Baroda, Punjab, Delhi, and Assam booked their places in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semi-finals on Thursday. While Baroda eliminated defending champions Mumbai, Punjab won a closely-fought contest against a Rinku Singh-inspired Uttar Pradesh. In the other two games, there were relatively straightforward wins for Delhi, who knocked out Vidarbha, and Assam, who outplayed Kerala to reach the semis for the first time in the T20 competition.
Sopariya, Solanki knock Mumbai out
Right-arm medium pacer Soyeb Sopariya ran through Mumbai’s top order to set up a memorable victory for Baroda in Mullanpur. After inserting Mumbai to bat, he trapped opener Jay Bista lbw in the first over. He also sent Ajinkya Rahane back in the third over, and then had Yashasvi Jaiswal nicking off for a 14-ball 8 right after the powerplay.Sopariya eventually finished with figures of 3 for 16, while fellow quick Lukman Meriwala took a wicket and conceded just 18 runs.Shivam Dube (48 off 36) and Sarfaraz Khan (33 off 22) tried to get Mumbai’s innings back on track, but Abhimanyusingh Rajput dismissed both set batters to help restrict Mumbai to 148.Baroda lost an early wicket in their chase, but opener Jyotsnil Singh and No. 3 Rajput steadied them till the eighth over. Then, Mumbai effected a mini-collapse as Baroda slid from 64 for 1 to 88 for 4 in 21 deliveries.But Vishnu Solanki, at No. 5, ensured Baroda got the job done, even as he lost three partners at the other end. Solanki hit two sixes and five fours in his unbeaten 49 off 30 as Baroda chased the target with seven balls to spare.File photo: Rinku Singh blasted 77 off 33 but it went in vain•Sportsfile via Getty Images
Rinku fireworks not enough for UP
Rinku Singh added another sensational rescue knock in his already glowing resume, smashing 77 not out off just 33 deliveries, but Punjab still trumped Uttar Pradesh in a thriller in Mohali to reach the semi-finals.Rinku came out to bat with UP struggling at 53 for 3 in the 12th over. He started quick, hitting a boundary off the third ball he faced. Rinku found support in Sameer Rizvi as they plundered 116 in 53 balls. Rizvi finished unbeaten on 42 off 29, hitting four sixes and a four, while Rinku notched up four fours and six sixes, three of which came off the final over bowled by Arshdeep Singh.Punjab slipped to 14 for 3 in the fourth over thanks to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohsin Khan. But Nehal Wadhera and Anmolpreet Singh rescued them with a 72-run stand.UP bounced back, courtesy Mohsin. He removed Anmolpreet for 43 off 29 and Wadhera for a 39-ball 52 in the 13th and 15th over, respectively.Punjab still needed 55 off 31 deliveries and Sanvir Singh and Ramandeep Singh brought their big-hitting prowess to the party. Sanvir made 35 not out off 13 deliveries, while Ramandeep scored 22 to take Punjab home in the final over.
Rawat, Dhull inspire Delhi into the semis
A 105-run partnership for the second wicket between Anuj Rawat and Yash Dhull set the base for Delhi’s win over Vidarbha in Mullanpur.After Umesh Yadav’s strike in the third over, Rawat and Dhull kept the scorecard ticking for Delhi. Rawat mainly played the anchor’s role, scoring a 53-ball 68, while Dhull made 43 off 29.Ayush Badoni also chipped in with a 17-ball 28 at the death to take Delhi to 176, even as Umesh registered a four-wicket haul.Vidarbha could never find their momentum with the bat, losing wickets in regular intervals and slipping to 85 for 6 in the 13th over. Vidarbha’s No. 6 Shubham Dubey tried to defy the Delhi bowlers with his 44 but it wasn’t enough. In the end, Vidarbha fell 39 runs short.Related-
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