Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 - Super League Day 1, Round-up

Punjab, Mumbai, Delhi and Baroda won their respective matches on Day 1.

Published - 21 Jan 2018, 21:35 IST | Updated - 21 Jan 2018, 21:35 IST

3 Min Read

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy has entered the Super League Stage with some nail-biting encounters. With Punjab making it to the SLS with a flying performance of Delhi, surprisingly Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have also qualified. On the other hand, the likes of Rajasthan and Delhi finished as the table toppers with some cracking performances.

All the remaining matches have been scheduled to play at the Ground Of Kali, Kolkata. The matches will either be hosted at Jadavpur University Campus or at the Eden Gardens. On day one of the SLS, Punjab team was up against Karnataka, and one will have to say, that they had too much firepower and managed to upstage the opposition in a match that went all down to the wire. The 20 overs couldn’t separate the two sides and it eventually went into the Super Over.

Punjab’s skipper Harbhajan Singh asked the opposition to bat first on a wicket that was offering something for the fast bowlers. Karnataka couldn’t capitalize at the start and lost wickets in quick succession before middle-order batsman Anirudhha played dazzling innings of 40 runs off just 19 balls helping his side post 158 runs on the board.

In reply, Punjab promoted Harbhajan at number three who played his shots and in lieu of that made hefty 33 runs off 19 deliveries. After he got out, wickets kept tumbling for Punjab and they ended the 20 overs at levels. Punjab scored 15 runs in the Super Over, and in reply, Karnataka was well short and couldn’t get over the line.

The second match was played between Jharkhand and Mumbai at Jadavpur University Campus. The toss fell in favour of Jharkhand and they asked the opposition to bat first. Further, Jharkhand got off to a flying start putting Mumbai on the backfoot.

After losing three wickets for just 33 runs, Mumbai finally managed to put the right gear as Siddhesh Lad and skipper Aditya Tare put up a decent partnership of 67 runs. Following that, Shivam Dubey and Suryakumar Yadav batted through and posted a mammoth total of 170 runs. For Jharkhand, the openers got out early and number three batsman Virat Singh tried his level best to help his side cross the winning line but unfortunately, no one really stayed on the wicket for long and Mumbai eventually won by 13 runs.

The third and the first broadcasted match happened between Delhi and Tamil Nadu where Delhi skipper won the toss and elected to bowl first. Tamil Nadu batsmen had no answers whatsoever to Kulwant Khejroliya’s spell who managed to pick 4 wickets for just 26 runs at an economy of under 7.

Tamil Nadu posted 145 runs on the board which Delhi chased quite easily. They lost just two wickets in-form of Gautam Gambhir and Rishab Pant. The wicketkeeper-batsman played a match-winning knock of 58 runs, helping his side to get all-important 4 points.

The last encounter of the day took place at the same venue between two quality sides, Bengal and Baroda. Unlike the earlier games, the Baroda skipper opted to bat first. They lost a few wickets right at start putting unnecessary pressure on themselves as all three were soft dismissals.

With partnerships in the middle order, Baroda managed to put up 149 runs on the board. Watching the way Baroda innings panned out, it was certain Bengal had a tough chase on. They lost wickets in almost every over, making things difficult for themselves. Shreevats Goswami tried his level best but couldn’t help his side get all-important points.