Ajinkya Rahane And...? 3 Players To Watch Out During MUM vs MP SMAT 2024 Final

Aakash Saini

Players to watch out in MUM vs MP SMAT Final [Source: @Johns/x]Players to watch out in MUM vs MP SMAT Final [Source: @Johns/x]

Indian domestic giants Mumbai will face maiden title chasers Madhya Pradesh in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 season on Sunday, December 15 in Bengaluru. An intriguing battle on the cards, both teams qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament by finishing at the top of their respective opening round groups.

Ahead of the highly-awaited SMAT 2024 final, here are three potential players to watch out for.

3. Kumar Kartikeya

Kumar Kartikeya [Source: IPLT20.COM]Kumar Kartikeya [Source: IPLT20.COM]

Madhya Pradesh spinner and ex-Mumbai Indians star Kumar Kartikeya has nabbed 16 wickets from nine innings of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at an impressive average of 15.68. Having sent down 34 overs in the tournament so far, the cricketer has maintained an economy rate of just 7.38. He picked successive three-wicket hauls against Rajasthan and Hyderabad earlier this December, and also collected match-winning figures of 3-32 against Punjab back in late-November in Rajkot.

Kumar Kartikeya’s wicket-taking spree might make him an ideal candidate to trouble Mumbai’s star-studded line-up in the impending final.


2. Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar [Source: @IPL/x]Rajat Patidar [Source: @IPL/x]

Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar has hauled 347 runs from just eight innings to be ranked third among the leading run-scorers of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 season. The cricketer has cracked four half-centuries in the process, including three in succession and all four in a match-winning cause for his team. Patidar’s latest knock of 66* runs from just 29 balls helped Madhya Pradesh wallop Delhi in a one-sided semifinal in Bengaluru.

Rajat Patidar’s aggressive intent might well prove out to be one of the match-defining factors of the SMAT 2024 final.

1. Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x]Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x]

Senior Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane has tallied 432 runs in just seven innings of the competition at an astonishing batting average of 61.71. Maintaining a strike rate of 169.41, Rahane clobbered 98 of those runs from just 56 balls in the semifinal match against Baroda. The innings marked his third successive fifty-plus score of the tournament, after pulling off a 54-ball 95 against Andhra Pradesh and another 45-ball 84 against Vidarbha.

Leading the run-scoring race of the 2024 SMAT season, Ajinkya Rahane will be expected to sustain his prolific run with the bat in the final.