Irfan Pathan-led side meet 152-run target in 19 overs to top Group A; face Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday for title
Coming into their last Super League encounter of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Baroda were the underdogs while hosts Mumbai, with two back-to-back wins, were favourites.
The T20 cricket, known for producing thrillers, once again lived up to its reputation when Irfan Pathan-led Baroda defeated the hosts by one wicket in an exciting tie to qualify for the final to be played on Wednesday evening.
Mumbai and Baroda finished Group A at eight points each, but Pathan's side made the cut on better net run rate.
Set a target of 152 by Mumbai, Baroda had to meet the target in 19.1 overs to secure the final berth. And, they did it in style in 19 overs.
At 149/9 in 18.5 overs, Baroda needed three runs in two balls to qualify. Tailender Bhargav Bhatt hit Mumbai medium-pacer Sagar Trivedi over mid-off for a four off the last ball of the 19th over to trigger off wild celebration in Baroda camp.
It was so closely contested that Baroda needed seven from six balls for qualification. Intelligent bowling from Trivedi fetched Mumbai three wickets in four balls – those of Pinal Shah (13, 9b), Shoeb Tai (10, 8b) and fast bowler Rishi Arothe (0). Having taken Mumbai so close, an inexperienced Trivedi bowled a full delivery that Bhatt simply slogged it for a boundary.
However, it would not have been so easy for Baroda had No.4 Deepak Hooda not come up with a fine half-century. Young Hooda showed why he is the most-sought after player in the shorter format as he soaked the pressure well and built a solid platform with his ability to hit big and find the gaps.
The youngster managed to score a 35-ball 53 laced with five boundaries and a six. Australia-bound Hardik Pandya, however, failed to capitalise on the start, scoring a 31-ball 28 at No.3.
Pandya and Hooda shared 49 for the third wicket before the former was cleaned up while trying to slog leg-spinner Pravin Tambe over mid-wicket.
The experienced Yusuf Pathan failed to live up to the expectations, falling for just one run. His younger brother, Irfan, showed his form by scoring 19 of 13 balls with two fours. However, a loose shot off Dhaval Kulkarni saw him hit one into the hands of Shardul Thakur at point.
Soon Hooda followed him as he tried to slash Thakur and ended up falling into the hands of Shivam Dubey.
Earlier, put into bat by Baroda, Mumbai struggled against a disciplined Baroda bowling. The aggressive Shreyas Iyer failed to continue his fine form after slamming two as he tried to slash Munaf Patel but edged to wicket-keeper Pinal Shah for 12.
While the other batsman including Aditya Tare (5), Siddhesh Lad (3) and Abhishek Nayar (21) struggled, Suryakumar Yadav showed controlled aggression and went on to score a 36-ball 57 with eight boundaries. However, he did not hesitate to play his unorthodox sweeps against fast bowlers. His 56-run partnership with debutant Shivam Dubey (21*) for the sixth wicket saw Mumbai cross the 150 mark.
In the final under floodlights at the Wankhede, Baroda will meet Uttar Pradesh, who defeated Delhi by three wickets to top Group B.
Brief scores
Group A at Wankhede:
Mumbai 151/5 in 20 overs (S Yadav 57*, S Singh 25, A Nayar 21, S Dubey 21*; B Bhatt 2/25) lost to Baroda 153/9 in 19 overs (D Hooda 53, H Pandya 28; P Tambe 3/26, D Kulkarni 2/23, S Trivedi 2/34) by one wicket
Vidarbha 105 all out in 19.3 overs (U Patel 28; U Manukrishnan 3/29, N Niyas 3/14, F Ahmed 2/21) lost to Vidarbha 109/8 in 18.4 overs (P Prem 34, N Surendran 21; R Thakur 2/19)
Group B at BKC
Delhi 158/6 in 20 overs (U Chand 48, P Negi 41*; A Mishra 2/25, P Chawla 2/31, K Yadav 2/29) lost to Uttar Pradesh 159/8 in 19.4 overs (E Dwivedi 49*, S Raina 22; N Saini 2/24) by three wickets
Jharkhand 142/6 in 20 overs (I Jaggi 39, V Singh 29, K Deobrat 21*; R Kalaria 2/34) lost to Gujarat 146/4 in 14.1 overs (P Panchal 35, M Juneja 33; K Singh 2/21) by six wickets
How they finished
Group A
Team M W L Pts Net RR
Baroda 3 2 1 8 +0.299
Mumbai 3 2 1 8 +0.196
Kerala 3 2 1 8 +0.172
Vidarbha 3 0 3 0 -0.657
Group B
Team M W L Pts Net RR
UP 3 3 0 12 +0.688
Gujarat 3 2 1 8 +1.180
Delhi 3 1 2 4 -0.059
Jharkhand 3 0 3 0 -1.714
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