With 266 runs in 10 matches at an average of 33.25 and a trophy in his kitty, Yashasvi Jaiswal rounded off another successful outing on the domestic front, this time in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The star Royals opener was also part of the Rest of India squad that won the Irani Cup earlier this year.
Yashasvi started his SMAT campaign strongly, scoring an unbeaten half-century in his first game of the tournament. His 44-ball 66 paved the way for a dominating 8-wicket win for Mumbai over Madhya Pradesh. He followed it with a few more 40+ scores that played a crucial role in helping his team win. Thanks to his handy contributions and the team’s overall performance, Mumbai finished at the top of the points table of Group A, with 6 wins in 7 matches and 24 points in their bag.
It wasn’t just his batting that drew attention, but also the athleticism he displayed in the field, holding on to catches at crucial moments in the game.
After beating Saurashtra and Vidarbha on their way to the final, the Ajinkya Rahane-led team registered a 3-wicket win over Himachal to claim their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Saturday.
It has been a fruitful year for the 20-year-old, whose exquisite stroke-making was instrumental in Rajasthan Royals’ journey in IPL 2022 as finalists. While he started the season slowly, and also ended up missing a few games, Jaiswal bounced back with an authoritative fifty in the match against Punjab Kings that announced his return to form. He ended the season 258 runs with two fifties and a strike rate of 132.99.
He went on to have a smashing Duleep Trophy debut, racking up his maiden double hundred in first-class cricket for West Zone, and eventually clinched the trophy.
