Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semifinal match between Punjab and Baroda in Ahmedabad.
That's all for the night! Join us for Sunday's high-octane final between Tamil Nadu and Baroda!
Brief Score:
Punjab 135/8 after 20 overs: 17 runs for Mandeep in the final over with two sixes and a boundary but the efforts of the injured skipper has gone in vain. Punjab has bowed down to a 25-run loss as Kedar Devdhar's men march onto the final!
A fine bowling effort from Baroda, with Lukman Meriwala the wrecker-in chief starting proceedings by removing the openers. Punjab's innings never really recovered and lost wickets at regular intervals in the absence of an injured Mandeep in the top-order. As things stand, Baroda is set to meet Tamil Nadu on Sunday for the final!
Punjab 118/8 after 19 overs: OUT! Meriwala has rattled the stumps once again as Sandeep Sharma is sent back. This is curtains for Punjab as it requires 43 from the final over. Baroda all set to make another final.
Punjab 110/7 after 18 overs: Punjab has lost Brar and Markande. An injured Mandeep has little left to do here in this chase. Baroda has stuck to its plans and has derailed this chase from top to bottom.
Punjab 85/5 after 15 overs: OUT! Gurkeerat has given it away as well. There's nothing more one can do with the run rate shooting up. Gurkeerat flicks a six off Pathan and tries another shot over deep point but flaws in the connection. Save a miracle, this is all but over for Punjab. Gurkeerat Singh Mann c Pania b Pathan 39 (37b 3x4 1x6)
Punjab 75/4 after 14 overs: OUT! A nothing shot against the spin from Ramandeep.Rathva spins at away from the right-hander who plays a half-hearted shot and is caught at extra-cover. An injured Mandeep Singh has come out to bat. Is a turnaround possible with the req. run rate climbing to nearly 15 per over. Ramandeep Singh c Rajput b Rathva 6 (12b 0x4 0x6)
Punjab 70/3 after 13 overs: 91 runs in 42 balls - the equation has scaled massively against Punjab. The batsmen have played themselves to trouble and credit goes to the way Baroda has come out blazing with the ball.
Punjab 53/3 after 9 overs: OUT! Anmolpreet Singh has given it away. A sheepish slog to long-on and Atit Sheth makes no mistake. Punjab under massive pressure at the halfway mark and there are no signs of Mandeep Singh as Ramandeep walks to the crease. Anmolpreet Singh c Sheth b Rathva 15 (19b 2x4 0x6)
Punjab 35/2 after 6 overs: A wobbly Powerplay for Punjab. They have lost the in-form Prabhsimran and Abhishek Sharma early on. Anmolpreet has looked out of sorts in his short stay in the crease so far and there is no confirmation yet on the availability of Mandeep who had injured himself on the find earlier on.
Punjab 21/2 after 4 overs: OUT! Prabhsimran has succumbed to the pressure and it has Lukman Meriwala once again! This has been a cracking spell from the left-armer. Meriwala arches back and dishes in a short ball and Singh takes it on but fails to time and finds the deep fine leg fielder. Punjab has been dealt a massive blow early on here. Prabhsimran Singh c Pania b Meriwala 15 (11b 2x4 1x6)
Punjab 12/1 after 3 overs: 11 succesive dot balls and Prabhsimran breaks the shackles with a six. A fine second over from Sheth and Singh is forced to go for a wild heave with pressure mounting on Punjab. Prabhsimran lashes on the short and smashes it for six over long-on.
Punjab 6/1 after 2 overs: WICKET MAIDEN! A sizzling first over from Lukman Meriwala! He has breached Abhishek Sharma's defense with a peach off the second ball, uproots the off-stump. New man Anmolpreet Singh is given a torrid time with the next four balls. Meriwala moves the ball away from the right-hander who plays and misses all four! A dream start for Baroda.
Punjab 6/0 after 1 over: A fine start from Sheth, cramps Sharma and gives away no width whatsoever.
Back for the chase! Punjab openers Prabhsimran Singh and Abhishek Sharma at the crease. Atit Sheth with the ball for Baroda.
Baroda 160/3 after 20 overs: An excellent over under pressure from Sharma. He removes the main man Devdhar off the first ball as he holes out to covers. Atit Sheth's six down the ground lifts Baroda to 160 in a certainly good finish.
A stellar partnership between Devdhar and Kakade was the highlight of this innings. Baroda would have loved to post a better total given the conditions and with dew expected to play its part. Nevertheless, the semifinals pressure and a tricky pitch can make up for an even contest in the second-half.
Baroda 150/2 after 19 overs: Scintillating stuff from Devdhar and Kakade. The duo have smashed Kaul for a six and a boundary each in another 14-run over.
