Baroda beat Gujarat by 12 runs, go into knockouts unbeaten
Baroda had come into the final Elite Group C match, after winning their first four games.
Unbeaten Baroda qualified for the knockout stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as they finished on top in Group C following a 12-run win over Gujarat, here on Monday.
Baroda had come into the final Elite Group C match, after winning their first four games.
Put into bat at the F B Colony ground here, Baroda rode on an unbeaten 59 by Vishnu Solanki and a whirlwind 17-ball 34 by Abhimanyusingh Rajput to post a competitive 176 for four and then restricted Gujarat to 164/9 to eke out a win.
Baroda openers, skipper Kedar Devdhar (26) and Smit Patel (34) could not convert their start into big scores as Gujarat bowlers led by captain and left-arm bowler Axar Patel (2/13) kept making inroads.
It was Solanki, who took the onus on himself and played a matured knock.
Solanki, who hammered eight fours and a lone six, finally found an able ally in Rajput, who hit three fours and two sixes, as the two forged a valuable 50-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Gujarat, could not capitalise on the decent start given by their openers Dhruv Raval (41) and Priyesh Patel (17) as the duo added 60-runs for the first wicket.
Skipper Patel (36), who came one-down, number five Chirag Gandhi (25) and number six Ripal Patel (29) raised the hopes of a win but in the end, it was Baroda bowlers who had the last laugh.
After Ripal Patel was dismissed, it was all over for Gujarat.
For Baroda, left-arm spinner Ninad Rathwa (3/4) was the pick of the bowlers and was ably supported by another slow-left arm bowler Bhargav Bhatt (2/28).
Brief Scores:
At F B Colony Ground: Baroda 176/4 (Vishnu Solanki 59 not out, Abhimanyusingh Rajput 34; Axar Patel 2/13, Roosh Kalaria 1/35) won against Gujarat 164/9 (Dhruv Raval 41, Axar Patel 36, Ninad Rathwa 3/4, Bhargav Bhatt 2/28) by 12 runs.
At Motibaug ground: Maharashtra 117/9 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 33, Azim Kazi 17; Rishi Dhawan 3/22, Pankaj Jaiswal 2/18) lost to Himachal Pradesh 121/6 (Rishi Dhawan 61 not out, Ayush Jamwal 27 not out; Azim Kazi 2/10, Pradeep Dadhe 2/24) by four wickets.
At Reliance ground: Uttarakhand 167/8 (Jay Bista 92, Kunal Chandela 25; Sourabh Majumdar 3/35) and 3/0 lost to Chhattisgarh 167/9 (Vishal Singh 37, Ajay Mandal 29; A Madhwal 2/17) and 15/1 – via Super Over.
