Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 – Super League Day 5, Round-up

The Super League Stage (SLS) of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy has not only been able to bring some exciting nail-biting encounters but has also helped populous witness sheer talent at the domestic level. From highs to lows, elated to subdued, determination to hunger, the league stage was full of superlative action. The final day of SLS led a team back home and another to get one step closer to the coveted title.

The day started with an unparalleled encounter between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh which went all down to the wire but in the end, one will have to say, the Delhi team had too much firepower and managed to upstage Uttar Pradesh’s hope of entering the final.

Suresh Raina, skipper of Uttar Pradesh opted to bowl first. Wickets kept tumbling for Delhi and were able to post just 140 on the board with a power-packed batting display from Rishab Pant. In reply, UP fought hard but fell short of the target by just 3 runs. With this win, Delhi made their way through to the final.

The second encounter between Tamil Nadu and Baroda was more about pride than the points. Both Group B teams have already been ousted from the remainder of the tournament. In this game, Tamil Nadu, while batting first posted 123 runs with the loss of 7 wickets in their quota of 20 overs. The Baroda line-up stuttered on either side of K Devdhar but was well able to reach the target. With this win, Baroda finished third on the table with two wins and two losses.

The third game between Punjab and Rajasthan was full of twist and turns as Punjab were expected to put their best foot forward as they had to win the contest by a good margin to be in contention for the all-important final. However, there was a twist in Punjab’s victory tale. They won the match by 5 runs but unfortunately fell few short as Rajasthan made their way to final with a loss.

Winning the toss Rajasthan opted to bowl first asking questions from ball one. Punjab posted 129 runs on the board, which was never going to be enough to win by a big margin; which was what they needed. Some superb bowling ensured Punjab a victory but they finished second in Group A.

The fourth and the last encounter of Super League Stage was played between Karnataka and Mumbai, where Mumbai batsmen went on to post a mammoth total on the board. Both Suryakumar and Siddhesh Lad scored blistering fifties. However, their 175 runs were never enough to restrict Karnataka batsmen to chase it. Mayank Agarwal made a statement just two days ahead of the massive IPL auctions with a scintillating 41-ball 77 to pave the way for Karnataka’s crushing win over Mumbai.

Brief Scores

Uttar Pradesh vs Delhi

Delhi: 140/9 in 20 overs (Rishab Pant 58; Mohd Isar 2/12)

Uttar Pradesh: 137/10 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 34; Pawan Negi 2/13)

Tamil Nadu vs Baroda

Tamil Nadu: 123/7 in 20 overs (Anirudha 32; A Seth 1/16)

Baroda: 125/5 in 17.1 overs (Kedar Devdhar 68; V Davidson 1/18)

Punjab vs Rajasthan

Punjab: 129/9 in 20 overs (Harbhajan Singh 32; Khaleel Ahmed 3/17)

Rajasthan: 124/8 in 20 overs (A Lamba 47; Barinder Sran 3/23)

Karnataka vs Mumbai

Mumbai: 175/8 in 20 overs (Suryakumar 59; Stuart Binny 3/36)

Karnataka: 176/3 in 18.4 overs (Mayank Agarwal 77; Dhawal Kulkarni 2/36)