Follow for all HIGHLIGHTS from the pre-quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy happening in Kolkata.
Mankad gets the big wicket of Sanju Samson. Full-length ball on the offside and he guides it straight to the short third man. Big blow for Kerala. Sachin Baby keeps the fight going. Kerala needs 39 from the last three overs. Bazith, the new batter, gets six of those runs with a crunchy shot from a low full-toss. Mankad has his revenge as he gets Bazith caught in deep. The equation comes down to 29 in two overs. Unadkat bowls a brilliant penultimate over, concedes just six runs. Despite a few nervy moments, Kushang defends the last over and Saurashtra is through to the quarterfinals.
Sanju Samson gets to his fifty and he hasn’t even broken a sweat. No sixes though, yet, from the Kerala skipper. Saurashtra slows things down with some sharp bowling. Sachin Baby, who has been at his innovative best, smokes Jani for a six break the shackles. KERALA 129-2 in 15 overs.
Sanju Samson drills a few boundaries to kick start his innings. Kerala needs a few more like this if it needs to chase down this big target. Sachin Baby too gets into the act, with a reverse seep four against Dharmendrasinh standing out. KERALA 89-2 in 10 overs.
Rohan S Kunnummal and Mohammed Azharuddeen open the innings for Kerala. Unadkat with the first over and the skipper removes Azharuddeen with an out swinger which is nicked to Sheldon Jackson. And out walks Sanju Samson. Rohan tries to attack Chetan Sakariya, but only manages to sky it and Gohil gobbles it up. Second wicket falls for Kerala. KERALA 31-2 in 5 overs.
Saurashtra is heading towards a more-than-competitive total. Sheldon Jackson and Vishavarajsinh Jadeja have built a brilliant partnership to put their side in position for a huge finish. Manu Krishnan keeps it tight in the 19th over, except for a four. Asif dismisses Jackson and Jadeja in the last over. But Saurashtra still gets to 183 for 6 at the end of 20 overs
Midhun removes Prerak Mankad, who was just about to cut loose. Midhun continues to be at his restrictive best as Saurashtra finds it hard to keep the run rate flowing. Sheldon Jackson, who has settled in well, goes after Basil Thampi and gets a six and a four. SAU 129-4 in 15 overs
KM Asif is introduced in the eighth over and he makes an immediate impact by removing the dangerous-looking Samarth Vyas. 34 from 18 balls before he offered a catch. Sheldon Jackson and Prerak Mankad steadies the innings with a few boundaries. SAU 87-3 in 10 overs.
Pujara and Harvik Desai open the innings for Saurashtra. Off-spinner Vaishakh Chandran with a decent first over, just four runs from it. Pujara strikes two boundaries in the second and third overs. But his innings is short-lived as he edges a Manu Krishnan bouncer, which is caught by Vaishakh Chandran. Harvik tries to go after Manu and smashes a six. But he then tries to get one more and is caught at deep square leg by Rohan Kunnummal. Samarth Vyas punishes Basil Thampi with a few sixes to ignite the innings. SAU 42-2 in 5 overs.
PLAYING 11
Kerala vs Saurashtra is set to start at 4:30 PM.
Vidarbha loses a few wickets but is taken home by Jitesh Sharma and Karnerwar with eight balls to spare. Vidarbha is through to the quarterfinals.
Nishant Sindhu falls for 42 and with that Haryana’s hopes of a win too crash. Punjab bowlers keep on striking as the game slides further away from Haryana. No further drama as Punjab seals a comfortable win to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Vidarbha is cruising to the target. Ramaswamy completes his fifty as he marshals his side to a comfortable win. VIDARBHA 85-2 in 14 overs.
Haryana loses Dinesh Bana too. The chase hasn’t picked up for Haryana. Nishant Sindhu changes it up with a few maximums. It needs 76 runs in the last five overs. HARYANA 101-4 in 15 overs.
S Ramaswamy and Atharva Taide have given Vidarbha a strong start in the chase of 112 runs. Chhattisgarh needs wickets in cluster to halt Vidarbha’s progress in the tournament. Vidarbha loses Atharva Taide early through a run out. But SR Ramaswamy steadies the ship in the chase. VIDARBHA 59-1 in 10 overs.
Baltej Singh strikes and he ends Yuvraj Singh’s stay at the wicket to give Punjab an early breakthrough. Skipper Rana joins CK Bishnoi in the middle as Haryana chases 177 to win. Abhishek Sharma dismisses Himanshu Rana as Punjab tightens the defence. Haryana 65-3 in 10 overs
Chhattisgarh crumbling under pressure as Vidarbha bowlers continue their merry. Umesh Yadav gets his third. Vidarbha closes out the first innings impressively as it gives away just six runs in the last two overs. Chhattisgarh 111-9 in 20 overs.
