Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Mumbai beat Punjab; Pujara shines again for Saurashtra

Indore, February 22: Led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, Mumbai defended a modest 156-run target as they defeated Punjab by 35 runs in their Group C Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Indore on Friday (February 22), registering their second successive win in the premier domestic T20 tournament.

In another Group C game, Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, who had hit an unbeaten 100 in 61 balls against Railways on Thursday (February 21), continued his good form as he scored 68 to help Saurashtra defeat Madhya Pradesh by 6 wickets.

This was Saurashtra's first win in the tournament.

On Thursday (February 21), Mumbai had kicked-off their campaign on a winning note, thrashing minnows Sikkim by a staggering 154 runs.

Put in to bat first, Punjab bowlers led by medium pacer Baltej Singh (3-30) and left-arm seamer Barinder Singh Sran (3-34) dished out a clinical performance as they bundled out a formidable Mumbai for a modest 155 in their 20 overs on Friday.

Surya Kumar Yadav was Mumbai's top-scorer with a quick-fire 80 in just 49 balls. Earlier, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (0) and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw (8) had another failure with the bat as Mumbai slumped to 8-2 early on.

But in-form Shreyas Iyer (46), who had made a record- breaking 147 against Sikkim, and Yadav stitched a crucial 126- run stand for the third wicket.

While Iyer hammered four fours and three shots over the fence, Yadav struck nine boundaries and four sixes in his stroke-filled innings at the Emerald Heights International School Ground in Indore.

After Iyer's dismissal, crisis man' Siddhesh Lad went for a duck and then Mumbai lost wickets in a heap and eventually folded up for 155.

Unheralded 18-year-old Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh, who has been picked by IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, gave Mumbai a scare with a blazing 54 in just 20 balls, an innings studded with six boundaries and four sixes.

But he lacked support from his opening partner Shubhman Gill (1) and one down Mandeep Singh (5).

Gurkeerat Mann (24) got a start but failed to convert it into a big score.

All other Punjab batsmen, including veteran Yuvraj Singh, had an off-day in office as their innings folded up at 120 in 18.2 overs.

With the win, Mumbai added four more points to their kitty.

Kulkarni (4-22) was ably supported by Shubham Ranjane (2-14), while Shams Mulani (1-26), Shardul Thakur (1-42) and Tushar Deshpande (1-15) picked a wicket each to fashion Mumbai's victory.

Brief scores: Group C: At Indore (Emeralds High School Ground): Mumbai 155 all out (Surya Kumar Yadav 80, Shreyas Iyer 46; Baltej Singh 3-30) won against Punjab 120 all out (Prabhsimran Singh 54, Gurkeerat Mann 24; Dhawal Kulkarni 4-22) by 35 runs.

Mumbai 4 points, Punjab 0 points.

At Indore (Holkar Stadium): Sikkim 100/8 (Bibek 22, Palzor 19; Lakshay Garg 3-14, Darshan Misal 2-19) lost to Goa 104/2 (Sagun Kamat 50 not out, Amit Verma 23; Luitel 1-16) by 8 wickets.

Goa 4 points, Sikkim 0 points.

Madhya Pradesh 138 all out (Parth Sahani 49, Abhishek Bhandari 30; Chetan Sakariya 4-38, Jaydev Unadkat 3-19) lost to Saurashtra 139/4 (Cheteshwar Pujara 68, H Desai 56; Ishwar Chandra Pandey 2-26) by six wickets.

Saurashtra 4 points, MP 0 points.

Group B: At Surat: Bihar 103/8 (Babul Kumar 27, Rahmat Ullah 18; Yash Thakur 2-12, Akshay Karnewar 2-17) lost to Vidarbha 104/3 (S U Srivastava 49 not out, R L Jangid 27 not out; Vivek 2-27) by seven wickets.

Vidarbha 4 points, Bihar 0 points.

Himachal Pradesh 207/4 (A K Bains 68, P S Chopra 53; Neetesh Sharma 1-17) won against Meghalaya 142/6 (Gurinder Singh 49 not out, Yogesh Nagar 44; Ankit Rajan Maini 3-24) by 65 runs. Himachal 4 points, Meghalaya 0 points

Karnataka hammer Bengal by nine wickets

Young Rohan Kadam struck an unbeaten 81 as Karnataka cantered to a nine-wicket win over Bengal to register their second successive Group D win at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament in Cuttack on Friday (February 22).

The 24-year-old, who made his debut against Assam on Thursday (February 21), smashed two sixes and 10 fours during his 55-ball knock as Karnataka chased down the modest target of 132 in 15.5 overs.

Giving him company was wicketkeeper-batsman BR Sharath, who got out after completing his 50 off 37 balls with the help of nine boundaries. The duo laid down a solid opening partnership of 117 runs in 14.3 overs for Karnataka.

Bengal's bowling also struggled at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi in the outskirts here, with Ashok Dinda leaking 22 runs from his two overs and didn't even complete his full quota.

Karnataka defeat Bengal by 9 wickets.

Finishes chase with 134/1, 15.5 overs. Rohan Kadam 81*(55b, 10x4s, 2x6s), Karun Nair 2*. BR Sharath 50. Next game is on 24th, against Arunachal Pradesh. #KARvBEN #SMAT20

— Karnataka Ranji Team/ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಣಜಿ ತಂಡ (@RanjiKarnataka) 22 February 2019

Opting to bat, Bengal batsmen faltered to be bundled out for 131 inside 19.4 overs with opener Shreevats Goswami top-scoring with a 29-ball 40 (6x4s, 1x6).

The diminutive Goswami gave Bengal the perfect start with Vivek Singh (10) before the latter was dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun (3/22) by a brilliant diving effort from R Vinay Kumar.

Fresh from his century against Mizoram, Bengal vice-captain Abhimanyu Easwaran failed convert a fine start with Rohan taking a catch off Manoj Bhandage (2/18).

Three balls later, Bhandage gave a second breakthrough when Goswami edged one behind the stumps.

With 66 for 3 in eight overs, the senior duo of Manoj Tiwary and comeback man Wriddhiman Saha (6) looked to rebuild their innings. But it was not be as Saha became victim of a run-out after a mix-up with skipper Tiwary.

Earlier at the same venue, Chhattisgarh toyed Arunachal Pradesh attack to notch up a massive 215 for three en route to a 96-run win for their back-to-back victories.