The Suryakumar Yadav-led Mumbai team crashed to their fourth consecutive loss in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Sunday. After defeats to Delhi, Kerala and Haryana in their first three games, they were beaten by Puducherry by six wickets in an Elite ‘E’ Group league game on Sunday.

Santha Moorthy claims five
Put in to bat, Mumbai were bundled out for a mere 94 in 19 overs as Puducherry medium-pacer Santha Moorthy (five for 20) destroyed the hosts’ batting line-up. Moorthy’s dismissals included the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Aditya Tare (3), Suryakumar (8), Siddhesh Lad (2) and Sujit Nayak (0). Interestingly, Moorthy, 41, was playing only his second T20 game. Medium-pacer A Aravinddaraj, 24, claimed two wickets. For Mumbai, all-rounders Shivam Dube and Akash Parkar scored 28 and 20 not out respectively.

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In reply, Puducherry’s S Karthik (26) and captain Damodaran Rohit (18) started off well, stitching a 45-run opening stand in 6.5 overs to claim a convincing win. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sheldon Jackson remained unbeaten on 24. Medium-pacer Dube bowled well, claiming 2-8 in his four-over spell. Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar and left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar picked up one wicket apiece. 

Mumbai coach Amit Pagnis called for better intent. “Individuals have to take responsibility and play as a team. Winning and losing is part of the game. However, what is important is to learn from mistakes and we need to show some intent to win,” Pagnis told mid-day.

Lack of good preparation
The coach pointed to the lack of good preparation ahead of the T20 tournament amidst the pandemic. They practised together for only seven days including playing a practice game, one match simulation exercise and a few net sessions. “We are struggling because we practised together as a team for hardly a few days,” remarked Pagnis. Mumbai will play their last game of the tournament against Andhra on Tuesday.

Brief scores
Mumbai 94 all out in 19 overs (S Dube 28; S Moorthy 5-20, A Aravinddaraj 2-20) lost to Puducherry 95-4 in 19 overs (S Karthik 26, S Jackson 24'; S Dube 2-8) by 6 wickets