Punjab loses wickets in pursuit of boosting its total. Abhishek Sharma is still out there and has completed his 50, albeit at a slow pace. Anmolpreet Singh provides Punjab with the final push with a quick-fire 20. PUNJAB 176-5 in 20 overs.
Chhattisgarh is not able to get going. The run rate is under six as Vidarbha’s bowlers are pulling the strings. Karnewar is again in the act, this time with a run out as he gets rid of Shashank Singh. Chhattisgarh 85-4 in 15 overs.
Prabhsimran tees off. He smashes the spinners and is looking sublime. Blitzes to his fifty. But he tries to sneak a quick single, only to be sent back and the keeper completes a sharp run out. A brilliant knock from him - 64 of 36. PUNJAB 124-2 in 15 overs.
Two quick wickets and Vidarbha has broken through. Chhattisgarh loses both its openers as Umesh Yadav and Sarvate strikes. Vidarbha’s bowlers are all over the opposite batters. They are not making it easy for Chhattisgarh as the batters are unable to get going. Karnewar capitalises on the pressure and gets Sanjeet Desai out. Chhattisgarh 64-3 in 10 overs.
Haryana bowlers keep it tight Abhishek and Prabhsimran are taking their time. Jayant Yadav gets his first over and concedes just three off it. But Abhishek goes after Amit Mishra in the leg spinner’s first over. A six and a four and there is acceleration. PUNJAB 64-1 in 10 overs.
Strong start from Chhattisgarh. Openers Herwadkar and Amandeep Khare navigate through the first three overs for a return of just 14 runs. But the duo goes after Nalkande in his second over. 19 overs accumulated in that over. Another good over follows as 12 runs come out of it. Chhattisgarh 45-0 in 5 overs.
Shubman GIll and Abhishek Sharma opens for Punjab. Abhishek starts with a classy cut for four. Gill seems at unease and almost offers a catch at first slip. Mohit Sharma continues after a brilliant maiden over first up. He forces a miscue out of Gill, who skies one and Nishant Sindhu completes the catch. Prabhsimran Singh comes in for Punjab and along with Abhishek settles in well with a few boundaries. PUNJAB 26-1 in 5 overs.
Playing 11 - Punjab vs Haryana
PLAYING 11 - Vidarbha vs Chhattisgarh
Haryana wins the toss and elects to field first against Punjab.
Vidarbha wins the toss and elects to field first against Chhattisgarh.
PREVIEW
Some close contests are expected over the next week as the knockout stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy begins at the Eden Gardens, the Jadavpur University ground and the 22 Yards ground here from Sunday.
The group stage was highly competitive cricket, which was evident from two top-place finishers, Delhi in Group B and Bengal in Group D, gathering identical points as the second-placed sides in their respective groups.
With the competition becoming more intense in the knockout stage, one may see the use of the ‘impact player’ more often.
While Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal has been replaced with Rohan Patil, Bengal seamer Ishan Porel is said to be ‘indisposed.’
Nevertheless, one will see several stars including Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Nitish Rana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey in action.
The elimination phase will start from the pre-quarterfinal matches with Punjab taking on Haryana, Vidarbha meeting Chhattisgarh and Kerala facing Saurashtra on Sunday.
The winners of these engagements will clash with direct qualifiers Mumbai, Delhi and Karnataka in the last-eight on Tuesday. Host Bengal will lock horns with Himachal Pradesh in the other quarterfinal.
The semifinals will be held on November 3 and the final on November 5.
SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY (OCTOBER 30)
SMAT KNOCKOUT STAGE EXPLAINED
11 teams have advanced to the knockout stages. The tournament will have three pre-quarterfinals, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
Group winners from the five groups have directly advanced to the quarterfinals. These teams are Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Bengal. For the remaining three places, pre-quarterfinal matches will be played between six teams.
The 2nd-placed teams from the five groups have qualified for the pre-quarters. Vidarbha, Punjab, Kerala, Saurashtra and Chhattisgarh are through to this stage.
The last place in the pre-quarterfinals was sealed by the best 3rd placed team out off all the groups - Haryana, with 20 points and a net run rate of +1.214, from Group C.
The winners from the three pre-quarterfinals will advance to quarterfinals one, two, and three, respectively.
Here are the fixtures for the quarterfinals, to be played on November 1:
QF 1 - Karnataka vs Winner of Pre QF 1
QF 2 - Mumbai vs Winner of Pre QF 2
QF 3 - Delhi vs Winner of Pre QF 3
QF 4 - Himachal Pradesh vs Bengal
The semifinals will be played on November 3, while the final will be held on November 5. All knockout matches will be played in Kolkata.
Live Streaming Info
When and Where to Watch Syed Mushtaq Ali Pre-Quarterfinals Online, TV?
The Kerala vs Saurashtra match is available to be streamed live on the Disney + Hotstar app and website.
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