crowd that had gathered at the venue came in for a surprise when both Mumbai openers, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (11) and Shaw (10) were back in the pavilion with Mumbai’s score just 22.But for the small crowd, things were going to get absolutely memorable. Shreyas Iyer would make their day with a blistering 55–ball 147. Mumbai eventually scored 258-4, the third-highest T20 total and the seventh-highest overall in T20s. Mumbai later got the opposition out for a 104, there by winning the opener by a whopping 158 runs.
Iyer, who had come in at Rahane’s fall, seemed a little uncomfortable at the beginning of his innings (the pace of the bowlers was too slow to time the ball, he told reporters later), but once he made the necessary adjustments, he began to play his strokes freely.
Iyer’s knock included 15 sixes, the most by an Indian in a T20 innings. The earlier record was held by Delhi’s Rishabh Pant, who had slammed 12 sixes. On his way to 147, Iyer also registered the highest individual score by an Indian in the T20 format, the earlier record incidentally, was also held by Pant who had scored an unbeaten 128 for Delhi Daredevils.
Iyer who was joined by Surya Kumar Yadav (33-ball 63) when Shaw departed, added a record 213 for the third wicket, bettering the unbroken partnership of 184 between Alex Hales and AB de Villiers in a Banlgadesh Premier League (BPL) match in January 2019.
Talking to reporters about his knock after the win, Iyer said: “I take every inning very seriously. It doesn’t matter which team I am playing. We just wanted a good start to the tournament and I think overall as a team, we had a great start. Considering my performance, I was happy with the way I was hitting the ball and I just want to carry the same momentum for the next week.”
Sikkim were no match for a starstudded Mumbai team and their troubles were compounded further when a Dhaval Kulkar beamer (ball may have slipped out of his hand) landed on the head of batsman Tashi Pintso. He seemed to be in a lot discomfort and was later taken to a nearby hospital for a precautionary scan.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 258-4 (Shreyas Iyer 147, Surya Kumar Yadav 63) beat Sikkim 104, by 154 runs