Anmolpreet, Arshdeep power Punjab to maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title

Riding high on 61-ball 113 from Anmolpreet Singh and combined with four crucial wickets from pacer Arshdeep Singh, Punjab cantered to a 20-run win over Baroda in the final to clinch maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Monday.

Punjab had won their last national cricket title way back in 1993 when they won the Ranji Trophy.

“It is like a dream come true. The ball was coming to the bat well and I was just enjoying hitting the strokes,” said 25-year-old Anmolpreet Singh after the match. “The dream has come true for all of us. I always dreamt of playing for India and winning a trophy for Punjab. Have done it now. It’s a long journey, special thanks to the association who initiated the Sher-e-Punjab T20 league which was a big help. Big credit to the coach, who is the backbone of our team. He has instilled dedication and a lot of values in our team,” captain Mandeep said.

Batting first, hosts Punjab were put in a spot of bother when Baroda sent their openers Prabhsimran (0) Singh and in-form Abhishek Sharma (9) back to the pavilion. Anmolpreet and captain Mandeep Singh in the middle steadied the innings adding 62 runs for the third wicket.

Mandeep made 32 off 23 balls. From there on it was Anmolpreet and Nehal Wadhera’s show. The pair made 129 runs to take Punjab past the 200-run mark. Anmolpreet’s knock included six sixes and 10 fours while Nehal’s had four sixes and six boundaries. Nehal remained unbeaten on 61. Anmolpreet was run out for 113 in the last over.

Baroda had a smashing start as went after the Punjab bowlers right from the start. Led by sloppy ground fielding and dropped catches, Punjab let Baroda dominate the chase in the first 15 overs. Opener Ninad Rathva’s 22-ball 47, Abhimanyu Rajput’s 42-ball 61 and captain Krunal Pandya’s 32-ball 45 gave Baroda an edge. However, the 19th over bowled by left-arm medium-pacer Arshdeep took three wickets, including that of Krunal, to set up a win for Punjab. Anmolpreet took two brilliant catches at long-on in the 19th over to make up for the sloppy fielding by the hosts.

PCA president Amarjeet Mehta said, “We at PCA will try to match up to the BCCI’s prize money for our winning team and reward them.” PCA later announced a prize of ₹80lakh for the team.