Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Mumbai overpower Vidarbha by six wickets; Maharashtra win close encounter against Jharkhand

Indore: Domestic giants Mumbai defeated Vidarbha by six wickets in their Super League Group B match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at Indore on Monday. Opting to field at the Holkar Stadium, Mumbai bowlers, led by medium pacer Tushar Deshpande (3-28), put in a spirited show to restrict Vidarbha to 137/8 in their alloted 20 overs. Deshpande was ably supported by another pacer Shardul Thakur (2-21), while Shams Mulani (1-22), Shivam Dube (1-28) and Siddhesh Lad (1-9), too, played their part, picking up a wicket each. [caption id=“attachment_5131811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Deshpande gave early breakthrough to Mumbai when he accounted for Vidarbha opener Atharva Taide (4). Jitesh Sharma (20), captain Ganesh Satish (24) and Rushabh Rathod (26) got starts, but failed to convert them into big scores as Mumbai bowlers struck at regular intervals. Vidarbha were reeling at 95-6, but pacer Umesh Yadav chipped in with a blazing 26 off 12 balls, which included three fours and two sixes, to ensure his side crossed the 130- run mark. Young prodigy Prithvi Shaw did not play for Mumbai as he was unwell, but opener Jay Bista hit an unbeaten 73 off 51 balls to see his team romp home with 26 deliveries to spare. Bista took the experienced Vidarbha attack to task, hammering nine fours and two sixes. He got able support from skipper Shreyas Iyer (28) and Surya Kumar Yadav (25). Mumbai lost two quick wickets, but Bista ensured that his side emerged triumphant. Earlier in the day, Gujarat defeated Railways by seven wickets in their Super League Group A game. Gujarat bowlers, led by leg spinner Piyush Chawla (3-12), dished out a clinical show to restrict Railways to a 110/9 in their 20 overs after they chose to bat. Piyush Tanwar led Gujarat’s chase as he hit an unbeaten 55 off 43 balls and took his side home with 5.5 overs to spare in company of Axar Patel (20 not out). In another Super League Group A match, Maharashtra bowlers held their nerves to script a memorable 14-run win against Jharkhand. The bowlers, led by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Satyajeet Bachhav (3-17), successfully defended the 154-run target and restricted Jharkhand to 139/8. For Maharashtra, senior batsman Ankit Bawane top scored with an unbeaten 64. In an inconsequential Super League Group B match of the day, Delhi’s Dhruv Shorey struck an unbeaten 62 off 48 balls to steer his team home against Uttar Pradesh. Courtesy Shorey’s heroics with the bat, Delhi chased down the 141-run target with two balls to spare and fittingly Shorey finished the game with a six. Currently, Maharashtra are in the first position in Group A with 12 points having won all their three matches. Bengal are on the second spot, while Karnataka, who have won all their three games, are on the top of the points table in Group B. The winners of Super League Group A and Super League Group B will clash in the final on 14 March. Brief scores: At Holkar Stadium: Vidarbha 137/8 (R R Rathod 26, Umesh Yadav 26; Tushar Deshpande 3-28, Shardul Thakur 2-21) lost to Mumbai 138/4 (Jay Bista 73 not out, Shreyas Iyer 28; R L Jangid 2-23, Akshay Wakhare 2-38) by six wickets. Mumbai 4 points, Vidarbha 0 points. At Emerald Heights International School Ground: Railways 110/9 (Harsh Tyagi 32 not out, Amit Paunikar 23; Piyush Chawla 3-12, Hemang Patel 1-17) lost to Gujarat 112/3 (Piyush Tanwar 55 not out, Parthiv Patel 25; Ambikeshwar Mishra 1-15) by seven wickets. Gujarat 4 points, Railways 0 points. At Emerald Heights International School Ground: Maharashtra 153/4 (Ankit Bawane 64 not out, V H Zol 50; Varun Aaron 2-22) won against Jharkhand 139/8 (Vikash Singh 46 not out, Virat Singh 24; Satyajeet Bachhav 3-17, Samad Fallah 2-41) by 14 runs. Maharashtra 4 points, Jharkhand 0 points. At Holkar Stadium: Uttar Pradesh 140/6 (Priyam Garg 30, Shubham Chaubey 29; Pawan Negi 3-9, Navdeep Saini 2-23) lost to Delhi 142/6 (Dhruv Shorey 62 not out, Pranshu Vijayran 34; Ankit Rajpoot 2-20) by six wickets. Delhi 4 points, UP 0 points.