Hardik Pandya (86 not out from 46 balls) and skipper Aditya Tare (71 off 46 balls) eased the road to victory for two-time winners Baroda and home team Mumbai respectively, as the Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 Super League got underway at the Wankhede Stadium. Baroda faced a bit of difficulty chasing Vidarbha’s target, scoring 168 for four to win by six wickets with an over to spare. Mumbai’s pursuit of 160 by Kerala was clinical, the team winning by six wickets, eventually scoring 164 for four in 19.1 overs.
>Vidarbha v Baroda: Full scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Pandya’s whirlwind knock, partnering captain Irfan Pathan in a fifth-wicket stand, was marked by breathtaking strokeplay. Tare played a restrained, compact knock. But the effect was devastating with the fielders left standing as the ball raced frequently to the ropes. The Wankhede track allowed batsmen to flourish, producing three 160-plus team totals on the opening day. Bowlers got their moments of glory, but not enough to turn the matches around.
The Baroda number three, Pandya, opted for the aerial route, with eight towering sixes. Tare, confident and decisive in footwork, pierced the field with well-timed drives along the carpet. Pandya got a life when he was on 25 when Urvesh Patel dropped him on the cover fence. It proved to be costly as Pandya and Pathan (26 not out) stole 68 runs from the last five overs played.
Tare looked in command before giving his wicket away when he slashed a rising delivery outside the off stump. Sanju Samson turned and ran back to make a tough catch look easy. Abhishek Nayar (38 not out off 20 balls) took over from there.
>Kerala v Mumbai: Full scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Vidarbha spinner Akshay Karnewar bemused the batsmen with his bowling. He bowled left-arm to Yusuf Pathan, dismissing him with a faster one that breached his defence, and right-arm spin to left-hander Irfan Pathan. He kept the batsmen on guard by bowling with either hand in one over, running in swiftly to hurl the ball after conveying his choice of hand to the umpire who signalled it to the batsmen.
Pandya looked bemused when asked about this ambidextrous slow bowler. “You don’t encounter such type of bowlers,” said the Pool A top-scorer on the first day of the round-robin league. Ganesh Satish (54 off 45 balls, 6x4, 2x6) for Vidarbha and Rohan Prem (69 off 45 balls, 6x4, 2x6) for Kerala shone with the bat and will get another chance on Saturday (Baroda vs Kerala, Mumbai vs Vidarbha) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Brief scores:
Vidarbha 162 for five in 20 overs (Jitesh Sharma 35, Ganesh Satish 54, Apoorva Wankhede 40, Swapnil Singh two for 41) lost to Baroda 168 for four in 19 overs (Hardik Pandya 86 not out, Irfan Pathan 26 not out, Ravi Jangid two for 36) by six wickets.
Points: Baroda 4, Vidarbha 0.
Kerala 160 for seven in 20 overs (Rohan Prem 69, Sachin Baby 32, Dhaval Kulkarni two for 29, Sagar Trivedi three for 34) lost to Mumbai 164 for four in 19.1 overs (Aditya Tare 71, Abshishek Nayar 38 not out, Siddhesh Lad 36, Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan two for 30) by six wickets.
Points: Mumbai 4, Kerala 0.
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