Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Mumbai in Mushtaq Ali final
Shreyas Iyer’s 73 guides them to a comfortable five-wicket victory over Vidarbha, to face Himachal in summit clash
LUCKNOW: Domestic giants Mumbai have won the coveted Ranji Trophy an umpteen number of times, besides winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy too for many times, but the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy has eluded them. However, this could change on Saturday when they take on Himachal Pradesh in the final.
Riding on a fine half-century by Shreyas Iyer, Mumbai notched up a convincing fivewicket win over Vidarbha in the second semi-final under the lights at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh defeated star-studded Punjab by 13 runs in a thrilling encounter.
For Himachal Pradesh cricket in the last few years, it’s a tremendous change of fortunes as now they appear to be one of the better-structured units on the domestic circuit. They became a BCCI-affiliated unit only in 1984 and won their first major title, the Plate Group final of the Ranji Trophy in 2006-07. They then waited for almost 14 years to lay their hands on their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Tamil Nadu at Jaipur last December.
The win proved the rise of Himachal Pradesh in no uncertain terms. Their winning momentum continued on Thursday too as they notched up a thrilling 13-run win over four-time runners-up Punjab in Kolkata.
Everyone on the Himachal Pradesh side did their job well. The batters set a challenging target at the Eden Gardens, and then the bowlers and fielders came up with some fine performances to restrict their opponents despite Team India’s opener Shubman Gill’s sparkling innings of 45 off 32 balls.
“Our success does not come from magic, but from responsible cricket played by all members of the team. We have been playing sensible cricket and that’s the reason for our success,” young all-rounder Akash Vasisht said after the match.
“In a nutshell, I do not go for rash shots, I rotate the strikes, and I try to hit a boundary in every over for sure,” Kangraboy Vasisht, who hit 43 in just 25 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes, added. The 27-year-old batter also had an unbeaten 76 in the quarterfinal match against hosts Bengal on Tuesday.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh too were in trouble, losing two quick wickets for just 31 in 5.1 overs, but a crucial 45-run fourth-wicket stand between Sumeet Verma (51, 25b, 3x4, 3x6) and Vasisht (43, 25b, 3x4, 2x6) helped their side finish at 176/7. A 16-ball 27-run cameo, which included two fours and a six, by Pankaj Jaiswal made the difference in the end.
In the match between Mumbai and Vidarbha, Shreyas Iyer stole the limelight with a scintillating 73 off just 44 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes as Ajinkya Rahane-led side overhauled Vidarbha’s total of 164 in just 16.5 overs.
Iyer was dealing in fours and sixes before being caught by substitute Lalit Yadav off Akshay Karnewar. His 71-run fourth-wicket partnership with Sarfaraz Khan (27, 19b, 2x4, 1x6) helped Mumbai cruise to a comfortable win. He also put on 43 runs for the third wicket with opener Prithvi Shaw (34, 21b, 2x4, 3x6).
176/7 (S Verma 51, A Vasisht 43, P Jaswal 27, S Singh 2/17, A Sharma 2/20) beat
163/7 (S Gill 45, A Singh 30, M Singh 29*, R Singh 29, R Dhawan 3/25, M Dagar 2/27)
164/7 (J Sharma 46*, A Wankhade 34, A Taide 29, S Dubey 20, S Mulani 3/20, S Dube 2/15, T Deshpande 2/24) lost to 169/5 in 16.5 overs (S Iyer 73, P Shaw 34, S Khan 27, A Karanewar 2/24, D Nalkande 2/35)