Two unbeaten 36s in five days! This young Mumbai talent ruled SMAT with flair

Thirtysix is an important number in Suryansh Shedges fledgling career The two unbeaten 36s in five days during the justconcluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy showcased the bubbling talent and maturity inside this 21yearold from MumbaiThe first 36 12 balls came on December 11 at Alur against Vidarbha Mumbai needed 65 runs off 29 balls and Shedge took Mandar Mahale to the cleaners striking him for 6 6 6 4 to bring the equation down to more manageable levelsStand and deliverSuryansh Shedge with the finishing touch for Mumbai Scorecard httpstco4J8WAjUsK9SMAT IDFCFIRSTBank MumbaiCricAssoc pictwittercomRauIq8gKrSmdash BCCI Domestic BCCIdomestic December 15 2024The second 36 15 balls came on Sunday in the SMAT final against Madhya Pradesh Shedge walked in when Mumbai needed 46 from 34 balls not tough in T20s but the pressure of the final could make a difference However Shedge coolly clobbered Venkatesh Iyer for two sixes before smashing Tripuresh Singh for 4 6 6 to put a lid on the matchBeing a finisher in T20s can be a nervejangling job even for the seasoned names and this young man has pulled it off twice under pressure situationsI was told beforehand that this would be my role I would be batting at 5 or 6 So coming into this tournament I tweaked my practice sessions a bit I was playing 6ball sets trying to score a certain amount of runs in those 6 balls That kind of helps Shedge said after the SMAT finalAlso ReadRain plays spoilsport as India end day 3 at 514 in reply to Australias 445I was taking breaks after every 6 balls because when you go into bat you will only get 1015 balls to face So I was trying to simulate that in the practice session he added However the simulation routine does not programme his brain to play premeditated shotsBefore the bowler is on his runup I dont think of any shots When he starts running then my brain starts working Then I commit to a shot There are no double thoughts in my head Thats an important point If youre in a dilemma whether to play the shot or not then 5 out of 10 times you wont connect it But when you go for it I think youll connect it So it kind of becomes a muscle memoryIt is of no wonder then that Shedge is an admirer of Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes two of the cleanest strikers in contemporary cricketBut Shedge has not limited himself to the barriers of cricket in his quest to maximise his abilitiesI like competition I like pressure because it tests me And at the end of the night when my head hits the pillow I want to feel that satisfaction of doing something for the team So I have inculcated breathing exercises before matches It increases relaxation because I have high energy he saidAlso ReadFive city cricketers in Maha U19 squadShedge received a vote of confidence from his skipper Shreyas IyerWe all have seen him perform in the last few games But I saw him in the nets I wasnt judging him through his performances elsewhere I really love his work ethic He is someone who puts in hard yards Even after the game he goes he trains and you could see it in his athletic ability said ShreyasHes a phenomenal talent Hes that kind of a player who is always there for the team He goes full throttle hes hell bent towards achieving success and thats what fascinates me about him he added This selfawareness is possibly coming out of the tough year Shedge had to go through in 2023A huge blow that I got was last year when I got a stress fracture in the L4 region I was just going to enter the Syed Mushtaq Ali season Lucknow Super Giants was going to retain me but then they had to release me because of injury I couldnt attend an NCA camp also because of the injury So the first two months were hard for me But my parents my coaches Abhishek Nair sir Monty Desai sir and Manish Bangera sir they helped me a lot when I was going through the motions said ShedgeBeyond all these Shedge is a cricket nerd who is glued to YouTube footage of matches when he is not on fieldI watch a lot of cricket It instills love for cricket And it keeps on increasingThe day might not be very long when cricket returns that love to ShedgeWith agency inputs