SMAT Round 5: Spirited shows from Badoni, Shami and Abhishek spark buzz ahead of KOs

Badoni, Shami and Abhishek were the stars of SMAT Round 5 [Source- IPL, AkshayTadvi28, sachin_rt/X.com]

The action-packed Round 5 of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 saw pressure mounting on the teams, with the business end of the tournament nearing, and every point matters. As the teams look to their star players to step up and do something special in crunch situations, several players, including Ayush Badoni, Mohammed Shami, and Abhishek Sharma, were among those steering their associations to wins.

With the knockout phase and the Indian Premier League action closing in, here's how round 5 of the SMAT unfolded.

Samson, KM Asif & Sharafuddeen stun a star-studded Mumbai to keep KO hopes alive

Batting first at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, captain Sanju Samson gave Kerala a great start, scoring 46(28), with 8 fours and a six to his name. His start was backed up by Sharafuddeen's Scameo of 35*(15) with the help of 5 fours and two sixes to take Kerala to 178/7.

In response, Mumbai lost the in-form Ayush Mhatre early in the innings at 3(4). While Sarfaraz Khan (52 off 40), Ajinkya Rahane (32 off 18) and Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 25) chipped in with runs, they could not stick to one end and finish off the match for Mumbai. KM Asif scalped a 5/24 (3.4), alongside 2/31 (4) for Vignesh Puthur to bundle Mumbai for 163 and win by 15 runs.

Shami, Porel & Easwaran shine as Bengal powers past Services

During the Bengal vs Services face-off in Hyderabad, Abhimanyu Easwaran won the toss and asked Services to bat first, and his bowling unit did not disappoint. The senior-pro Mohammed Shami conceded only 13 runs in his 3.2 overs and took 4 wickets, dismissing both the openers, set wicketkeeper and tail-ender Vishal Gaur to put his team in front. He was also assisted by Akash Deep's 3/27 (4) spell.

While chasing the target, the Delhi Capitals star Abishek Porel kick-started the innings with a quick-fire 56(29) with 8 fours and two sixes, also building a 107-run stand with Easwaran. The latter continued his good run of form, adding 58(37). Yuvraj Keswani kept the momentum with a cameo of 36*(19) and Akash Deep provided a finishing touch of 14*(5), clearing the boundary twice.

Stellar performances from Arya, Nitish Rana & Badoni ensure a thumping win over Karnataka

In the afternoon clash in Ahmedabad, Priyansh Arya went all guns blazing with six towering sixes and two fours for his 62(33), Ayush Badoni also complemented him with 53(35), followed by Nitish Rana's 46*(28) and Tejasvi Dahiya's 53*(19) to take Delhi to 232/3.

Smaran Ravichandran's 72(38) and Devdutt Padikkal's 62(38) went in vain as Karnataka was bowled out for 187 in 19.3 overs. Badoni also contributed with the ball and picked a four-fer for just 12 runs in the 45-run win.

Abhishek's all-round brilliance dominate Pondicherry

Batting first against Pondicherry, Abhishek Sharma provided Punjab a start of 34(9) with 4 fours and three sixes. His knock was backed up by Sanvir Singh's 38(22) and Salil Arora's 44*(25) to take them to 192. Abhishek opened the bowling and picked 3/23 off his four overs, alongside Harpreet Brar's 2/12 (3) to win the match by 55 runs. Sidak Singh was the only notable scorer for Pondicherry with his 61(41).

Sai Kishore & Jagadeesan carnage get TN back to the winning ways

The Tamil Nadu star duo of Narayan Jagadeesan and R Sai Kishore scored 83(49) and 87*(39), respectively, to take them to 204/5 in 20 overs. Jagadeesan scored six fours and four sixes in his knock, while Sai Kishore got 8 sixes and three fours. Tripura couldn't get going and were all out for 143 runs. Vijay Shankar top-scored for them with 39(34). 

Other notable performances

• Ishan Kishan vs Uttarakhand: 21(7)
• Vaibhav Suryavanshi vs Goa: 46(25)
• Suyash Prabhudessai vs Bihar: 79(46)
• Yash Thakur vs Assam: 3/36 (4)
• Harsh Dubey vs Assam: 1/22 (4)
• Arshad Khan vs Maharashtra: 2/14 (4) & 30(17)
• Tripuresh Singh vs Maharashtra: 3/23 (4)
• Akash Sengupta vs Vidarbha: 3/12 (2.5)
• Mukhtar Hussain vs Vidarbha: 3/36 (4)
• Suraj Kashyap vs Goa: 3/24 (4)
• Anukul Roy vs Uttarakhand: 3/20 (4) & 16*(12)
• Nitin Sai Yadav vs Jammu & Kashmir: 3/17 (4)
• Yashvardhan Dalal vs Himachal Pradesh: 76*(44)
• Ashok Sharma vs Saurashta: 4/20 (4)
• Vishvaraj Jadeja vs Rajasthan: 69(40)
• Parth Bhut vs Rajasthan: 3/9 (4)
• Bailapudi Yeswanth vs Chhattisharh: 2/24 (4)
• Soumya Lenka vs Railways: 75(40) & 3/50 (4)
• Akshat Pandey vs Odisha: 60(34)

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