SMAT 2025: Sanju Samson and Rohan Kunnummal set record partnership to claim historic win

While Sanju Samson recently confirmed his joining the new IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK), he sent a strong message on the opening day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, as the Kerala skipper played a match-winning knock with the centurion opening partner Rohan Kunnummal to set a new record in the tournament history. 

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Sanju Samson and Rohan Kunnummal chased 177-run target without losing wickets

On Wednesday (November 26), Kerala faced Odisha at Lucknow in the Elite Group A contest. After Odisha were sent to bat first, they scored 176/7 in 20 overs. Kerala chased down the target in 16.3 overs without losing any wickets as they won the match by 10 wickets. It was the first time in SMAT history that a team successfully chased 150 or more runs without losing a wicket. 

Captain Sanju Samson and Rohan Kunnummal set up a strong opening partnership to chase down the challenging target without any problem. Rohan slammed a century, as the Player of the Match scored 121 not out off 60 balls with 10 fours and 10 sixes. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson scored 51 not out off 41 balls with six fours and one six, as he played the secure role on the other end, while Rohan was comfortably controlling the chase.

Sanju Samson and Rohan Kunnummal set record opening partnership in SMAT history

Kerala scored 177/0 in 16.3 overs as they won the match by 10 wickets with 21 balls remaining. It was the highest opening partnership in the SMAT history, while it was also the highest successful chase in the SMAT history without losing any wickets. 

In the first innings, MD Nidheesh got four wickets, as he had the bowling figures of 4-0-35-4. In the middle-order batting, captain Biplab Samantray (53*) and Sambit Baral (40) played the useful knocks to guide the team to the 175+ total. However, those were not enough against Sanju Samson-led Kerala batting line-up.