Baroda 129/2 after 17 overs: FIFTY for skipper Devdhar! He notches up the milestone with a cracking pull off a loose delivery from Kaul who has looked his part throughout so far. Baroda is poised for a 170-plus finish here and would certainly aim to post a strong total against this Punjab batting lineup.
Baroda 106/2 after 15 overs: An excellent over under the situation from Arshdeep but Kakade has hit the final ball down the ground for a boundary. Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh dives the ball but misses it and has injured himself. He is clutching his left shoulder and wincing in pain and has been taken besides the boundary for treatment.
Baroda 101/2 after 14 overs: Massive over for Baroda! Kakade has lived upto his role and has eased the pressure off his captain Devdhar. Harpreet is taken apart with a boundary and a six down the ground in a 15-run over!
Baroda 85/2 after 13 overs: Right on cue, Kakade has taken on Markande for a towering six. Baroda has begun to make the move and it will be interesting to see the Punjab bowlers' approach from here on.
Baroda 71/2 after 11 overs: Punjab continues to top the middle-overs. Baroda has looked a bit hazy on approach and skipper Devdhar has not found a solid partner who has taken on the scoring. Kakade will be pinned to take charge as Devdhar holds one end for the next five.
Baroda 59/2 after 9 overs: OUT! Baroda's hero Solanki has fallen. The pressure has got to him this time with the boundaries drying out. Markande pitches in a straight loopy delivery as Solanki tries the reverse-sweep and misses and the ball wraps on the pad before the stumps. Vishnu Solanki lbw b Markande 12 (12b 2x4 0x6)
Baroda 44/1 after 6 overs: Baroda has stepped on the gas once again. Devdhar and Solanka rack up three boundaries of the left-armer Arshdeep Singh to end the Powerplay.
Baroda 30/1 after 5 overs: OUT! A cracker from Kaul! Rathva is puzzled by a searing inswinger. The ball hits the bat and jags back to the stump. Baroda has fluffed against Kaul and Sharma post a quick start. Ninad Rathva b Kaul 15 (15b 3x4 0x6)
Baroda 28/0 after 4 overs: Two cracking overs from Kaul and Sandeep to check the run flow. Baroda openers have been kept quite as the pacers have attacked the stumps and restrained the line.
Baroda 22/0 after 2 overs: Baroda is off to a rollicking start! Arshdeep runs through a fine over until Kedar Devdhar decided to step over the bounce off the final ball for a cracking pull for six over mid-wicket.
Baroda 11/0 after 1 over: Sandeep begins with a wayward over and concedes two boundaries to the Baroda openers.
Match underway! Baroda skipper Kedar Devdhar and Ninad Rathva at the crease. Sandeep Sharma up with the new ball for Punjab.
TOSS: Punjab won the Toss, elected to field
Welcome to the evening session as Punjab takes on Baroda in SF2!
An unbeaten 89 from Arun Karthik has powered Tamil Nadu to its second consecutive final! They remain unbeaten this season and have had the wood on Rajasthan in the semifinal for the second season in a row. What a performance. Massive props to the TN bowlers too, especially Sai Kishore and M Mohammed, who pulled things back with the ball when Rajasthan was going great guns with the bat. Tamil Nadu will now await the winner of the Punjab vs Baroda game.
- END OF MATCH -
TN 150/3 in 18 Overs: Rajasthan have dropped two back-to-back catches in one over. Returning the favour, eh? Tamil Nadu on the cusp of a second successive SMAT final.
TN 134/3 in 16 Overs: Arun Karthik gets to his 50 off 33 deliveries. Sensible innings. In the meantime, the 50-run partnership is up between Arun Karthik and Dinesh Karthik. DK was dropped by Bishnoi on 21. Arun Karthik is in a hurry - he collects a four and a six off Aniket Choudhary. Tamil Nadu need 21 runs in 24 balls.
TN 112/3 in 14 Overs: Complete breakdown in communication between Arun Karthik and Dinesh Karthik nearly costs the former his wicket. But Arun survives as keeper Bharat Sharma misses his shy at the striker's end. Just to rub salt on the wound, collects four off the next ball. Dinesh Karthik then gets stuck into Bishnoi, collects three boundaries. Tamil Nadu need 43 runs in 36 balls.
TN 83/3 in 12 Overs: Karthik, meanwhile, continues to churn the runs one way or the other - a healthy edge off Chandrapal's bowling evades the keeper and runs away for four. Bishnoi is keeping things tight at the other end - just three runs off his second over. Tamil Nadu need 72 runs in 48 balls. Ajit Gupta is limping off the field. Seems to be in discomfort.
TN 70/3 in 10 Overs: Karthik brings out the reverse sweep against Chandrapal, gets four runs. Meanwhile, Ravi Bishnoi, bowling his first over of the match, gets rid of in-form Jagadeesan. Dinesh Karthik joins Arun Karthik. Tamil Nadu need 85 runs in 60 balls.
