Brar fires in Super Over win, Kishan goes ballistic, and Delhi use all 11 bowlers

Having conceded 176, a third loss in four games seemed all but certain when Punjab needed 24 off four balls in their Group A fixture against Mizoram. But Harpreet Brar did the unthinkable - hitting a four and three sixes. Along the way, Punjab also benefited from a wide to help force the game into a Super Over.

Brar, who walked in at 151 for 6 with eight balls remaining, hit an unbeaten 23 off seven. Punjab then hit 15 in the one-over shootout to win by eight runs. The defending champions now have two wins in four games, and are currently fifth in their eight-team group with three games remaining. The top two from each group make the knockouts.

It's been a tough week for Shardul Thakur. Having found no bidders at the IPL auction just a few days earlier, the India allrounder conceded the the joint-most expensive figures in SMAT history in Mumbai's 43-run shellacking at the hands of Kerala.

Shardul's figures read 4-0-69-1 as Mumbai conceded 234 for 5 in 20 overs with opener Rohan Kunnummal hitting 87 and allrounder Salman Nizar 99. Nizar hit Thakur for a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 6 in his final over, which went for 28. Ajinkya Rahane responded with a 25-ball half-century to keep Mumbai briefly in the hunt. He finished with a 35-ball 68.

Kerala are now second in Group E, with three wins in four games. Mumbai are fourth but have a game in hand.

Four games in, Hardik Pandya tops the tournament six-hitting charts with 20. Shreyas Iyer comes next with 15. Hardik has married six-hitting with incredible consistency.

His 231 runs have come at a strike rate of 211.92. After scores of 74*, 41* and 69, Pandya struck a 23-ball 47 on Friday to help Baroda beat Tripura and stay on top of Group B with four wins in four games.

All of Delhi's starting XI turned their arm over during their win over Manipur at the Wankhede Stadium. Delhi won in the end by four wickets, chasing down 121 with nine balls to spare, but Ayush Badoni's move divided opinion. On X, formerly Twitter, the former India seamer Dodda Ganesh termed it a "mockery of professional cricket."

Delhi are table-toppers in Group C with four wins in as many games, while Manipur are at the opposite end with no wins in four.

It isn't just Manipur who are suffering. Arunachal Pradesh bore the brunt of Ishan Kishan's incredible, unbeaten 77 off 23 balls. He opened the batting and hit five fours and nine sixes as Jharkhand chased down 94 in just 4.3 overs. This was Jharkhand's third win in four games, and they are currently joint second with Uttar Pradesh in Group C.

Even as speculation builds over a late entry into India's Test squad in Australia, Mohammed Shami gave the Bengal team management a few anxious moments during Friday's game against Madhya Pradesh, when he lay on the ground clutching his back.

It caused Nitin Patel, the head of the BCCI's medical panel, who had been flown in to specifically keep track of Shami and update India's team management on his progress, run into the field to attend to him. A member of the Bengal support staff group later told ESPNcricinfo that Shami was "fine."

For the record, Shami delivered four wicketless overs for 38 as Bengal failed to defend 189. It was their first loss in four games; MP meanwhile are unbeaten in four matches.

Shami has so far been wicketless in two of his four games. He has picked up four wickets in all, with a best of 3 for 21 coming in a match-winning effort against Hyderabad. Prior to the SMAT, Shami picked up a match haul of seven wickets in a Ranji Trophy match against MP, his first competitive fixture since last year's 50-overs World Cup final.