New Delhi [India], December 4 (ANI): Top-class bowling spells from pace veterans Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, explosive knocks from Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sameer Rizwi and Sai Kishore were amongst the highlights in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday.
At the end of the latest round’s play, Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh (16 points each in group A, elite), Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh (16 and 12 points in group B, elite), Bengal and Baroda (16 and 12 points in group C, elite), and Jharkhand, Rajasthan (20 points each in group D, elite) are amongst the top teams.
In the group A clash between Kerala and Mumbai, the former secured a 15-run win over Mumbai. Sanju Samson (46 in 28 balls, with eight fours and a six) and Vishnu Vinod (43* in 40 balls, with three fours) top-scored as Kerala scored 178/5 after electing to bat first, with skipper Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube and Shams Mulani amongst the wickets. Despite a 40-ball 52 (with eight fours and a six) from Sarfaraz Khan and support from Ajinkya Rahane (32 in 18 balls, with five fours) and Suryakumar Yadav (32 in 25 balls, with four boundaries), Mumbai was skittled out for 163 in 19.4 overs, with KM Asif (5/24) shining for Kerala.
In group B, clashes took place between Jammu Kashmir and Hyderabad, UP and Chandigarh, Bihar and Goa and Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
J&K were bundled out for 112 after being put to bat first. Despite fine spells from Yudhvir Singh Charak (2/18) and Aquib Dar (2/25), Hyderabad chased down the target with four wickets and 29 balls in hand, with Tanay Thyagarajan (50 in 33 balls, with seven fours and a six) being the star.
After being put to bat first, UP posted a massive 212/7 on the board, with some clean hitting from Sameer Rizvi (70 in 42 balls, with six fours and three sixes), Madhav Kaushik (67 in 41 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Rinku Singh (24 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Left-armer domestic stalwart Sandeep Sharma (4/26) had a memorable outing. But spells from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/23) and Vipraj Nigam (2/34) restricted Chandigarh to 172/8, despite a half-century from Manan Vohra (61 in 35 balls, with six fours and three sixes).
Vaibhav Suryavanshi (46 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) played a quickfire hand with his captain, S Gani (60 in 41 balls, with seven fours and three sixes), taking Bihar to 180/7 in 20 overs after being put to bat first by Goa. Goa chased down the target with a ball to spare, with Suyash Prabhudessai, the skipper, leading from the front with a knock of 79 in 46 balls, with six fours and three sixers.
Maharashtra fumbled a 154-run chase against Madhya Pradesh in another Group B clash. All-rounder Arshad Khan (30* in 17 balls, with a four and three sixes) took MP to 153/8 in 20 overs. In turn, Maharashtra struggled in their chase, with the skipper Prithvi Shaw (5) flopping. Rahul Tripathi (37 in 38 balls, with four boundaries) and Arshin Kulkarni (31 in 29 balls, with a four and two sixes) fought as hard as they could, but were left restricted to 132/8, losing by 21 runs. Arshad, who also got two wickets, won the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Shifting focus to group C, crucial matches took place between Baroda and Gujarat, Bengal and Services and Punjab and Puducherry.
Baroda put Gujarat to bat first, and they were skittled out for 73 in 14.1 overs, with India’s U19 star Raj Limbani (3/5) and both Pandya brothers getting a wicket each. Shashwat Rawat (30*) and Vishnu Solanki (27) did the bulk of the scoring, with Hardik scoring 10 in six balls, with two fours, as the total was chased down in 6.4 overs.
Shami looked at his sharpest against Services, taking 4/13 in 3.2 overs as Bengal restricted Services to 165/10 in 18.2 overs. Half-centuries from Abishek Porel (56 in 29 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) and Abhimanyu Easwaran, the skipper (58* in 37 balls, with eight fours and a six) as they chased down the total with 29 balls and seven wickets in hand.
Punjab had another strong showing with the bat against Puducherry, as they put on 192/5 in 20 overs, with Abhishek Sharma (34 in 9 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes), Naman Dhir (37 in 32 balls, with three fours and a six), Salil Arora (44* in 25 balls, with three fours and sixes each) and Ramandeep Singh (34* in 21 balls, with two fours and two sixes) firing all cylinders. Puducherry was bundled out for just 138, with Abhishek getting three wickets and spinner Harpreet Brar also getting two. Abhishek’s all-round show earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Shifting focus to Group D, key clashes took place between Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, Delhi and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.
Uttarakhand put on 150/7, powered by a half-century from skipper Kunal Chandela (55 in 42 balls, with seven fours and a six). In the chase, Ishan (21 in seven balls, with two fours and two sixes) played a quickfire cameo, while Virat Singh (43* in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) top-scored in an easy chase with seven wickets and 23 balls in hand.
Delhi opted to bat first against Karnataka, with skipper Priyansh Arya (62 in 33 balls, with two fours and six sixes), Ayush Badoni (53 in 35 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes), Nitish Rana (46* in 28 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Tejasvi Dahiya (53* in 19 balls, with three fours and five sixes) putting on an absolute show and taking their side to 232/3. Karnataka did get half-centuries from in-form batters Smaran Ravichandran (72 in 38 balls, with three fours and six sixes) and Devdutt Padikkal (62 in 38 balls, with eight fours and two sixes), but were skittled out for 187 in 19.3 overs, with Badoni (4/12) being the pick of the bowlers and Ishant Sharma, Prince Yadav and Digvesh Rathi getting two wickets each. Badoni got the ‘POTM’ award for his all-round show.
Tamil Nadu secured a 61-run win over Tripura, with Sai Kishore delivering a knock for ages. After Tripura opted to bowl first, they reduced TN to 19/3, with Sai Sudharsan flopping again with a single-digit score. From there, skipper N Jagadeesan (83 in 49 balls, with six fours and four sixes) and Kishore (87* in 39 balls, with three fours and eight sixes) pushed the side to 204/5. Tripura was all out for 143, with pacers Gurjapneet Singh and T Natrajan getting two wickets in their economical spells. (ANI)
