A five-wicket haul by pacer KM Asif, who is having his best domestic season, helped underdogs Kerala earn a shock 15-run victory against defending champions Mumbai in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group A match here on Thursday.
The star-studded Mumbai side, led by India pacer Shardul Thakur and having the likes of national T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube in their ranks, crumbled to 163 all out in 19.4 overs while chasing 179.
Kerala made 178 for five. It was India keeper-batter Sanju Samson, who recently completed the move from Rajasthan Royals to Chennai Super Kings in the biggest deals ahead of the IPL 2026 season, who set the tone for Kerala by smashing a 28-ball 46 after opening the innings.
Mumbai were off to a confident start as, after losing Ayush Mhatre (3) early, Ajinkya Rahane (32 off 18 balls) and Sarfaraz Khan (52 off 40 balls) were involved in an 80-run stand for the second wicket.
At 99 for three in the 12th over, Mumbai looked comfortable. But the tables turned in the 18th over bowled by Asif (5-25), who grabbed the wickets of Sairaj Patil (13), Suryakumar (32) and Shardul (0), to send Mumbai reeling at 149 for seven.
Brief scores
Kerala 178-5 (S Samson 46, V Vinod 43*; S Dube 1-18) beat Mumbai 163 all out in 19.4 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 52, A Rahane 32, S Yadav 32; K Asif 5-24) by 15 runs
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