Ak sh deep has his plan ready against Baroda
LUCKNOW: Skipper Akshdeep Na th believe sin innovation sand himself too. Opening the innings for the side and shifting thegears in his shot selections are his successful innovations in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy in New Delhi.
His 44-ball 70 with the help of 10 boundaries and a six against Uttarakhand as opener for the first time this season transformed Uttar Pradesh’s batting helping them cross the 200-run mark in the shorter version of the game in style.
Akshdeep’s 123-run opening wicket partnership with fellow opener Samarth Singh also laid a solid foundation for others to take the team’s total to 209/6 at a strike rate of 10.45 runs per over.
Thereafter, spinners Saurabh Kumar (5/28) and Ankit Choudhary (3/9) floored the rivals for 91 in 16.3 overs ensuring a huge 118-run win for the team.
Akshdeep Nath is likely to continue to open the innings when Uttar Pradesh take on an energetic Baroda in their last league match of Group E, at the Airforce Complex Ground at Palam on Saturday.
“I have been opening the innings for my team in local matches and even it was a trend during the camps. So I thought to give it a try in the match against Uttarakhand, and it worked out well,” Akshdeep said on the eve of the match on Friday.
“In fact, I wanted to stay long at the wicket. Moreover, I find myself in better mode while hitting the new ball in this format of the game,” he said, adding, “I think I should continue this tactical change in our plan in the match against Baroda too. After losing the first game, we reacted well as a team and won all the matches so far.”
Both Maharashtra and former champions Uttar Pradesh are almost through for the Super League, starting March 8 at Indore, but Akshdeep and Co aren’t taking rivals Baroda lightly.
“They (Baroda) are a good T20 side and we can’t take them lightly. They have a good bunch of spinners, who are capable enough to change the complexion of the game,” he said.
Undoubtedly, opener Samarth has been doing a great job for the side in batting department, scoring 317 runs, including three half centuries, so far.
Besides him, Rinku Singh (166) and Upendra Yadav (109) have so far impressed with willow. But the biggest worry for the side is a poor run of former skipper and IPL’s highest run-getter Suresh Raina, who could score just one half-century in as many as six matches so far.
One more failure with the willow by Raina, who has so far scored 80 runs, may force the team management as well as selectors to think for better options for the Super League matches as batsmen with better performances are waiting on the benches.
“I chose to play three spinners – Saurabh, Ankit and Zeeshan Ansari – in the match against Uttarakhand as surface here is slow and doesn’t allow batsman to free his arms. If Shiva isn’t fit then Zeeshan would be playing against Baroda too,” said Akshdeep.
SHASHI HAMMERS UNBEATEN CENTURY
Opener Shashi slammed a sparkling unbeaten century as Uttar Pradesh scored a comprehensive 114-run win against Arunachal Pradesh in a Group Cmatch of the Senior Women’s Twnety 20 League, at the VCA Kalamna in Nagpur on Friday.
Shashi’s 64-ball unbeaten 103, which contained 12 boundaries and two sixes, and 186-run unbeaten opening wicket partnership with Ekta helped the side post a huge 186/0 in 20 overs while batting first after winning the toss. Ekta too remained unbeaten on 61, which came off 60 balls with the help of four hits to the fence.
An inexperienced Arunachal side could score 71 in 20 overs. Bar ring Suva lax mi Rout(21,33b, 3x4) and Varsha Patel (25, 36b, 3x4) no other batswoman could touch the double figure mark. Kshama (3/11) and Tanu Kala (3/16) shared six wickets between them and Kajal had 1/11. The win, however, didn’t make a difference to Uttar Pradesh, which failed to make it to the knockout, finishing at fifth position with just eight points in six matches.
BOTH MAHARASHTRA AND FORMER CHAMPIONS UTTAR PRADESH ARE ALMOST THROUGH FOR THE SUPER LEAGUE, STARTING MARCH 8 AT INDORE, BUT AKSHDEEP AND CO AREN’T TAKING RIVALS BARODA LIGHTLY.