Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Punjab to take on Karnataka in quarters

Mandeep Singh-led Punjab team has been on a roll in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy winning all their five league matches.

After a successful run in the league stage, Punjab will now be facing defending champions Karnataka in the quarter-final tie to be played at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.

Tremendous surge in players’ performances can be attributed to the fact that they prepared well for the tournament. Before Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy was announced by the BCCI, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) had held camps in a phased manner. Openers Prabhsimran Singh and Abhishek Sharma have given good starts to their team and starred in the victories. Mandeep and vice-captain Gurkeerat Mann have done well in the middle-order. In their league game against Karnataka, Punjab had emerged victorious by nine wickets. Medium-pacer Siddharth Kaul bagged a hat-trick in that game. Other quick bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Sandeep Sharma have chipped in with useful performances and backed their batsmen. Spinners Mayank Markande and Harpreet Brar have also shown their mettle.

Coach Munish Bali would be expecting Punjab to beat Karnataka in the quarter-final tie as well and enter the semi-finals. With such fine run at display, if Punjab team play to their potential, they will be unstoppable.

Squad: Mandeep Singh (captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (vice-captain), Rohan Marwaha, Abhinav Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Anmol Malhotra, Sanvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Karan Kaila, Mayank Markande, Abhishek Sharma, Ramandeep Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Barinder Singh Sran, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Singh Brar, Baltej Singh Dhanda, Krishan, and Gitansh Khera.