Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20: Round 8 - Review

Punjab's thrilling qualification scenario was the talking point of the day.

Published - 19 Nov 2019, 10:21 IST | Updated - 19 Nov 2019, 10:21 IST

3 Min Read

The first stage of the Mushtaq Ali Trophy came to an end on Monday with Punjab winning a thrilling five-way qualification scenario in Group C. As it turned out, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Baroda, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Mumbai, Delhi Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Punjab made it to the Super League, which commences on 21st November.

Meghalaya registered a couple of morale-boosting wins in their previous two games, but suffered at the hands of Haryana and signed off in a bad way. Harshal Patel smashed a 40-ball 82 and Rahul Tewatia chipped in with an important contribution as they put 202 runs batting first. Harshal Patel starred with the ball as well, chipping in with figures of 3/22 as Meghalaya got bowled out for 103 runs, handing a 99-run for Haryana.

Puducherry nearly provided a scare for Madhya Pradesh, but the latter found a way through, by the barest of margins. Madhya Pradesh scored 177 runs batting first courtesy a brilliant 84 from Ashutosh Sharma. Former Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar registered figures of 4/30 for Puducherry. Arun Karthik’s knock nearly got Puducherry to the finish line, but they fell short by five runs.

Maharashtra and Punjab played a crucial Group C encounter, which went Maharashtra’s way, but Punjab did just enough to qualify to the next stage. Rahul Tripathi and Azim Kazi scored half-centuries as Maharashtra posted 201 runs batting first. Punjab could only manage 156 runs, but that was enough for them to get the better of Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad and Railways to take the second spot in the group.