Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Vidarbha outwits Uttar Pradesh in thriller

Shrikant Wagh bowled exceptionally well to hand Vidarbha a crucial 10-run victory against Uttar Pradesh.

Piyush Chawla took two wickets but couldn't help Gujarat register a win. (File Photo)

Captains who make bold moves are often rewarded and on Sunday afternoon Vidarbha skipper Ganesh Satish, defending a modest total of 143, was called upon to make a tactical move on a dry surface in a Group `B’ Super League match of the Inter-State Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Tournament at the scenic Emerald Heights international School Ground.

The Vidarbha spinners had completed their quota of overs and perforce, Satish had to make a choice between left arm seamer Shrikant Wagh and India spearhead Umesh Yadav .

The former Karnataka batsman, playing his fifth season for the State as a professional chose Wagh ahead of Yadav  in the crucial 17th over when Uttar Pradesh required 37 to win the match and also the 19th.

Satish’s decision clicked as Vidarbha secured a ten-run win against Uttar Pradesh and now look forward to take on Mumbai in another important league match at the Holkar Stadium on Monday.

As it Happened

Playing his second match for Vidarbha in the tournament, Yadav lifted a massive six over wide long on in the 20th over to help his side’s score swell to 143 in 20 overs.

But operating the first over with the new ball he conceded 16 runs to Uttar Pradesh opener Upendra Yadav who struck two 4s and one 6.

This weighed in Satish’s mind when his side had completed 16 overs and when Uttar Pradesh was in with a chance to pull off a win with opener Samarth Singh in the middle.

Not a regular in the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy team - he has played a match each in the last two seasons against Chhattisgarh and Karnataka - Wagh, after being hit for six in the first ball of the 19th over, responded to his captain’s call by dismissing Samarth caught at deep cover and Ankit Choudhary on the on-side . 

The fall of two wickets, put the match beyond Uttar Pradesh, which needed 15 runs of the last over that was sent down by Yadav with control.

"We scored 27 runs in the last two overs, that’s why we won the match. We also chose a third spinner Ravi Jangid after seeing the previous match between Karnataka and Delhi,’’ said Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit.

Vidarbha has two wins in two matches, but it will have to put it across Mumbai and Karnataka in the last Group 'B' league in order to reach the final.

Before the Vidarbha-Uttar Pradesh thriller, Kartanaka trounced Delhi to lead to the table with 12 points.

Seamer Vasuki Koushik took four wickets  to take his tally to eight in three Super League matches. Leg spinner K.C.Cariappa scalped three.  In the final match, Maharashtra got out the jail to beat Gujarat by four wickets.

The scores: Group A: Jharkhand 126 for 9 in 20 overs (Virat Singh 27, Anukul Roy 37 not out, Writtic Chatterjee three for 12, Shahbaz Ahmed two for 21, Akash Deep two for 24) lost to Bengal 127 for 2 in 13 overs (Shreevats Goswami 86 not out, Varun Aaron two for 24) Group B: Delhi 109 for 9 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 37, Lalit Yadav 33, Vasuki Koushik four for 19, K.C. Cariappa three for 15) lost to Karnataka 112 for two in 15.3 overs (Mayank Agarwal  43 not out, Karun Nair 42 not out) Vidarbha 143 for 7 in 20 overs (Atharva Taide 41, Mohsin Khan two for 40, Ankit Chaudhary two for 28) beats Uttar Pradesh 133 for 9 in 20 overs (Samarth Singh 39, Shrikant Waugh three for 25, Akshay Karnewar two for 29) Gujarat 143/9 (Chirag Gandhi 35, D. Muthuswamy 2/42, D. Hinganekar 2/23) lost to Maharashtra 149/6 (A.N. Kazi 39 not out, D.M. Hinganekar 35 not out, Piyush Chawla 2/24)