Photo: BCCI Domestic/Twitter

Prithvi Shaw made a successful return to the cricketing fold while Aditya Tare posted his highest T20 score as Mumbai crushed Assam in their final Group D match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

Welcome back! He is making a comeback today and @PrithviShaw makes it a memorable one with a fine-half century for Mumbai against Assam in @Paytm #MushtaqAliT20. pic.twitter.com/hiBfiElhed

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 17, 2019

Put in to bat first, Prithvi Shaw and Aditya Tare set Mumbai off to a blazing start as the duo put on 138 at 10 per over for the first wicket before Tare fell in the 14th over.

Aditya Tare hammered 82 in just 48 balls with 12 fours and a six at a strike rate of 170.83 and recorded his highest score in T20 cricket, eclipsing the 79 he had previously managed. The 32-year-old wicket-keeper brought up his fifty in just 32 balls, which meant that his next 32 runs came in 15 deliveries. He also crossed 2,000 runs in the format of the game during his innings.

The wicket momentarily checked Mumbai's charge as the home team went from 138/0 to 149/3 in a space of nine balls, and that included the exit of Prithvi Shaw, who managed a 39-ball 63 at a strike rate of 161.53, helped with 7 fours and 2 sixes.

The recently-turned 20-year-old scored 32 runs in his first 27 balls and 31 in the final 11 before he got out, which included a four and two sixes in three successive deliveries off left-arm spinner Abhilash Gogoi in the 12th over.

When he reached his fifty with a four pulled in the mid-wicket region, Prithvi Shaw pointed at his bat and gestured to suggest that he would make his willow do the talking.

Such was the Tare-Shaw opening partnership that 66 runs came in just 30 balls from the time Aditya Tare reached his fifty till he got out.

In the final five overs, Mumbai smashed 57 runs - led by Siddhesh Lad's 32* (14b, 1x4, 3x6s) at a strike rate of 228.57 - to power a score of 206/5.

The daunting total made Assam crumble right from the start as Dhawal Kulkarni bowled opener Pallavkumar Das in the third ball of the chase.

Wickets tumbled at regular intervals as Assam ended their innings at 123/8 handing Mumbai an 83-run win.

Dhawal Kulkarni took 2/28 (4), Shams Mulani 2/15 (4) and Shivam Dube 2/3 in his three overs, their economical spells suggesting that Assam were never in the game.

Mumbai ended Group D as leaders with 24 points after seven games that witnessed six wins and a loss, and will now play the Super League starting Thursday.