Baroda cruise to a commanding win over Vidarbha in the Super League of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
The iconic Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai was ready to host the Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2016. Baroda faced Vidarbha in their first game of the second stage. The coin showed its face in favor of Irfan Pathan who decided to invite Vidarbha to bat first. Though they got an early wicket in Y Fazal who fell to skipper Irfan Pathan, with that wicket he became the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. M Sharma and Ganesh Satish then on put up a constructive partnership worth 56 and gave the incoming batsmen a good platform.
Satish’s 31-ball 54 along with V Wankhade who scored 40 off 24 balls took the team to 162 for 5 at the end of 20 overs which is a competitive total even without the pressure of the match. Baroda opted to start steady as both the openers played watchful knocks but that didn’t pay off as they got out before imposing their impression on the chase.
Skipper once again sent in all-rounder Hardik Pandya at 3 who had a quiet game with the ball going wicketless though he maintained a decent economy. They further lost vice-captain Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan and suddenly needed runs at 10 an over and the all-round duo of Pandya and Irfan occupied the strike.
Hardik was once again at his brutal best striking mighty big blows all over the ropes of the Wankhede. Though Vidarbha had runs on the board the duo took the heat on the opposition and never let the chase out of hands maintaining the run flow and also dammed any further loss of wickets. Pandya was unstoppable today as he mounted six after six toying with the bowling. He struck as many as 8 maximums and 3 boundaries in his 46-ball stay which he gave a perfect finish staying unbeaten on 86 and seeing Baroda through the line. Irfan at the other end also struck 2 bigges and played the perfect partner to the soon to be India no. 7 scoring 26 off 16 balls.
Baroda with this win gained back the momentum they lost in the last group stage game, conceding it to Delhi. A win like this in the crucial stages of the tournament will definitely boost their cause as they cruise their way to their 3rd Syed Mushtaq Ali title.
Brief Score:
Vidarbha- 162/5 (G Satish 54; S Singh 2/24)
Baroda- 168/4 (H Pandya 86*, I Pathan 26*; RL Jangid 2/36)
Baroda won the match by 6 wickets
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