Big-hitting batter M Shahrukh Khan starred with a blistering 66 off 35 balls as Tamil Nadu started their campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy One-Day cricket tournament with a superb 54-run win over defending champions Mumbai in an Elite Group B match on Wednesday. Sent in to bat by Mumbai skipper Shams Mulani, Tamil Nadu got off to a quick start with newbie B Sai Sudharsan (24 off 24 balls, 4 fours) and captain N Jagadeesan (20) laying the groundwork for a big score.
The dismissal of the two openers in the space of four runs to experienced pacer Dhawal Kulkarni (3 for 45 from 10 overs) saw comeback-men M S Washington Sundar and B Indrajith come together for the third wicket.
The duo added 75 runs with Washington, who is playing after an injury setback, striking three boundaries during his 58-ball 34. He looked good before being dismissed caught and bowled by Tushar Deshpande (2/57).
Dinesh Karthik, back in the side after missing the Mushtaq Ali tournament, looked to get a move-on and made 32.
The entry of Shahrukh, who smashed a last ball six to star in Tamil Nadu's triumph in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, changed the complexion of the game.
He simply tore into the Mumbai attack and clobbered five big sixers in his innings (66, 35 balls, 6X4, 5X6) as the opposition attack wilted under the onslaught.
A partnership of 88 with J Kousik (32 off 38 balls) meant former champion Tamil Nadu were on the overdrive in the slog overs and also posted a big score.
Mumbai's response got off to poor start with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) and Armaan Jaffer (9) falling early to Sandeep Warrier (1/49) and R Silambarasan (1/40).
The team's crisis man Siddhesh Lad hit two fours and a six in his knock of 16 but fell to the left-arm spin of R Sai Kishore (2/35 in 9 overs).
Mumbai slipped to 107 for 5 in the 29th over and only a fighting knock of 75 by Mulani (100 balls, 6X4, 1X6) saved the team from an annihilation.
Washington (3/60) and left-arm spinner M Siddharth (3/43 in 10 overs) ensured that the Mumbai innings was cleaned up in the 47th over to ensure a strong start for Tamil Nadu.
In another match, Karnataka crushed Pondicherry by 236 runs riding on R Samarth's knock of 95 and J Suchith's spell of 4 for 3 while Bengal defeated Baroda by 27 runs.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 290 for 8 in 50 overs (M Shahrukh Khan 66 (35 balls, 6X4, 5X6), B Indrajith 45, Washington Sundar 34, Dhawal Kulkarni 3/45, Mohit Avasthi 2/69) beat Mumbai 236 all out in 46.4 overs (Shams Mulani 75, Sairaj B Patel 42, Tanush Kotian 27, M Siddharth 3/43, Washington Sundar 3/60, R Sai Kishore 2/35) by 54 runs. TN: 4 points, Mumbai: 0.
Karnataka 289 for 6 in 50 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 95 (107 balls, 10X4), Manish Pandey 64 not out (2X4, 4X6), K Siddharth 61) beat Pondicherry 53 all out in 17.3 overs (J Suchith 4/3, V Koushik 3/19) by 236 runs. Karnataka: 4 points, Pondicherry: 0.
Bengal 230 all out in 49.4 overs (Kaif Ahmed 67, Abhishek Das 62, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury 48, Atit Sheth 4/62, Lukman Meriwala 3/33, Krunal Pandya 2/34) beat Baroda 203 all out in 48.2 overs (Krunal Pandya 39, P A Kumar 38, Kedar Devdhar 35, Akash Deep 3/39) by 27 runs. Bengal: 4 points, Baroda: 0.