Prashant’s blitz gives UP a shot at T-20 title
RISING STAR The young opener from Kanpur slams a 58-ball 102 to help his side beat Haryana to qualify for Monday’s Super League final against Baroda
LUCKNOW: Aks deep Nath-led UP are only a step away from ending their almost eight-year long wait for a major title at senior level in domestic cricket.
UP, which last won a big event in the form of Ranji Trophy crown in 2005-06, qualified for the Super League final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty-20 Trophy on Saturday after beating Haryana by six wickets in their last Group A match, thanks to opener Prashant Gupta’s maiden T-20 ton, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
Uttar Pradesh pipped Goa by virtue of a better net run rate for a place in the final from their group. Both the sides finished with a total of 12 points from four matches, but UP’s NRR of 0.906 was a tad better than Goa’s 0.879. They will now take on Group B topper Baroda in the summit clash on Monday.
This is also first instance of UP making it to the final of the annual domestic T-20 event. “Every individual deserves credit for this remarkable show. We have not won anything big at senior level since 2005-06. Therefore, this means much to us and boys are not going to leave any stone unturned to end eight-year of title drought,” said an ecstatic team manager Ashish Winston Zaidi.
ONE-MAN SHOW
UP’s victory on Saturday was all about one man- the young effervescent opener Prashant, who single handedly helped the side scale the daunting target of 179. After losing his in-form partner Dagar in the second over of the innings, Prashant first steadied UP’s ship with a 42-run stand for the second wicket with stumper Eklavya Dwivedi (22. 21b) before stitching together another 55-run for the third wicket with U Yadav. With the side still needing 72 in six overs, Prashant then unleashed a brutal assault in the company of his captain Nath (24, 15b) that saw the side reach home with four balls to spare. Gupta remained unbeaten on 103 off just 58 balls with his innings consisting of five fours and seven sixes.
Earlier, batting first Haryana posted a challenging 178/8, thanks to useful contributions from nearly all of their batsmen. Rahul Dewan was the top-scorer with 46 off 37. UP’s bowling didn’t have much to speak of with Ali Murtaza -with figures of 2/32- being the pick of the bowlers.
However, in the end, Prashant’s blitz ensured the side didn’t have to suffer for a poor show with the ball on this day.
BARODA LOSE, YET EARN TICKET FOR FINAL
MUMBAI: Kerala shocked Baroda by 22 runs but failed to progress to the final from Group B as the latter went through on the last ball by virtue of a better net run rate after the two teams finished level on points in the Syed Mushtaq Ali All India T20 tournament here on Saturday.
Chasing Kerala’s challenging total of 152 for six, Baroda needed to score 127 to qualify as the top team in the group.
The latter achieved it on the last ball of the match at the Wankhede Stadium when left-handed batsman Lukman Meriwala back cut K R Rakesh for a boundary when just one run was needed to make the grade.
Baroda were stopped at 130 for eight to lose the game but entered the final on a superior net run rate (+0.774) than Kerala (+0.661) after both teams finished the five-team group phase with identical 12 points from three wins.
In the other game at the Sharad Pawar Indoor Academy Ground at Bandra Ku rl a Complex, Rajasthan, who too had a slim chance to qualify on net run rate through a win, slumped to a seven-run defeat against Delhi and were knocked out.
Baroda will meet the winners of Group A, being held in Rajkot, in the final here on April 14 after tomorrow’s break.
Chandrakant Pandit-coached Kerala deserved credit for the manner in which they fought tooth and nail against a team which entered the game not only with a much superior net run rate but also with a seven-match winning streak going back to the West Zone qualifying stage.
In the first half of the match, Kerala’s lower order helped them post a challenging score after they were held on a tight leash by Munaf Patel’s superb first spell of 3-0-7-2.
Ironically, it was Patel, who conceded 19 runs in his last over, the 19th of the innings, when Raiphi Gomez, who top scored with an unbeaten 19-ball 42, struck him for two successive sixes over the straight field with impunity.