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Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy: Punjab lose to Baroda in semis
The fact that Punjab captain Mandeep Singh injured his shoulder while fielding also dented Punjab’s chances
Punjab’s unbeaten run in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy came to an end after they lost to Baroda in the semi-finals played at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Friday. Baroda beat Punjab by 25 runs and will take on Tamil Nadu in the finals on Sunday.
Baroda captain Kedar Devdhar and Kartik Kakade stitched a match-winning 93-run partnership to fashion their team’s victory. While Devdhar scored 49-ball 64 runs, Kakade made 53 runs off 41 deliveries.
Upon winning the toss, Punjab chose to field. Baroda scored 160 runs for the loss of three wickets. Punjab were sloppy on the field and gave away too many runs. Siddharth Kaul dropped Devdhar’s catch on leg-spinner Mayank Markande’s bowling and Baroda captain made most of it.
Punjab lost their in-form openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh early in the innings. Baroda pacers bowled with speed and great line. Punjab batsmen struggled to go for big shots. Prabhsimran and Anmolpreet Singh made 15 runs each. Gurkeerat Singh’s knock of 39 runs was the only good one in the Punjab batting line-up.
The fact that Punjab captain Mandeep Singh injured his shoulder while fielding also dented Punjab’s chances. He came out to bat at number six in pain and scored an unbeaten 41 off 23 balls.
