Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Gill’s 48 in vain as Punjab loses to Hyderabad by 2 runs

Batting first, Hyderabad set Punjab a revised target of 100 which the latter failed to achieve despite Shubman Gill's 42-48.

Shubman Gill's 42-ball 48 went in vain as Punjab lost to Hyderabad by 2 runs.

Shubman Gill’s 42-ball 48 went in vain as Punjab suffered a narrow two-run defeat against Hyderabad via VJD method in a rain-truncated T20 match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday.

Opting to bowl in the Group C match, Punjab restricted Hyderabad to 149 for 7 in 20 overs; Akshath Reddy leading the charge with his quickfire 47 off 27 balls.

For Punjab, Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul grabbed three wickets each for 11 and 44 runs respectively.

Punjab’s target was reworked to 100 from 14 overs as per VJD method but in the end, it could only score 97 for 4, losing the match by two runs.

In other Group C matches, Chhattisgarh beat Arunachal Pradesh by nine wickets after the match was reduced to six-over-a-side affair due to rains, while Maharashtra recorded an eight-run victory over Railways.

Host Chandigarh also notched up a nine-run win over Himachal Pradesh via VJD Method in another rain-affected Group C match.