TN 52/2 in 8 Overs: Jagadeesan welcomes left-arm spinner Chandrapal into the attack with a cut shot for four. Terrific placement. Karthik brings up the team fifty with a boundary off Khaleel.
TN 35/2 in 6 Overs: Ul-Haq bowls a short of a length ball and Karthik pulls it over square leg for six. Khaleel Ahmed comes into the attack and concedes seven off his first over. End of the Powerplay.
TN 18/2 in 4 Overs: Ul-Haq traps Nishanth in front with a length ball that shapes in and beats him on the flick. Aniket Choudhary then has Aparajith caught at slip to further dent TN's chances. Arun Karthik joins Jagadeesan.
TN 13/0 in 2 Overs: An erratic start from Tanveer Ul-Haq. He concedes 5wides before being taken for a boundary by Hari Nishanth. Aniket Choudhary, sharing the new ball with Ul-Haq, straightaway creates doubts in Jagadeesan's mind. The right-hander survives a close lbw call first ball before being cut into half by a beautiful in-swinger. But Jagadeesan ends the over with a crisp cover-drive for four.
- Tamil Nadu innings -
After a 83-run stand between Menaria and Gupta, Tamil Nadu have fought back to keep Rajasthan under 160. M Mohammed bowled a sensational last over, conceding two runs and picking three wickets. His 4 for 24 coupled with Sai Kishore's 2 for 16 formed the cornerstone of TN;s bowling. Menaria hit a 50 but couldn't carry on. Last 5 Overs, Rajasthan lost five wickets for just 24 runs. TN need 155 to win.
- END OF INNINGS -
RAJ 143/5 in 18 Overs: Tamil Nadu has pulled things back nicely here. Those two wickets of Menaria and Lomror, followed by Gupta's dismissal, have put a lid on Rajasthan's scoring rate. Gupta departs for 45. M Ashwin getting the breakthrough.
RAJ 133/4 in 16 Overs: Mohammed gets rid of in-form Lomror. Tamil Nadu fighting back. Rajesh Bishnoi joins Gupta. Sai Kishore bowls out. Excellent numbers for the left-arm spinner: 4-0-16-2.
RAJ 127/3 in 14 Overs: Sai Kishore with a much-needed breakthrough. Menaria holes out to Arun Karthik, who pulls off a sharp catch at deep mid-wicket. A 83-run stand has been finally broken. Mahipal Lomror joins Gupta, who is teeing off now.
RAJ 105/2 in 12 Overs: Menaria and Gupta are showing no signs of slowing down. Menaria gets to his 50 off 30 balls. He would've been out though but for another dropped catch; this time Aswin Crist drops a simple chance at long-on off Sai Kishore's bowling. That's three dropped catches in total. Sloppy fielding.
RAJ 89/2 in 10 Overs: More bowling changes. M Mohammed comes into the attack. Menaria lets him know who's in charge by swatting one over square-leg for four. Tamil Nadu are not helping themselves by continuing to drop catches: Aparajith drops Gupta at long-on, a dolly really. The 50-run partnership is up between Menaria and Gupta.
RAJ 73/2 in 8 Overs: Arjit Gupta has joined Menaria and Rajasthan's intent is clear here : they are going to go after the TN spinners. Gupta picks Aparajith's off-break and hammers it over deep mid-wicket for his first six of the match. Runs coming thick and fast. Leg-spinner M. Ashwin has been brought into the attack. Menaria collects a boundary off him as well.
RAJ 56/2 in 6 Overs: DK is ringing in the bowling changes and they seem to be working for now. Baba Aparajith gets Garhwal after the latter had hit him for a six and a four. But that doesn't deter Menaria from collecting four successive boundaries off Crist's second over. Rajasthan are in it for the long haul.
RAJ 26/1 in 4 Overs: Just a one-over spell for Sai Kishore. Aswin Christ replaces him. Garhwal greets him with two back-to-back boundaries. Tamil Nadu have been slightly erratic since that first wicket. Did Karthik miss a trick by not giving Sai Kishore a second over? Meanwhile, Garhwal is growing in confidence. He collects yet another boundary, this time off Sonu Yadav.
RAJ 7/1 in 2 Overs: Dinesh Karthik's call to open with spin is vindicated straightaway as R Sai Kishore gets opener Bharat Sharma out for a duck. Dream start for Tamil Nadu. Ashok Menaria is in at No. 3. Medium pacer Sonu Yadav is sharing new-ball duties with Sai Kishore. He could've had his first wicket but Shahrukh dropped a sitter at short extra-cover. He concedes 5 off his first over.
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